Laura Whitmore says she is embracing being in her 30s
(Picture: Mandy Liddell)Laura Whitmore has said she feels “much more comfortable” to “call things out” in her 30s.
The Love Island host, 37, gets real about embracing her 30s as she admitted now she’s “probably a better person” and “better” at her job, compared to when she was in her 20s.
Speaking to the Standard, the Irish TV presenter said: “I feel much more comfortable in myself, much more sure in myself. I don’t think I put up with bulls*** the way I did when I was in my 20s, like I’m happy to call out things that I would have accepted in my 20s. I think that probably makes me a better person, a better friend, better at my job.”
Elaborating further, she explained: “Hindsight is a great thing. The first time I worked in television I was upskirted by a photographer and it was printed in a paper and I thought ‘oh, that’s the way it is’. I should have said something at the time. I think now as I grow older I’m more confident. Being able to say that’s not ok is important to me.”
Currently she fronts the eighth series of Love Island and it is a job she relishes.
She said: “I think Love Island is something that we need right now because the news isn’t great, is it. The world is crumbling around us so it’s quite nice to have a guilty pleasure and that bit of escapism for everyone.
“I love the unity it brings to outside. It’s water cooler chatter, like everyone in work is talking about it, I love how it brings families together. It’s very strange, on paper it’s directed to younger people, but it’s watched by grannies and honestly I’ve had so many people come up to me in their 90s, you know fathers, mothers, kids, and it brings people together.
“We all care about these relationships. I don’t think we have many TV shows that do that anymore.”
Fresh from the explosive Casa Amor drama, the TV host has her own predictions about the love stories in the villa.
Weighing in, she said: “Everyone I talk to has a different couple they want to ask me about. It’s funny how people cling to different relationships.
“We’re at the half-way point at the moment which I think is always really interesting because we still have a way to go.
“You know, at the moment [Andrew and Tasha] are in other couples after Casa Amor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they got back together - stranger things have happened on that show.
“But I can tell you there are real feelings there. You can tell Andrew and Tasha they both care for each other and four weeks might not seem like a long time, but I know in there it can feel like a lifetime.”
Away from Love Island, Whitmore is proud mum to one-year-old daughter Stevie and released her first book No One Can Change Your Life Except You earlier this year.
Recently, she also launched a true crime podcast Partners In Crime on Spotify with her husband Iain Stirling.
She said: “I love it! I don’t like the brutality of it, but I love the psychology of it, getting into people’s mindsets and the story. Iain’s the opposite, he feels ‘I need a backstory, I need a why’.”
Aside from Love Island, Whitmore has been working on a top secret new TV project.
She said: “It’s very very different, it’s a big thing that I’ve been working on for a while; it’s awesome.
“I think it’s really important to do lots of things. We love putting people into boxes, but you can be interested in true crime, you can be interested in politics and also watch Love Island. You can do all of these things and it’s ok.”
