2019-05-01+The+Australian+Womens+Weekly

20 The Australian Women’s Weekly|MAY 2019

NIGELLA

WEATS

LMND

SHIRT,

MAX

MARA

PANTS

AND

BARBARA

BUI

HEELS

AT MYER. SHOT ON LOCATION AT PICCOLINA GELATERIA, COLLINGWOOD.

Exclusive interview

lifeis veryopenandI don’twant
toeverfeellikeI havetobeguarded,
butI’mnotenormouslycomfortable
feelinglikeI’mbeingscrutinisedor
lookedat.I don’thavea lifethatis
madeupofgoingtopremieresorred
carpetthings,that’snotmycupoftea,
soI don’tfeellikeI amin thepublic
eye,butit’sdifficulttodisentangle
whatI do.
“Idoliketheideaofgoingaround
toa friend’shouseandknowingthem
sowellyoudon’twear make-up and
there’snopolished
on-cameralook,
andmyclothesare
sobaggyI mayas
wellbein myPJs!
If I cangetaway
withwearing
schlumpythings
andnomake-up
I will.”
Nigellaalso
doesherbestto
ensurethelivesof
hertwochildren,
Cosimaand
Bruno,nowin their20s,arekept
similarlylow-key.
“I’mveryprotectiveofmychildren
becausetheydon’twantattention,
it’snottheirthingandtheydidn’t
choosethislife,”sheexplains.“In
manywaysI don’tfeellikeI chose
it either,butI guessthat’swhat
happensif yougoonTV.”
Nigellaturned 59 thedayafter
shearrivedin AustraliaandI ask
outofcuriositywhatthefutureholds.
Therearemorecookbooksandmore
TVshowsofcourse,butI sense
there’sanotherchapterstillwaiting
tobewrittenandheransweris as
reflectiveasit is surprising.
“Therewasa timewhenI thought
I’dbecomea deathdoula,andit still
reallyinterestsme,thatsortofwork,
nurturingpeopleat theirmost
vulnerable.I don’tknowwhether
I’dbegoodat it.Maybeit comes
fromnurturingmymotherandsister
andhusbandthroughtheirdeaths,
butit’sa veryprofoundandmoving
thingtobeinvolvedwithandI’mnot
embarrassedorfrightenedaround
death. I do feel like I’d like to do

somethingusefulwithmylife.

I’mdeeplyinterestedin people

andtheircomplexities.”

Inthebackground,herpublicist

politelytapshiswatch,indicating

ourtimeis almostup,orperhaps

ourconversationis strayinginto

unknownterritory.

She’llbebacktoAustraliasoon,

shesays,rattlingoffa wish-listof

placesandadventuresshehopesto

tickoffonhernextvisit.

“IverymuchwanttogotoLord

HoweIslandandI’veneverbeen

toDarwinbutit reallyinterestsme,

althoughsomeonetoldmeI’dbe

friedtoa frazzleif I wentthere.

Noosasoundswonderful,andI

visited TasmanialasttimeI was

hereandit wasfabulous.

“Honestly, therearesomanyplaces

that are beautiful and intriguing, my

listgrowseverytimeI visitandI

alwaysadda littlemoretimethan

firstscheduledsoI canjustmooch

aroundasI wish.

“IfeelsoinspiredwhenI’mhere.

Thefood,thewineandthepeople–

everything’sgoodin Australia–

andthere’sa qualityoflighthere

thatI findincrediblyuplifting.It’s

astonishingformetohavea summer

birthday,I’vehada winterbirthday

allofmylifeandI dolovehavinga

summerbirthday.I’mverypassionate

aboutAustralia.Youknow,I’m

consideredsomethingofa traitorin

BritainbecauseI likeVegemitemore

thanMarmitenow!”shesays,flashing

thatdazzlingsmileonelasttime.

Effortlesscharm.AWW

MasterChefAustraliascreens on

Network Ten in May.

“I’m deeply

interested

in people

and their

complexities.”