Presenter Michaela Strachan, 60, speaks from the heart about her long fight with breast cancer and how it reshaped everything — from her body to her beliefs about love and marriage.
Presenter Michaela Strachan, 60, speaks from the heart about her long fight with breast cancer and how it reshaped everything — from her body to her beliefs about love and marriage.
Television favourite Michaela Strachan, 60, has opened up about how her battle with breast cancer completely changed the way she sees the world — and why, even after two decades with her partner, she still has no plans to walk down the aisle.
The Springwatch presenter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, and went through an intense journey that included a double mastectomy and later reconstructive surgery. Thankfully, she made a full recovery — but the experience reshaped her entire outlook on life.
“Since having cancer, I see every minute as a gift. I’m like, ‘Yay!’” Michaela told The Mirror with a smile.
She shared that her greatest blessings are her health, career, and family. Her son Ollie, now 19, is studying at Loughborough University, while she also has three stepchildren and two grandchildren.
Michaela has been with her long-term partner Nick Chevallier for 20 years — and believes that their time apart may be what keeps their relationship strong.
“Maybe the secret is that we’re apart a lot,” she explained. “We don’t get on each other’s nerves as much as we might if we were together all the time.”
Although the couple live together in Cape Town, Michaela frequently returns to the UK for work, often spending long stretches of time away. Still, marriage isn’t on the cards.
“We’re not married,” she said frankly. “I don’t really see the need — plus, it’s an awful lot of expense! I always miss my family when I’m away, but I’ve been doing this job for so long now.”
Earlier this year, the wildlife presenter spoke candidly about her double mastectomy, calling the procedure “extremely brutal” and emotionally exhausting.
Speaking on Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show, Michaela reflected:
“My boobs were never a big part of my personality, but when they said they were going to take them away, they suddenly became more important than I thought they were.
It’s hard. You think you’ll be fine, and it’s not until afterwards that you realise emotionally it’s a big thing. I really hope that in 50 years’ time we’ll look back on removing a woman’s breasts as an archaic treatment — there must be a better way.”
When Vanessa asked if the operation was too harsh, Michaela didn’t hesitate:
“It’s brutal! Of course, I’d rather not have boobs and be here than keep them and worry that cancer might come back — but still, it just seems extremely brutal.”
Michaela went on to share details of her long recovery, revealing that thousands of women in the UK face similar procedures each year.
“It’s a six-week recovery from the mastectomy, and another six weeks after the reconstruction,” she explained. “There’s lots of physio, but now — eleven years later — I actually forget that I ever had a mastectomy.”
She hopes that by speaking out, she can help other women going through the same thing.
“I really want to encourage people to talk about it,” she added. “At the time, it feels like the biggest thing in the world. I remember asking, ‘When will I stop thinking about it every day?’
Now, I forget I ever had breast cancer. I was really lucky.”
