Joanna Page has said married life can be "difficult" and that she and her husband James Thornton are often like "ships that pass in the night" while raising their four children. The 49-year-old Welsh actress, who played the title character in the BAFTA-winning sitcom Gavin and Stacey, made the comments after a heated exchange with James, 50, during a recent recording of their podcast Lush.
Row over childcare on holiday
During the podcast, Joanna asked James: "Do you want to talk about the argument that we had on holiday?" She complained about the "lack of help" she received while packing for their children ahead of a day by the pool. She described getting the kids' bags ready for swimming while James was meant to be brushing their teeth.
Recalling the moment, she said: "After doing that (packing the bags), saying to you, 'Can you just go and get her teeth cleaned?' She starts crying. I'm like, 'For goodness sake, have I got to do everything? Have I got to take over doing this now?'" She added that James was "waiting as well, like a fifth child waiting for me to finish packing three bags before we can all go downstairs!"
Marriage and romance
Speaking to the Mail, Joanna said: "I think (the secret to marriage) is realising that married life and living with somebody else is difficult. You go through hard times, you don't always get on with each other, you do end up annoying each other." The Love Actually star admitted they do not go on dates because they lack time or are too tired, but said they still find time to talk on their podcast.
"When we get into the studio and we'll sit down and we'll just talk and talk and talk and it would be like when we went out on our first date," she explained. "My husband is fantastic and he runs a tight ship, a perfect routine."
Move to Spain considered
The comments came a week after the couple disagreed over whether to move abroad with their children. Joanna said: "I now want to move to Spain. I say it every year," to which James replied: "Yes every time we go away."
The mother of four continued: "Why can't we just go 'come on, let's up sticks'. What's holding you back? We're all going to die one day. Let's just all move to Mallorca. Don't interrupt me, I know you're about to interrupt me… let me finish my sentence!" James responded: "I think you like the idea of it all… I'd love to do it when we retire, we could do something like that."
