25
July 2020 | REDONLINE.CO.UKred woman
LET GO OF THE
GUILT. OWN YOUR
MISTAKES. AND
DITCH THE FAKE
EYELASHES.
HOLLY WILLOUGHBY
SHARES THE
PHILOSOPHIES THAT
HAVE HELPED
HER ACHIEVE
‘REAL’ SUCCESS
to Holly
I
t’s the morning of my Zoom call with Holly Willoughby and, full
disclosure, I’m pondering over what to wear. In fact, I’ve been doing
so for the past 20 minutes. As well as being anchor of This Morning,
whose pizzazz as a presenter has recently seen the ratings more
than double daily, Willoughby is, after all, a fashion icon, with more
than 6m people following her on Instagram for style inspiration and
a coveted M&S edit that sells out within seconds of landing.
I opt for a slogan jumper and leggings (she won’t be seeing my
lower half, right?), and when Willoughby shows up in a dusty-blue
T-shirt with her name embroidered across it (a friend found it in a
secondhand shop) and puts a leg in the air to display a pair of black mesh
panel leggings, I feel, well, slightly relieved, and yes, I like her just a little
bit more. You see, it’s that realness that is every part of Willoughby’s appeal.
The truth is that neither of us expected to find ourselves here;
communicating between her immaculate-looking, monochrome office
and my slightly less immaculate-looking one via video call. We had
visions of a glossy poolside photo shoot, more Hollywood glam than luxe
loungewear. But that was before Covid-19 sent the country into lockdown.
And yet now, Willoughby says, seems a good time to pause and reflect. ‘Off
the back of all this, I’ve learned a lot of things and one of them is the benefit
of having even more time here at home, how much better it is for me,
for the kids and for Dan,’ she says.
During our chat, I see the full effect of this. First, I meet husband Dan,
who comes bearing lunch: a home-made steak salad and a curious-looking
drink to wash it down with. ‘One gin and tonic, darling!’ he teases playfully.
Willoughby immediately starts giggling, before assuring me, ‘That is
honestly just water with lemon in it!’ Is this the usual order of the day in
their household, I wonder? ‘This is actually a first. I think he’s showing off
because he knows you’re here,’ she says. Dan has now left the room, but
his voice bellows from afar: ‘Make sure you write about this part!’ If their
banter is anything to go by, one can assume they’re not experiencing any
kind of lockdown relationship fatigue.
It’s later in our conversation that I see the full effect of Willoughby’s
change of pace. ‘This is Chester,’ she says, gleaming with pride as she
introduces me to her youngest son (he’s five) who has inadvertently entered
the room. He’s sandy-haired and as gorgeous as you might imagine one of
her brood, which also includes Harry, 11, and Belle, eight, to be. In the blink
of an eye, he runs straight into his mum’s arms, the most charming look of
glee on his face, before Dan is quickly back on the scene to usher him out.
It’s clear that, right now, this family is relishing having Mum all to
themselves. And who can blame them?
As a nation, we’re entranced by Willoughby – her career choices, her
wardrobe picks, her young family, her old friendships – so I wonder about
the philosophies behind the way she lives. What has she learned that
shapes the decisions she makes now or helps her to feel balanced?
And these, she tells me, are the unofficial rules she lives by...by
nathalie whittle