The 47-year-old celebrity chef talks about fatherhood and the struggles that come it, moaning that children 'completely change' when they become teenagers.
- Aug 22, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jamie Oliver believes kids "completely change" when they turn teen. The 47-year-old chef - who has Poppy, 20, Daisy, 19, Petal, 13, Buddy, 11, and River, six, with his wife Jools - felt deserted when his children entered their teenage years.
"I haven't done teenage boys yet but I found teenage girls very hard. I tried to be an on-point dad, I'd give myself nine out of 10 for effort," he explained. "Then the minute they get to 13, you're dumped. You're outside looking in. All you want is a few hugs a day and to be appreciated but there's a lot of chemistry going on."
"You never get the kid back after 13, they completely change. Just when you start to get them back, they're off to university. So it's like a bereavement."
Jamie and Jools have been married for 22 years and the TV chef thinks they have overcome the odds throughout their romance. He told the Daily Mail newspaper's Weekend magazine, "We went to London with nothing but dreams and aspirations. Luckily, we were able to solidify our relationship before it all kicked off. Then we did it together. It was exciting."
"When I first started going out with Jools, she was like, 'I'll never be able to have kids'. She had polycystic ovaries. But here we are with five."
Despite this, Jamie previously confessed that married life can be "really hard." The loved-up couple have been together since they were 18 - but Jamie admits it hasn't always been easy.
He said, "Marriage is really hard. You're going to spend a portion of it not liking your other half and vice versa. So I think not holding grudges - being able to move on, is really important."
