I can't bear the thought of being a widow, confesses Mary Berry: Former Bake Off judge tells of her dread at losing her husband

  • The former Great British Bake Off judge married Paul Hunnings in 1966 
  • They have had three children and have recently bought a £2.6million house
  • Retired antique bookseller Mr Hunnings  has supported her late rise to stardom

By Alexander Holmes Showbusiness Reporter For The Daily Mail

Published: 21:00 EST, 6 December 2017 | Updated: 02:14 EST, 7 December 2017

Mary Berry and Paul Hunnings have been happily married for 51 years

Mary Berry and Paul Hunnings have been happily married for 51 years

For an 82-year-old, she is fiercely independent and has a busier diary than most people half her age.

Now Mary Berry has revealed that her greatest fear is being left by herself.

In particular, the TV chef, who has been married to Paul Hunnings for 51 years, said she ‘couldn’t bear the thought’ of being widowed.

She said: ‘I shouldn’t think about it, but I can’t bear the thought of being a widow.

‘Many of my friends are now widows and I’m so proud of them. It’s a scary thing.’

Miss Berry married her husband Paul, a retired antique bookseller, in 1966.

The couple, who recently bought a £2.6million four-bedroom property together, had three children together - tree surgeon Thomas, their only daughter and Miss Berry’s business partner Annabel and William who died in a car accident at the age of 19 in 1989 while studying business at Bristol Polytechnic.

Dame Judi's solo bliss 

Dame Judi Dench’s partner has said they are too old to move in together.

The Oscar-winning actress, 82, and conservationist David Mills, 74, are content with ‘making time to see one another’ and not co-habiting.

They have resolutely refused to get married, he said, adding: ‘We are very lucky at our stage to have found this path together. Why change it?’

Speaking to Radio Times about their seven-year relationship, Mr Mills said: ‘Having two houses allows us space. It works extremely well.’

Despite living four miles apart, they say they still enjoy doing ‘normal’ things, like watching TV, and entertaining friends.

Despite saying she is ‘very happily married’, Miss Berry revealed she did not feel appreciated by her husband, 85, who she said is ‘not in the slightest bit romantic.’

Asked what she’s learnt during her marriage, she told Good Housekeeping: ‘It is a long time! I’m so lucky. We are very happily married. I appreciate him enormously and tell him so – which is not reciprocated! But there we are.’

She added: ‘But I don’t mind at all, because he is very old-fashioned.

‘I think he is quite happy with his lot. Paul is not in the slightest romantic.’

The former Great British Bake Off host said her father Alleyne, a surveyor who served as Mayor of Bath, advised her husband never to go to bed on an argument, which she said was ‘very good advice’.

She said: ‘Some very good advice my father gave Paul is never to go to bed on an argument.

‘Otherwise one of us – and it will be me – will be awake all night. Paul will have gone to sleep! It is much better to discuss a whole situation and see how you feel. I think that is very good advice.’

Miss Berry revealed earlier this year that she turned down her husband the first time he asked her to marry him because he was drunk.

While looking back on photos of their wedding day in an episode of her BBC series Mary Berry Everyday, the couple recalled how how it had taken three attempts for her to agree to marry him.

Asked if she remembered when he first proposed, she responded: ‘I do remember the first proposal and I think you were drunk.’

The couple at Windsor Castle as she receives her CBE

The couple at Windsor Castle as she receives her CBE

‘I think you had too much and I can remember telling you you were drunk and thinking, “I’m not going to have anything to do with this man”.

‘But you did come back.’

On the second occasion, Mr Hunnings said she had responded in the same way.

He said: ‘Third time I think I said from memory, “I can’t go on like this, I’m getting on in age, so either it’s yes or no”.’

She agreed to take his hand, and they wed in 1966 at Charlcombe Church near her parents’ home in Bath.

Berry, who baked her wedding cake herself, said she had no regrets over her marriage.

She said: “’I’m very happy and it was for better for worse for richer for poorer and we’ve had some wonderful times.’

Miss Berry previously revealed how her husband helped out as she tried to juggle her career with being a mother.

Writing in her 2013 autobiography, Mary Berry: The Queen of British Baking, the chef, who took only five weeks off after each of her three babies before returning to work, said: ‘None of my friends had careers, but I loved my work and Paul was marvellous with things like the school run.

‘It wasn’t like today. There was no maternity leave and if you didn’t come back to your job soon, someone else would jump into your shoes. By then, I was cooking editor of a magazine and there was lots of competition.’ 

Comments 62

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.