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Fearne Cotton has spoken candidly about a period of “crippling anxiety” which left her unable to drive and struggling to take on television work.
The 44-year-old presenter was reflecting on a difficult chapter which included surgery to remove two benign tumours from her jaw and her separation from Jesse Wood. Fearne announced the end of their marriage the week after revealing she had undergone the operation in December 2024.
Speaking to The Sun, Fearne explained how seemingly small moments could spark an overwhelming response.
She said: “I built up a snowball of anxiety that could be triggered by just stumbling over a word in a conversation.”
Describing the severity of the experience, Fearne added: “It was just nuts, I was crippled with anxiety, I had panic attacks constantly.”
Fearne Cotton on how anxiety affected her work
The effects reached almost every part of Fearne’s daily life. She said she was living “like a hermit” and found that tasks she had previously managed were suddenly beyond her.
Fearne explained: “There were lots of things I couldn’t do – I couldn’t drive a car, couldn’t do a lot of TV work I’d been doing, I just felt debilitated.”
The presenter credited therapy with helping her recognise that she had also been struggling with anger. She now says she is “the happiest I’ve ever been” after working through that period.
Fearne has since returned to using Cotton professionally rather than her married surname, Wood. She and Jesse separated after 10 years of marriage and share two children.
Fearne’s anxiety was so bad, it almost stopped her from working (Credit: Splashnews.com)
A stranger’s gesture lifted Fearne’s spirits
In a June Instagram update, Fearne acknowledged that she was still navigating unspecified pressures. She said she was “dealing with certain stressful things” and trying to learn from them rather than feel overwhelmed. She did not explain what those circumstances were.
However, she also shared a touching encounter involving her daughter. While the pair were at a London coffee shop, an older man approached them, complimented her daughter’s red hair and wrote them a poem wishing them happiness.
Fearne recalled that he then asked: “Should we jump for joy?” The three of them jumped on the spot, leaving Fearne and her daughter laughing.
Reflecting on the encounter, she said it was a welcome reminder that “there are great people out there”.
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