I have one golden rule for the bedroom and it’s kept me and my man’s spark going for 12 years, reveals Jenny Powell
SHE’S been with her fella for 12 years, but Jenny Powell says there is no sign of the couple losing their spark in the bedroom.
The TV presenter, 54, best known for her stint on game show Wheel Of Fortune, describes hunky sports therapist Martin Lowe, 48, as “chiselled from Mount Olympus”.
And the pair already have a sprig of mistletoe hanging up in their Cheshire home should they fancy a cheeky festive kiss.
Jenny says: “The intimate side of our relationship is still going strong. Martin loves my energy and he’s extremely patient and very understanding.
“I strongly believe that you have to keep making the effort with each other, or it’s a slippery slope.
“And my one golden rule for maintaining intimacy in a relationship is: don’t have a TV in your bedroom.”
READ MORE ON JENNY POWELL
Jenny, whose ex-boyfriends include Take That star Jason Orange and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Matt Goss from Bros, also echoes the views of fellow fiftysomething celebs Amanda Holden and Ulrika Johnson that reaching your half-century doesn’t mean you have to kiss goodbye to fun between the sheets.
She says: “Sex in your fifties gets better and better.
“Let’s face it, when you know someone so well and you’ve been through so many journeys, it’s just the best way to relax and enjoy each other.”
Martin popped the question in New York in 2014, four years after bumping into Jenny in the Pret A Manger store at London’s Euston station — and it’s easy to see how he maintains his physique.
Most read in Fabulous
Jenny explains: “He does strongman training and pulling and pushing tyres and all sorts of deadlifting, and he does cold water swimming even in February.
“Heaven forbid, if he stopped looking after himself and got a body like Boris Johnson. I’d have to kick him into shape!”
Jenny is hoping that ripped Martin makes the most of that mistletoe she has positioned tantalisingly over the kitchen door.
She says: “We haven’t had any for the past couple of years but this year we have.
“I’ve put a big branch over the kitchen door, and we’ll see what Santa brings me.”
And there’s only one rule for the yoga fanatic on Christmas day — no boozing before 11am.
YOUTHFUL GENES
Joining Jenny and Martin for the festive fun will be her daughters Connie, 21, and 14-year-old Pollyanna, both from her marriage to millionaire businessman ex Toby Baxendale.
Referring to her early start on the hard stuff, Jenny says: “That’s not too early, is it?
“Connie will make me a margarita, which I know isn’t that Christmassy but she’s an expert at mixing those.
“Then as the day goes on there’s always too much tequila.
“I drink Palinka, which I think is from Romania. I’ve always got a bottle on the go.
“We do shots on Christmas Day. I do shots all the way through Christmas. I’m hardcore, me.”
She adds: “Martin has got Scottish roots, so he’ll probably have his McLeod clan tartan kilt on complete with sporran, but no, he won’t be wearing it in the fully traditional fashion, as the girls will be around.”
Jenny, who hosts the popular Hot Mess Mums podcast and presents a weekend breakfast show on Greatest Hits Radio, is relaxed about their long engagement, insisting they won’t be rushing down the aisle any time soon.
She adds: “We’ve no plans to get married. We’re quite happy the way we are.
“We’re going to be one of those permanently engaged couples, but it works. It’s been 12 years, but we’ve got a Staffie and a hamster now so there’s no rush.”
‘GLAMOROUS SIDEKICK’
It seems Jenny, who regularly gets mistaken for Connie’s sister when they’re out, inherited her youthful genes from her 90-year-old mum Myra, who still looks like someone barely out of her sixties.
And Myra is certainly someone who Jenny aspires to be like.
She says: “I posted a picture of mum, me, Connie and Pollyanna on Instagram when Mum turned 90 recently and she looks amazing.
“She’s got so much poise, inside and out, and if I can grow old half as gracefully as her, I’ll be delighted.
“And she’s had no cosmetic help either,” says Jenny, who is adamant she’ll resist cosmetic surgery.
“I turn 55 next year so I’ll be closer to 60 than 50, but I’m not going to be that person who, all of a sudden, has loads of work done.
“I’m not knocking people who do, but it’s just not for me.”
Despite her enviable figure and toned curves, the part of Jenny’s body that receives the most unwelcome attention on social media is . . . her feet.
She reveals: “I do get some strange things in my DMs, and I don’t think it’s a secret, but there are definitely people out there who like feet.
“These people like pictures of people’s feet and I haven’t got the best feet.
“I’ve got gnarly feet from dancing for too long and they haven’t seen a pedicure in the last five years, and I wouldn’t wish my feet on anyone to be honest.
“So yeah, that’s a bit weird but I just side-step them.”
Jenny’s straight talking also applies to the way women are treated on TV and she is equally forthright.
“I look back to the days when I was on Wheel Of Fortune and I was always called, “the glamorous sidekick,” but no one would dare say that now,” she says.
“Now if somebody said to me, ‘Would you like to be a glamorous game show hostess?’ I’d be like, ‘I’m sorry, that’s not happening’.
“There were discussions on Wheel Of Fortune about how short the skirt I was wearing should be. I mean, how ridiculous.
“I didn’t say, ‘F**k that, I’ll wear what I want,’ but I would now.”
