Life rarely turns out to have a 'Fairytale ending' and for many men and women, single life can last a lot longer than your twenties, as Clodagh McKenna knows.
The celebrity chef became single again at 40 after splitting with her partner of four years, Peter Gaynor, in 2016.
However, the Cork woman found love again a year later when she met her now husband, Harry Herbert, a horse racing pro who has connections to the Royal Family. The pair met through mutual friends in 2017 and have been inseparable ever since.
Hitting the big 5-0 this month, Clodagh sat down with the Irish Independent to chat about married life and how, still today, women are under serious pressure to tie the knot.
'There is so much pressure to get married at a certain age and do the things that everybody else does. And I think that it is important to write your own story because everybody's story is different,' she said.
For the TV star, she believes: 'Everybody should just be accepted for their own journey and not feel pressured, because when you feel pressured, that's when you make the wrong decision.'
Clodagh and Harry married in August 2021 in a fairytale wedding ceremony on the grounds of Highclere estate, Harry's ancestral home, which just happens to be where Downton Abbey was filmed.
She added: 'I'm really comfortable with who I am and my upbringing, and I'm really proud of it. When you decide to go on your own path...I always check myself and that I'm doing what I want to do for my life. And I think that when you do that, and you know who you are as a person, that's a lovely place to be.'
Life for the Cork woman is busy but full of fun. From her regular slot on This Morning to days out at the races and her impeccable taste in fashion, Clodagh is living proof that finding love at any age is never out of the question.
