Linda Robson, the popular Loose Women host, ended her marriage of three decades last year and has been candid about the intimate reasons behind the split. The 65-year-old TV personality opened up about her disappointing marital life with Mark Dunford, particularly their lack of bedroom activities.
Linda, who rose to fame on Birds Of A Feather, is now house hunting in Islington for a place just for her and her dog, having put the family home up for sale. She previously disclosed she and Mark, who is the father to her two children Louis, 32, and Bobbie, 28, “simply grew apart” and they never had sex, even going as far as labelling herself ‘celibate’.
Earlier this year, she admitted after losing her spark with Mark, she couldn’t muster the energy to find love again and isn’t interested in all that ‘jiggy jiggy’. As she makes her return to our screens on James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen, The Mirror has taken a look at her past marriage and Linda’s first love.
Linda and Mark knew each other from their teenage years but didn’t start dating until much later. In 2017, she explained: “I used to babysit for Mark he was a couple of years younger than me… I was 16 and he was 13 and a half, and he was a bit of a pain, to be honest. And we lived in the street next to each other.”
It was during a chance encounter in the park, with Linda accompanied by her eldest daughter Lauren, now 40, that she reconnected with her future husband. The couple went on to date and eventually married in 1990.
But in more recent times, Linda has been candid about the reality of their relationship after over thirty years together. During an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women, she opened up about the marital struggles they faced, confessing their journey together wasn’t always smooth sailing and even revealing her own state of celibacy.
Linda divulged despite previously referring to Mark as her ‘rock’, the couple had not been intimate for two years, a situation she seemed at peace with. “Can I just say I’ve been celibate for two years? ” she declared, “I can’t be a**** with all that [romance stuff]. I’m just happy going out with my mates and my children and my grandchildren.”
Prior to their split last year, she maintained: “We’re still living together. We both love our kids more than anything else in the world, obviously, you have a few hiccups in every marriage. We’ve been married 33 years so it’s not going to be all plain sailing, but we’re still together at the moment.”
However, she later announced their separation in an exclusive interview with Woman magazine, confirming her single status and reflecting on their time together. She remarked about her former partner: “He’s a really good dad and we had some good years, but enough is enough. I’ve got my family and my kids around me. And I’m going on a cruise with Lesley Joseph in November. I’m keeping busy.”
And in an interview with OK!, she admitted they grew apart, explaining: “People do, sometimes, don’t they? We never had that much in common. I’m very sociable. Mark never enjoyed that side of thing.”
The mum believes they stayed together for more than 30 years for the sake of their children, who are now ‘grown up’ with their own lives. But while she’s officially single again, Linda is not looking for another relationship.
Speaking with OK! she stressed: “I don’t need a man. I’ve got my friends and my family. I’m not interested in dating, I’m too old now. I can’t be bothered with all that ‘jiggy jiggy’.”
Linda had eldest Lauren with her ex, Tony Tyler, whom she describes as her ‘first love’. Not much is known about him but the pair were together for 11 years and welcomed their daughter before splitting.
In 2016, Linda opened up about her heartbreak following her first love cheating on her. Speaking of her regret at how long she let her “serial cheat” ex be unfaithful, she said: “I caught him lots and lots of times, probably my biggest regret is that I didn’t finish it earlier. The strange thing was there was a family do not too long ago, and he actually blamed me for the break-up.”
On another episode of Loose Women, during a conversation about how swiftly they’d consider remarrying after ending a long-term relationship, Linda was probed about her stance in the wake of her separation from her eldest child’s father.
“It took me a long time to get over that because that was my first love,” Linda confessed. “But I feel like I don’t really need a partner to love because I’ve got my children, my grandchildren, my sisters and my friends.”
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