Sarah Beeny has opened up about how she overcame ‘obstacles’ in her 22-year marriage to husband Graham Swift during her devastating battle with cancer.
The TV star, 52, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2022 and underwent grueling chemotherapy as well as a double mastectomy.
Throughout the process, Sarah had the support of her artist husband Graham, 51, and their four children, but in a new interview she admitted that it wasn’t all “smooth.”
The Property Ladder presenter told how Graham had been her rock during her ill health and “stepped up” when necessary, but without going too far with his help.
she said OK! magazine: ‘There are obstacles on the path of life and marriage; Not everything is a bed of roses. But during my cancer treatment, Graham was exactly what I expected him to be: great, because he’s a good man.
‘I don’t have a husband who comes with tea trays, I don’t have a butler! But I don’t want one, that would be annoying. Whenever it was necessary to step forward, he did it, and that was one of those times.”
Sarah Beeny has spoken openly about how she overcame the ‘bumps’ in her 22-year marriage to husband Graham Swift (pictured together) during her devastating battle with cancer.
The TV star, 52, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2022 and underwent grueling chemotherapy as well as a double mastectomy (pictured in July).
The star went on to say that she encouraged her partner to open up to others if he himself was struggling with everything that happened and confessed that she had “no room” for her husband to not be strong.
She shared: ‘We had a conversation once. I said, “I know you may not be well all the time, but please don’t talk to me about it. Can you talk to my brother or someone else?” And he said, “Yes, I know.” I think he talked to my brother and some friends. “I knew I didn’t have room for him to not be okay.”
In the middle of the talk, Sarah reflected on the last five years, in which she and her family moved from East Yorkshire to a sprawling estate in Somerset where they built and renovated their country mansion.
In the midst of construction, Sarah received her cancer diagnosis, and in recent years the broadcaster also continued her television work and also embarked on a four-month tour with her musical children’s group, The Entitled Sons.
Sarah and Graham share children: Billy, 20, Charlie, 18, Laurie, 16, and Rafferty, 15.
Last year, Sarah documented her health battle in her documentary Sarah Beeny vs Cancer.
And speaking candidly about her decision to share her journey publicly, Sarah said she had no regrets because she felt being so open made her loved ones feel less “scared” if they were “up to date” with what she was going through.
She added that although she felt “scared” at the time, she now considers her journey “a lifetime ago,” and said she felt “lucky” to be a “moving person.”
During the process, Sarah had the support of her husband, artist Graham, 51, and their four children, but in a new interview she admitted that it wasn’t all “a bed of roses.”
The Property Ladder presenter told how Graham had been her rock during her ill health and ‘stepped up’ when necessary, but without going too far with his help.
The star went on to say that she encouraged her partner to open up to others if he himself was struggling with everything that happened and confessed that she had ‘no room’ for her husband not to be strong.
Sarah and Graham share children: Billy, 20, Charlie, 18, Laurie, 16, and Rafferty, 15.
It comes after Sarah previously revealed why she and husband Graham have yet to officially say ‘I love you’ to each other.
The broadcaster was lucky enough to find the pea in her pod when she was very young and began dating artist Graham when they were just teenagers.
Sarah first revealed that she and Graham had never said the three words in October last year, but gave an insight into why they haven’t changed their ways.
She admitted that saying “I love you” became something of an “inside joke” for the high school lovebirds, who often ridiculed friends who said that and broke up soon after.
In an interview with Prima magazine in March, she said: ‘I’m married to my best friend. I don’t know what our secret is, but I think having a childish spark in you helps.’
“I met Graham when I was 19 and he was 18. We used to laugh at friends who would say ‘I love you’ after a date and then dump them the next day, so not saying it became an inside joke.”
“To this day, we’ve never said it officially,” he admitted.
The mocking approach became a standard routine to the point that every time Graham makes a mistake, the property expert hilariously seems to stop him.
She continued; “I once said to Graham ‘even if you had no money or never got a job, I would still love you’, I had to backtrack and explain to him that it was just a sentence.”
“Every time Graham slipped up and said it, I said ‘that’s a bit gross, couldn’t you say it again?’
In April, Sarah was given the all-clear following her breast cancer diagnosis in August 2022.
It comes after Sarah previously revealed why she and husband Graham have yet to officially say ‘I love you’ to each other.
Sarah, who was given the all-clear in April following her breast cancer diagnosis in August 2022, opened up about how it affected her marriage during an appearance on Lorraine in December last year.
During an appearance on Lorraine in December 2023, Sarah was candid about how her cancer diagnosis affected her marriage, but in a way that led them to a stronger place.
She said: “I’m not going to say it’s easy because obviously it’s not, but I think I’m lucky to have such a supportive husband and children.”
The Property Ladder star also released her documentary Sarah Beeny vs. Cancer in June, which details her cancer journey, including her double mastectomy.
Aside from his art, Graham has worked alongside Sarah on projects, including the dating app MySingleFriend, which they founded in 2004 after Sarah became famous for setting up dates with her single friends.
The property expert also published her memoir The Simple Life: How I Found Home last year, but later said she wanted to leave out her health problems because she was reluctant to let her cancer define her life.