Andrea McLean has opened up about her three marriages, financial collapse that left her homeless and nearly dying after falling seriously ill.
The former ITV presenter shocked viewers when she announced live on air in 2020 that she was leaving daytime show Loose Women after 13 years behind it’s desk. At the time, she revealed she was going to focus on her wellness and life-coaching business, This Girl Is On Fire.
However, Andrea has now revealed the business failed so terribly she lost everything.
Andrea McLean lost her million-pound home and life savings
Six years later, Andrea has spoken out about that difficult period. She admitted she lost her home, pension and savings after the business didn’t work out.
The 56-year-old was forced to sell her £1 million Surrey home and move into rented accommodation with her husband Nick Feeney.
“My personal experience right now is of excruciating shame, as a result of financial ruin,” she said to The Mirror.
“I lost my home, my pension, all my savings. We maxed out credit cards, there was so little in my bank account, it was minus,” Andrea explained.
She said things became so desperate she sold furniture to buy food and had bailiffs knocking at the door.
She added she was applying for work in coffee shops, offices and clothes shops. But she says she “didn’t even get a response”.
Andrea McLean’s husband Nick helped her through dark period
Despite the uncertainty, Andrea McLean opened up that the difficult time strengthened her marriage to husband Nick Feeney.
The duo tied the knot in 2017 and she has joked her current husband is the “longest serving Mr McLean” after two previous divorces.
“When my last two marriages ended, there was a lot of laying on the floor and crying,” she admitted, before stating that she’s now ended up with her ‘best friend’
Andrea explained that the couple found comfort in the simple things during the hardest times.
She said they’re still friends, “still love each other” and doesn’t know many couples who could “come through what we’ve been through”.
The TV star added: “I’ve had shame my whole life. I was told it would be career suicide to talk about menopause, I was shamed for marrying three times. And leaving Loose Women I fell from a great height. I was totally humiliated.”
Health scare almost led to losing her life
Andrea also revealed that after the business collapsed, she later became critically ill over Christmas and New Year in 2024.
She explained she collapsed at home before being rushed to hospital.
The former Loose Women host suffered with pneumonia, sepsis and kidney failure. Doctors told her that if she waited another day, she would have died.
Andrea said she and Nick felt like they had “hit rock bottom” during the ordeal.
The presenter has since written a new book called Shameless: Finding Freedom and Resilience Through Failure, where she opens up about the shame she experienced after losing everything.
Read more: Andrea McLean rushed to hospital with life-threatening illness after collapsing at home
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know your thoughts!