
Loose Women star Andrea Mclean is 'leaving the UK for Spain' after a torrid few months during which she dissolved her business and had a terrifying brush with death
The former Loose Women star, 55, left the show in 2020 to pursue other endeavours, including starting her female empowerment brand, This Girl On Fire.
But earlier this year Andrea 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 her 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 if she was taken in for treatment any later she could have died.
Now, a source has told The Sun that McLean is moving 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 in April, 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.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Spanish royals gush about team's 'impressive generation of footballers' as they join Prince William and daughter Charlotte, 10, for highly-anticipated UEFA final in Switzerland
The Spanish royals came out to support their nation's football team - as they arrived for a very highly-anticipated UEFA final in Switzerland this evening. Princess Leonor, 19, and Sofia, 18 - daughters of the country's King Felipe and Queen Letizia - were proud as ever of their woman's football team as they made their way to St Jakob-Park in Basel, where their squad will be facing off the Lionesses tonight. The Prince of Wales - along with ten-year-old Princess Charlotte - too were present at the momentous occasion. Speaking to RTVE, the two sisters praised the players on the pitch and wished them luck. 'It's an impressive generation of footballers,' Infanta Sofia said, adding that she wanted to recreate the magic of Spain's victory against England at Stadium Australia in Sydney two years ago - a match she attended with her mother. Elsewhere, Leonor praised the team for being inspired with 'energy and confidence'. The eldest of Felipe's daughters was smart of the occasion in a sophisticated blue blazer, styling her blonde tresses in relaxed waves. Meanwhile her younger sister repped Spain's signature colour with a scarlet scarf won over an elegant beige trench. She styled her chestnut locks in a sleek, straightened look. In a social media post shared ahead of tonight's match, Prince William had said: 'Good luck to the Lionesses tomorrow. 'The nation is so proud you are through to the final, after some stunning comebacks! We are all cheering you on!' His daughter Charlotte was snapped this afternoon standing close to her father in a sweet blue polka dot dress. The Royal Family also kicked off well-wishes this morning with a post that read 'Let's go girls!!' as fans all over the nation decked out windows with England flags. William was joined by Leonor, and was pictured chatting to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin as the royals stood side by side. The prince and Mr Ceferin could be seen smiling together as they looked on into the distance ahead of the big match. It comes as the boyfriend of England star Ella Toone backed the Lionesses today ahead of their big game tonight where the squad will seek 'redemption' in the Women's Euro Final. Joe Bunney uploaded a post to social media today which he captioned 'Big day ahead. Redemption time. Come on girls' in reference to the team's nailbiting loss to Spain in the 2023 World Cup Final. England's women now have the opportunity to seek their revenge as they play the country tonight. Supporters watching the match in Basel, Switzerland were also pictured kitted out head-to-toe in red and white. In a post uploaded to X this morning the Royal Family shared a clip of guardsmen performing the iconic England anthem 'It's coming home' outside Buckingham Palace. The accompanying caption read: 'Let's go girls!! Wishing the very best of luck to the Lionesses in the Women's Euro Final this evening.' Downing Street also shared in the football fever as it decked outs its railing with bunting and displayed the flag of St George in its windows. Number 10 said: 'Good luck today, Lionesses. Let's bring it home.' Speaking to MailOnline at Wembley, where fans have gathered to show their support ahead of watching a livestream of the match, supporters told of their 'excitement' insisting 'we're going to win'. Sophie McCusker, who was joined by her three friends outside the stadium said: 'We've come from Liphook, which is a small village, and are huge football fans. This is the biggest game of the ear. We're so excited. In contrast, Katie Fuller and Charlotte Brown, both 25, said they hadn't any predictions for the score and 'don't want to put any energy into it' and they 'didn't want it to go wrong'. Charlotte said: 'We were just out in Switzerland to watch the Norway game - it was wild. There were loads of English fans there. Some men as well, so it is happening. Men are coming. The atmosphere is gonna be insane. 'The atmosphere is going to be electric in there, we've been to the games at Wembley before so this is definitely the place to be.' Father and daughter John, 60, and Emma, 25, were also out enjoying the pre-match buzz. Emma said: 'We're local so we come to BoxPark all the time, the atmosphere in there is electric.' Her father, John, added: 'It's very different from the men's, much more friendly. It's better, more enjoyable. No drinks being thrown about or drugs, people are just there for a good time. It should be taken more seriously, hopefully if we win tonight it will all change.' The pair said they predicted a 2-1 win to England hoping the team score early and 'Spain won't be hogging the ball like in the man's games'.


The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Letter: Lord Lipsey obituary
Among his multiple accomplishments and achievements, the commitment of David Lipsey to classical music education stood out. Unlike too many politicians, who merely talk the talk about the arts, David walked the walk. He was chair of governors at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, 2012-17, leading its transformation into Britain's first university level college of both music and dance, and establishing Trinity Laban as the inclusive and innovative creative institution it is today. He often spoke up for the arts, and for music education in particular, in the House of Lords, where he chaired the all-party classical music group. He also put his money where his mouth was, supporting young pianists and other artists with generous endowments.


The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
Dark side of 90s pop from crack addiction to boozy brawls and sex for money revealed
THE 90s may have been the decade that brought us Brit pop, but it was also the time when pop music had a huge resurgence. After the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-led assault on the charts in the mid to late 80s, pop music fell to the wayside somewhat in the early part of the next decade. 8 8 8 But soon, the likes of Take That, Spice Girls, Steps and S Club 7 brought the genre back to life. While young fans adored the upbeat, smiling and colourful pop stars - many complete with dance routines they could copy - behind the facade, it was often a much darker story. While a number of female pop stars from that time have spoken about their struggles with eating disorders and body image at the height of their fame, for their male counterparts, their demons often presented themselves in substance abuse. Indeed, for every Reach for the Stars or Bodyshakin' hit, there's a dark story to be told. Here are five male pop stars who have bravely spoken out over the years about the struggles they faced after finding fame. Jon Lee - S Club 7 8 S Club 7 burst onto the music scene in 1998 with their own TV series, Miami 7, followed by catchy debut single Bring It All Back. They went on to sell 10 million albums worldwide and win two Brit Awards. However, Jon, 43, recently revealed he was blowing £250 a week on crystal meth and then trashing his flat with a hammer while out of it. In fact, his habit was so bad it nearly killed him and even saw him sectioned back in 2019. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jon revealed that he got into crystal meth - a highly addictive 'party' drug that can cause psychosis, hallucination, paranoia and mania - when he was in his thirties - long after S Club had gone their separate ways. He revealed: "I didn't even recognise myself at that time. Sometimes, in the midst of one of the psychotic episodes where I'd be smashing my flat up with a hammer, I'd catch sight of myself in the mirror and say: 'What the f***?'. "I'd have a moment of lucidity, thinking: 'I was a successful young man, I had a brilliant career, incredible life. What am I doing?' "I'd be standing there, holes in the walls around me, cuts all over my knuckles, my eye swollen from where I'd been punching myself in the head. I'd shaved my hair too. I didn't look anything like Jon-from-S Club – or what people would expect Jon-from-S Club to look like." Kavana 8 Kavana - real name Anthony Kavanagh - became a teen heartthrob in the late 90s aged 16. The star had hits including I Can Make You Feel Good and Special Kind of Something, but his squeaky clean image was soon replaced by a drug and alcohol addiction that left him homeless. With an army of young, female fans, Anthony was forced to hide his sexuality and started to use alcohol "as a comfort". The singer has revealed all about his battles in a new memoir, Pop Scars, including how he ended up smoking crack in a skip in Hackney with a homeless woman he had just met. He also recounts a moment he woke up in another stranger's flat, having realised he had been paid for sex. He told The Guardian:"Alcohol was the start and the end. I would never have taken drugs without alcohol. But yeah, I was like a loose cannon for some of those times, got myself into some situations.' AJ McLean - Backstreet Boys 8 The Backstreet Boys became one of the biggest boybands worldwide in the 90s thanks to hit songs including I Want it That Way and Everybody (Backstreet's Back). The five piece - consisting of AJ, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough - have sold over 130 million records worldwide. But despite their huge success, AJ, 47, hid a dark secret from fans and his bandmates. AJ battled a drug and alcohol addiction for two decades, and revealed that when he was at rock bottom, he was "never sober, not for a second". But his bandmates staged an intervention and he went to rehab, but it wouldn't be the only time. Having previously described himself as a "chronic relapser", he told Fox News Digital. "I don't have another relapse in me. It will not end the lucky way it has ended in the past when I've dodged bullets and never went to jail, never got a DUI. "I'm pretty sure the last time I did drugs, there was fentanyl in there. I'm still here talking to you. I've dodged more bullets than I'd like to." Jimmy Constable - 911 8 Another UK boyband that was big in the 90s was the trio 911, consisting of Jimmy, Lee Brennan and Spike Dawbarn. During their five-year career, they had 10 Top 10 hits including Bodyshakin', Party People and Night to Remember. But last year - following the tragic death of One Direction star Liam Payne - Jimmy opened up about his addiction to pills and booze. He told The Sun: "The problem was, the best way to secure us was to lock us in our rooms, and what is in the room? A mini-bar. "So I had a party-for-one that seemed to carry on for years. It was wild but the only way you could get frustration out." Due to the constant pressures from their record company, Jimmy descended into alcoholism, infamously appearing drunk on SM:TV Live - the Saturday morning kids' show hosted by Ant and Dec and Cat Deeley. After the band split in 2000, Jimmy sought solace in drink, downing 10-12 bottles of wine every day with his then-girlfriend. "I felt it was easy just to drink all day, and then when the drink didn't numb it anymore, I turned to the drugs.' Thankfully, Jimmy has overcome his demons and is now a paramedic. Ritchie Neville - 5ive 8 Known as the bad boys of pop, 5ive were signed by Simon Cowell in 1997. They had a meteoric rise to face and topped the charts with hits including If Ya Gettin' Down, Keep on Movin' and Everybody Get Up. But as with other boybands, the pressure of their hectic schedule, being swarmed by fans and press and still being so young was a melting pot of disaster waiting to happen. In 2000, Ritchie, 45, and bandmate J Brown, 49, were arrested in Dublin after getting into a fight with a man who had said Irish boyband Westlife were better than 5ive. When the band imploded in the early Noughties, Ritchie spiralled. He told The Sun's TV Mag: "After the band, you know, I hit an epic low. "I just didn't know what I wanted to do. I was completely emotionally and spiritually lost.