Singer and TV personality Jane McDonald has revealed that she was never in love with her ex-husband Henrik Brixen, describing the end of their five-year marriage as "the best thing he ever did." The 62-year-old, who has scored four UK top 10 albums, made the confession on the podcast Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware.
McDonald and Brixen, a Dutch ship plumbing engineer who later became her manager, divorced in 2003. Reflecting on the relationship, she said: "It's really strange this, because I should have had the best time of my life. I just got to Vegas, but I knew my marriage was on the brink. Everybody could see it and was going, 'that's not gonna last'. I was the only one who didn't see it."
The former Loose Women panellist explained that the split was amicable, but Brixen struggled to adapt to the music industry's demands. "He didn't understand that it's all a game, our business, and you have to play it," she said. McDonald, who started as a club and cruise ship singer from Wakefield, noted that her sudden success with her debut album was a shock to everyone, including her record label.
McDonald later reunited with The Searchers drummer Eddie Rothe, becoming engaged before his death from lung cancer in March 2021 at age 67. She told the podcast she still thinks of him every day. In her 2019 autobiography, she had previously shared that she felt "lonely" in her marriage to Brixen after he ruled out having children.
