Nigella Lawson has credited her daughter with finding happiness again after the demise of her ten-year marriage to Charles Saatchi.
The TV chef split from the advertising and art mogul in 2013, weeks after pictures emerged of Saatchi grabbing Lawson’s throat outside Scott’s restaurant in London.
After the incident, Nigella developed a fear of being seen in public – but says that she has overcome this thanks to her 25-year-old daughter Cosima, who she had with first husband, the late John Diamond.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, the 59-year-old said: ‘I have been forced to be guarded. I used to be more open and I’d like to think I will be again.
‘Cosima said to me, “Mum, would you rather be a real person like you or someone who has hair and make- up done to go to the supermarket? It is better to be a real person.” She’s right.’
Nigella was married to John from 1992 until his death aged 47 from throat cancer in 2011, and they had two children together, Cosima and Bruno.
The cook tied the knot with Charles Saatchi in 2003, but following their split in July 2013, Nigella alleged in court that she was subjected to ‘intimate terrorism’ by her husband and claimed his ‘controlling behaviour’ drove her to occasional drug use.
Saatchi was cautioned for assault following the pictures of him grabbing his wife’s throat, which he claimed was a ‘playful tiff’.
Despite having no formal training as a chef, the domestic goddess has become one of the most popular TV cooks in the UK with her shows Nigella Bites, Nigella Feasts and Simply Nigella, while she is currently a guest judge on MasterChef Australia.
And part of her appeal is her seductive manner of presenting and cooking, which has earned her the nickname ‘the queen of food porn’.
However, Nigella reckons she’s being ‘camp rather than being coquettish’, after using campness to battle her shyness.
She said: ‘It is not my business to worry about how I am perceived. When I meet readers that is now how they think of me.’
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