Anthea Turner says she’s been given a second chance at love and plans to wed next year
The presenter, 65, says her engagement to Mark Armstrong — whom she began dating in 2019 — has renewed her view of marriage as she reveals she has become a grandmother after her stepdaughter welcomed a baby
Anthea Turner says she’s been given a second chance at love with fiancé Mark Armstrong, with the couple engaged since 2019 and planning a wedding next year. The 65-year-old television presenter also revealed she has become a grandmother after her stepdaughter welcomed a baby.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Turner described her relationship as more than companionship, saying she remains hopeful about marriage. 'I'm a woman who got a second chance at love and family life and I'm loving it,' she said. When asked if a late-life relationship is more about companionship than fireworks, she dismissed the idea, adding, 'Oh God, no, that's not how it works for me.' She also noted that menopause can affect desire but that hormone replacement therapy helps, saying she's a fully paid-up member of the HRT club and that there’s nothing like a nice new relationship for igniting everything again.
Turner said she and Mark are planning to tie the knot next year; the couple became engaged after a romance that began a few months earlier. She recalled a romantic proposal during a trip to Italy, telling HELLO: 'I had a hunch. It was all very quick (we were engaged within just a few months of meeting). But when you are older it does tend to move a bit quicker because when you know, you know and there is no point in messing around is there?!' The couple’s plans come as Turner reflects on how her family life has evolved alongside her career and public life.
Her family ties extend to Grant Bovey, the businessman with whom she built a long relationship after leaving one marriage for him in the late 1990s. Turner remains close with Bovey’s children, and in a recent interview she described her feelings about her past, including a difficult chapter when she was branded a homewrecker after beginning that relationship. She told The Telegraph in October that she owned up to the situation because, she said, when couples split up there is often more going on than publicly acknowledged. 'I look back on it all now, it was a series of unfortunate events,' she said. The couple were married for 15 years, from 2000 to 2015, though they first split in 2012 and briefly reconciled before separating for good in 2013; they divorced in 2015 on the grounds of his adultery.
Turner has said she does not regret marrying Bovey, noting in 2023 that she remains a glass-half-full person who focuses on the positives that came from their marriage. She has spoken openly about how menopause and the changes it brings affected her, and how she sought to move forward with optimism while continuing to balance work and family life.
The relationship with Mark Armstrong has endured amid public attention around her past, with Turner emphasizing that her fiancé understands the realities of life after decades in the spotlight. She recalled that the proposal occurred during a romantic Italian trip and that their engagement happened quickly, describing it as a moment of immediate certainty.
As Turner looks ahead to a possible wedding next year, she also acknowledges the role her blended family plays in her happiness. Claudia Bovey, Grant Bovey’s daughter, recently welcomed her first child, prompting Turner to celebrate with a lighthearted sign of her new role as 'Granny Anth.' Turner has consistently expressed gratitude for the love and stability she’s found in her relationship with Armstrong, and the broader sense of renewal that comes with a second chance at love and family life.