Loose Women star Andrea McLean breaks down in tears as she addresses her decision to leave the UK for Spain after near-death health scare and failed business
This former Loose Women anchor, 55, looked visibly upset as she revealed she didn't think the shock announcement was something she would be making.
Since stepping down from Loose Women in 2019, the mum-of-two has faced several financial and health woes.
Taking to social media she said, 'You may have seen or heard in the papers that we are moving. And yes, we are,' before she points her camera to a room filled with boxes.
'I wasn't going to say anything just yet, but in a nutshell a conversation I had with someone ended up in the papers, so here we are.'
Explaining her decision to leave the UK, Andrea admitted, 'Lots of reasons for this. It's been really well documented that obviously, I've had a bit of a shocker over the last few years.
'Not only health wise, but obviously my business failing and then it culminated at the start of the year with, I had been very unwell. And what it made me realise is oh gosh, you only get one shot, and you have to seize the day.'
Her husband, Nick Feeney, leaned in to embrace her as she added, 'I don't know why I'm crying. Oh so silly, I didn't mean to do this.
'Those of you who know me, know I have always wanted to live by the sea and in the sun, and so that's what we're doing. The timing of course is not perfect - timing isn't always perfect.
'There is never a perfect moment, but what I realised at the start of this year is you don't know how many moments you might have left. You have to seize them.'
'It's a good thing, it's scary. I have no idea how things are going to pan out,' she confessed.
Fans and friends were quick to send their well wishes, with one saying, 'You're right, new adventures, sending love.'
Andrea left Loose Women in 2020 to pursue other endeavours, including starting her female empowerment brand, This Girl On Fire.
But earlier this year she made the difficult decision to dissolve the business, which had struggled to bring in money despite being boosted by funding from the sale of Andrea's £1million Surrey home.
It came just months after the mother-of-two had a terrifying run-in with death after being found collapsed at the family home by her husband Nick Feeney late last year.
Andrea was rushed to hospital with severe sepsis and pneumonia, and was told by doctors that if she was taken in for treatment any later she could have died.
A source told The Sun of Andrea's plans to move abroad with Nick after a 'tough couple of years' as she looks to focus on her writing career.
She has already published three bestselling books, This Girl Is On Fire, Confessions of a Good Girl and Confessions of a Menopausal Woman.
A source told the publication: 'It's been a tough couple of years and the business never financially recovered. Andrea made the decision to dissolve the business officially earlier this year.
'Now she's planning a new life in Spain with husband Nick. After she nearly died, Andrea's focused on what really matters - family and friends.
'She's in a really good place, positive, loved up with Nick still, her kids are all grown up so she's happy and making life work for her.'
Andrea has two children, Finlay and Amy, with previous partners.
She admitted earlier this year that her health scare 'changed her life forever'.
Andrea told The Mirror: 'I didn't realise how severe my illness was at the time. But the doctors had told my husband Nick that had I not got to hospital when I did, had we waited another 24 hours to call for help, I may not be here now.'
She added: 'What happened over the next few weeks changed my life for ever.'
The 55-year-old had been lying on the floor for more than an hour before she was discovered by her husband in December.
She was then blue lighted to hospital where after a series of X-ray and CT scans they discovered she had severe pneumonia, an acute kidney injury and sepsis.
Reflecting on the frightening ordeal, she added: 'It was only a few weeks after I got home that I realised the magnitude of what had happened – that if I hadn't gone into hospital that day, I may not be here now.'
Andrea revealed that the scare made her want to seize the day, but admitted in February that she still wasn't back to full health.
She also thanked her husband Nick who she said's 'life stopped' during that time too as he drove her to the hospital everyday, waited for her at clinics for hours at a time and cooked everyone dinner before putting her to bed.
The presenter made her return to television just a couple of weeks ago, telling her Instagram followers she was heading back to the studio for the first time in a while, but had suffered 'quite a lot of hair loss'.
Andrea explained: 'On my way to do my first live television for a long time. I won't lie, I'm nervous. I'm looking forward to it, because I love doing telly stuff, but because it's been a while I'm a bit scared.
'I know it's because I care and I want to do a good job and not look stupid, which is absolutely normal. I'm nervouscited.'
She continued: 'We all feel like this. It'll be fine once I'm doing it. Deep down I know it will. I also seem to look permanently dishevelled!
'I have lost quite a lot of hair with Covid and the strong medication after pneumonia and it doesn't seem to behave like it used to.
'I'm embracing it as there's not much else I can do. There's a kind of freedom to that too. I'm liking the rebellion of it.'
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She had to step up and I think she has been amazing. It's a little bit like a fairytale to stop those two penalties in the final.' She's right as regards individual stories, though. Lucy Bronze had her energy, and that willingness to play through pain. Jess Carter had far more serious issues, and saved her best display for the final and the toughest challenge. Michelle Agyemang had her impact, and now her award for young player of the tournament. Kelly, then, evidently had points to prove. Her year had started with a struggle for minutes at Manchester City, and so much doubt. It culminates with… well, she can describe it herself. 'There were a lot of tears at full-time, especially when I saw my family, because those are the people that got me through those dark moments. I'm so grateful to be out the back end but if that's the story to tell someone experiencing something the same, that sometimes it doesn't last and just around the corner was a Champions League final - won that - and now a Euros final - won that. 'So, thank you, everyone who wrote me off.' That could be said of England as a whole, given how this tournament went, but they ended it still as European champions. Kelly ultimately puts that down to one person. 'What she's done for me individually, she gave me hope when I probably didn't have any. She gave me an opportunity to represent my country again. I knew that I had to get game time and representing England is never a given.' Neither is tournament victory. Wiegman has made it as close to a guarantee as you can get. So, how will she actually enjoy herself? She's already put two stars on their shirts.
