I've dated both men and women… I know which sex is easier, says Naked Attraction host Anna Richardson

The Sun

3 days ago

SHE'S best known for hosting Channel 4's controversial Naked Attraction, but Anna Richardson's own love life is almost as intriguing as the TV dating show.
Following the end of an eight-year relationship with comedian and presenter Sue Perkins, Anna is now loved up with charity boss Simon Marks.
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And she's clear that even though she puts no labels on her sexuality, she definitely finds being with a woman can be more emotionally complex.
'Dating a guy is, in some ways, less complicated,' Anna, 54, admits.
'Dating a woman means you understand each other implicitly because you're both female.
'Both parties understand that they're emotional creatures.
"This can be very challenging and intense, but also very exciting.
'It's wonderful, beautiful and very complex.
'I've loved being in relationships with women, but I find that men are less complicated, less emotional.
'It's a cliché, but as long as you feed them, let them watch footie and the rest, they're happy.
'Whereas it's a whole different ball game when you're with a girl.'
Anna was in a relationship with TV director Charles Martin for 18 years.
Naked Attraction's Anna Richardson reveals reality of friendship with ex Sue Perkins
But when that ended in 2012, she fell for telly fave Sue, 55, after — in her words — 'the planets aligned' one night.
But following an 'excruciatingly painful' break-up in 2020, the star then fell for current squeeze Simon, a 'lovely man' who she met through friends.
They have now been dating for three years and Anna — candid as ever when it comes to intimacy — says Simon, 57, has brought 'a huge injection of energy' to her love life.
'There's something wonderful about meeting somebody new that makes you realise, 'Oh, I'm not dead from the waist down.
"Actually, I can experience amazing sex like I had in my twenties',' said the Shropshire -born star.
'It is possible to recapture it, but it takes work.'
Ultimately, Anna insists it is not about whether her lover is male or female — it is about that all-important emotional connection.
'For me, it's about finding the person attractive rather than their sexuality,' she explains.
'Are they floating my boat? Am I into them?
'SEXUAL IDENTITY'
"It doesn't matter to me what gender they are.
'I've always been really clear about it, because people do like to stick a label on you — you're gay, you're straight, you're bisexual or whatever.
'But the only label I need is my name.'
Recent statistics suggest that more and more women are experimenting with their sexuality.
A study by the University of Notre Dame in the US found that women were three times more likely than men to identify as bisexual.
Although Anna has previously refused to label herself, insisting, 'I have never, ever called myself bisexual', she would always urge people to explore their sexual identity.
'There are far more people questioning their sexuality these days,' she says.
'It is more accepted, but people, going back millennia, have always been gender fluid. It's just the state of being human.
'But we're in the mid-2020s and, with the rise of social media and self-expression, it is more acceptable than ever before. I applaud that.
'At the end of the day, we all just want to be loved.'
After three years with Simon, Anna says she is now questioning the next step in their relationship.
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'We're both in our fifties and relationships are so different now to when you're in your twenties,' she says.
'We've both had broken relationships.
'I was with Sue for eight years and in a very long relationship before that.
'Simon's been through a divorce.
"So yeah, we're at that stage now where we're looking at the relationship and wondering what we'll do next.
'What does commitment look like?
"Neither of us is in any hurry to get married or anything, but do we move in together? I don't know.'
As much as she might be smitten with Simon, the relationship guru admits there are certain benefits to living apart.
'I like my own space. If I want to drop my clothes on the floor in the bedroom, then I will,' she says.
'Do I really want a fella around all the time? And does he want me around all the time? We'll see.'
As for her relationship with Sue, Anna says they have since patched up their differences and are good pals.
'I think we have brilliantly navigated coming through a painful break-up and we are now very firm friends,' she says.
'We see each other regularly. We'll be in each other's lives, I hope, for ever.
'We formed a really beautiful friendship. We've got each other's backs and that's what it's all about.'
The last series of Naked Attraction aired in March 2024 and, while there were reports that the raunchy show had been cancelled, Anna hopes there will be more.
'I've got everything crossed. People love it — viewers and participants,' she smiles.
In an era where surgery, tweakments and social media filters can give us a distorted view of what real bodies look like, Anna says Naked Attraction proves that people come in all shapes and sizes.
Hosting the show, she says, has even helped boost her own self-esteem.
'Actually, being part of Naked Attraction has made me realise there is no such thing as a perfect body — and that's made me more body confident,' she admits.
'It's made me more accepting of my body.
"Whatever you've been born with is perfectly OK, and I'm just very grateful that I've got a healthy body.'
For some viewers, Naked Attraction can be an awkward watch, so spare a thought for Anna, who reckons she has seen it all during filming.
'I must have seen well over a thousand naked penises,' she says.
'I think I've seen every bit and bob going.
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"I consider myself to be a kind of honorary gynaecologist, for both men and women.'
With so much naked flesh on display, Anna admits that the male contestants can sometimes get a little 'excited'.
She adds: 'There have been times when we've had to stop filming because some of the guys were getting a bit frisky.
'We've had to tell them to step outside the room for a few minutes, then rejoin the game when they've calmed down.
'Of course, we get peacocks — excuse the pun — on the show. You've got to be very body confident and I applaud that.
"Inevitably, you get fellas who are very pleased with themselves, twitching their pecs and constantly fiddling with their kn*bs.
"But that's fellas for you.'
She also let slip the reason why female hopefuls ask for the air conditioning to be cranked up, adding: 'When it's cold, their nipples are harder.'
'HOLIDAY FLING'
With Naked Attraction on a hiatus, Anna is currently busy with her advice podcast, It Can't Just Be Me, and a true crime podcast, The Mayor And The Mystic.
She has also teamed up with iD mobile, who are encouraging Brits to enjoy holiday romances by giving customers inclusive data roaming minutes when they travel abroad.
Having enjoyed an 'old-school holiday romance' herself when she was 17, Anna is all for the idea.
'I went camping in the south of France with my mates, met a local French lad called Julien and had a lovely holiday fling,' she recalls.
'We did write to each other for a bit, but sure enough, the letters fizzled out.
'Who knows what might have happened if we'd had mobiles and free data roaming back then?'