'We’ve been married 60 years… We’ve never had a cross word." If anybody else was to say that about their spouse of six decades, one might struggle to believe them. But this is Dame Mary Berry we’re talking about.
The beloved baking icon appeared on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast where she opened up about her life, her regrets and her 60-year marriage to Paul Hunnings. And what a marriage it has been, weathering the tragic loss of their son, William, and Mary’s ascension into full national treasure status.
Through it all, Mary insists the pair have never had a cross word and neither one can 'bear shouting' and she credits it all to two very simple pieces of advice - work out if it’s worth saying something in the heat of the moment and learn to say sorry.
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Talking to Fearne, Mary gave married folks everywhere some reassurance that she does, in fact, get frustrated with her husband from time to time, but it’s how she chooses to respond that has kept them from ever having a cross word.
She shared, 'When you think, ‘I can’t believe that he’s done that’ or ‘How stupid!’ I will walk into the garden and walk around and think, ‘Now, am I going to say something? I think we’ll just let it pass.'
Mary has the benefit of having a stunning garden she can go and catch a breather in, previously sharing an inside look into her fabulous greenhouse that she designed to be a place of "peace and quiet".
But when the garden and the greenhouse don’t come through, Mary’s next bit of advice is so simple and so often overlooked - just say sorry. The former Bake Off star shared the valuable life lesson with a story.
Describing a close friend who has three sons, she told Fearne, "At each of the weddings of these sons, you know, the vicar talks to them. And to each of these boys, she said, remember to say sorry."
Mary adds that both parties can, of course, say sorry, but it’s something many fail to do 'because it's rather difficult, because you always think you're perfect.
'It does help to say sorry.'
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Having been married for 60 years, Mary has spoken about caring for Paul now the 93-year-old is 'frail', but this aligns with her support of traditional marriage values. In a previous interview with Radio Times, Mary shared, 'I look after him, and it’s a great pleasure. That’s what I promised to do. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. And we are very happy in our dotage.'
Despite a very long, very happy marriage, Mary was surprisingly modern in her thinking when it came to being popped the question. She has previously talked about turning down Paul's proposal twice before eventually saying yes.
'I was having such an interesting time, I wasn't sure I wanted to get married', she told Saga magazine. 'I did say yes eventually,' she added, with an amusing, 'And it seemed to work out.'
