Marie-France van Heel is set to become the next Prime Minister's spouse as Andy Burnham appears poised to take the Labour leadership unopposed. The couple, married for over 25 years, met at the University of Cambridge in 1989. Van Heel, known to friends as Frankie, is a Dutch-born marketing executive who has built a successful career while maintaining a low public profile.
Who Is Marie-France van Heel?
Marie-France van Heel has been married to Andy Burnham for more than 25 years. They met at the University of Cambridge in 1989, where Burnham was in his second year and van Heel joined him at Fitzwilliam College to study English. She is a marketing executive who has worked at Sky and the BBC in their marketing departments, and later became chief strategy officer for the campaign designer Heavenly. According to her LinkedIn profile, she currently serves as a board member for Plan International, the humanitarian organisation, where she has worked with charities such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, Marie Curie, and The Alzheimer's Society.
Van Heel has largely stayed out of the spotlight since her husband became an MP in 2001, just one year after their marriage. She has been credited with designing some of Burnham's campaign logos, including an iconic cartoon illustration of the former Manchester mayor. However, her marketing expertise has also raised questions about a possible conflict of interest when she served as chief marketing officer of Iduna, which owns large parts of Manchester's electric vehicle charging network. Burnham stepped away from decisions about Iduna and confirmed he had declared his wife's job.
How Did Andy Burnham Meet His Wife?
Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel met at the University of Cambridge in 1989. They became an item around 1982, but their romance was put on pause when van Heel decided to enter the hit TV dating show Blind Date. Though Burnham was reported to have given his permission, The Times reported that he admitted to watching the show from behind a sofa. She was matched with another contestant, Will Harris, who ended up becoming the marketing director of the Conservative Party. Fortunately for Burnham, van Heel's romance with Harris was short-lived, and she rekindled her romance with the soon-to-be Prime Minister not long after.
Does Andy Burnham Have Children?
Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel have three children: two daughters, Rosie and Anne-Marie, and a son, Jimmy. Not much is known about the Burnham children as they, like their mother, have kept out of the limelight and away from Burnham's political career. Burnham said in 2007 that it was the birth of their son Jimmy in 2000 that prompted the couple to get married. He told the Daily Telegraph, "When my wife got pregnant for the first time it was a complete shock. My first thought was, 'Oh my God, we'll have to get married'." The family also have a bichon frise named Axel. Van Heel used to share photos of the pooch on her social media but has since deleted all her accounts.
What Are Marie-France van Heel's Hobbies?
Van Heel has been an active donor to Cancer Research UK, often participating in the charity's Race for Life. She underwent a double mastectomy in 2010 after discovering she carried the gene for breast cancer. Her sister Claire had sadly died from the disease at the age of 39. At the time, Burnham told the Daily Mirror: "The decision was liberating rather than depressing because it's lifted the cloud of fear. She did what she did because she'd seen the devastation breast cancer had caused to her sisters and mother. We more than most know what could have happened and we had to find a way to get beyond it."
