When beloved singer and TV presenter Jane McDonald lost both her mother and her fiancé within just three years, she tried to carry on living in the Wakefield bungalow that had been her sanctuary for two decades.

Jane McDonald’s fiancé Eddie Rothe tragically died aged 67 after a battle with lung cancer in March 2021

But last year, the 62-year-old made the heartbreaking decision to sell the £1million five-bedroom detached home, Cleevethorpe House — the property she had poured her heart into renovating and once believed she would live in forever.

Jane’s mother, Jean, died just days before Christmas in 2018, a loss the star described as feeling like “the light in her heart going out.” Then in March 2021, tragedy struck again when her fiancé Eddie Rothe died aged 67 after a battle with lung cancer. The couple had first dated in the 1980s when Jane was only 17, before reconnecting in 2008 and becoming engaged later that year.

Now, in a rare and emotional interview, Jane admits the home she once adored had become unbearable.

“I found it difficult,” she says. “There was just too much history there.”

The Yorkshire-born Loose Women panellist has since downsized to a smaller house in the same area, as well as buying a bolt-hole by the sea where she now spends much of her time. “We all need peace in our lives — and I’ve got that now,” she adds.

Jane also shares her home with lifelong friend Sue Ravey. The pair met as singers in their twenties and later appeared together on Celebrity Gogglebox. After Eddie’s death, Sue moved in with Jane and they have remained inseparable ever since.

“She’s still my bezzie mate — we’re off to the coast together in January,” Jane says. “We still do everything together. It just works.”

Letting go of the family home, however, was far from easy.
“You’d be surprised how much stuff you collect — seven skips later!” she laughs. “I was ashamed of myself. But Sue is brilliant. She’ll say, ‘Why are you holding onto that?’ Take a picture of it and bin it.”

Jane used to host huge Christmas gatherings at the house, but this year she spent the day with friends instead.

“No cooking for any of us,” she says. “Everyone always came to us because we had the biggest table. Times change and you have to change with them — I’m making new traditions now.

“Grief hits everyone eventually. If we could all go back to big family Christmases, we would. But we can’t, so I’m moving forward.”

She adds that grief has given her an unexpected gift — freedom.
“There’s a positive side to it. I can choose to do what I want, when I want. It took time to adjust, but now I’m embracing it.”

Jane is now channeling that new outlook into her latest TV adventure, Pole to Pole, which begins tonight on Channel 5. The six-part series sees her travelling from Antarctica to the Arctic with Scenic Cruises.

“It was freezing,” she recalls. “I usually hate the cold, but I got myself together and it was unbelievable — I felt like a real explorer.”

During one dramatic kayak trip, she and her guide were forced to be rescued by their ship when the weather turned suddenly.
“It went from blue skies to sleet and high winds — it was terrifying. I thought, have I walked into a James Bond film?”

The losses she has endured have also reshaped how she sees life.
“Life is short. It’s not a dress rehearsal — you have to enjoy it,” she says. “I’m blessed with the best job in the world and I’m grateful every single day.”

And she no longer worries about what others think.
“The beauty of getting older is you care less. I’ve got love handles, a tummy and saggy bits — and I don’t care. I’ve never had cosmetic work, just good make-up! I hate the gym, so I walk in the fresh air — it’s good for your head as well as your body.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Jane will tour with her new show Living the Dream and perform at London’s Mighty Hoopla festival in the coveted ‘Gay Icon’ slot.

“I’m deeply humbled,” she says. “Age is only a number — as long as you’re fit and well, you’ve got to go for it.”