Jane had to make the ‘difficult’ decision

Jane McDonald has opened up on the heartbreaking reason she decided to sell her £1m home after having it for 20 years.

The 62 year old has opened up about making the “difficult” decision to sell her home, after she couldn’t face having it anymore due to family heartbreaks.

Jane – who appears on The Canary Islands With Jane McDonald today – has been publicly supported by fans quite a lot over the years. And so, she didn’t shy away from making the heartbreaking admission.

The star had a tragic reason for moving

Jane McDonald on selling her home

Jane owned a bungalow in Wakefield, worth £1m. But she has now revealed the real reason she sold the property. And it appears it came after two family tragedies.

Back in 2018, Jane lost her mum, Jean, just days before Christmas. Then a few years later, in 2021, her fiancé Eddie Rothe passed away after a battle with lung cancer.

The couple originally dated in the 1980s, before rekindling in 2008. In that same year, they got engaged. And the pair remained together until his heartbreaking death.

But it seems these deaths were what inspired Jane to make a move, and to find somewhere new to keep her roots.

Jane now has purchased a smaller house in the same area, as well as a bolt-hole by the sea, where she now spends a lot of her time.

She told The Daily Mail: “I found it too difficult. There was too much history there. We all need peace in our lives. And I have got that now.”

But despite the heartache, Jane doesn’t actually live alone. She shares her home with her close friend Sue Ravey. The pair met as singers in their twenties and have appeared on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox together. And after Jane lost Eddie, Sue moved in with her.

Speaking about the difficulty of getting rid of things during the moving process, Jane admitted: “You would be surprised at how much stuff you have. Seven skips later! I was ashamed of myself. You’ve got to let it all go.”

Jane opened up about her grief

Jane opens up on ‘grief’

The death of Jane’s mother is mentioned in her autobiography, Riding the Waves: My Story, and it’s quite emotional.

But after years of learning how to cope without her loved ones, Jane admits she has to look for things that bring her joy in life.

One of these things was spending Christmas with her friends, revealing that she is making “new traditions” because things “change” in life.

She explained: “Let’s be honest, grief hits everyone eventually. And if we could turn back the clocks to big family Christmas’, I’m sure we all would. But we can’t, so I am moving forward.

“There is a positive side to grief, which is freedom. I can now choose to do what I want, when I want. It was hard for me to adjust to that, but now I am embracing it.”