Davina McCall beamed on Instagram on Wednesday as she revealed that she is pursuing citizenship in her birth mother’s native France.
The presenter, 56, who is fluent in French and considers herself to be ‘half French’, posted a photo of herself outside of the French embassy in London under the Tricolore and the EU flag.
Davina wrote in the caption to her 1.7 million followers: ‘Yesterday was a huge day . I went to the French embassy to start the process of getting my French passport .
‘This isn’t about just trying to make my life easier. It was a very emotional day . Culturally this feels huge for me.
‘I’ve always felt a huge affinity with France , but I had a complicated relationship with my French mum and I can’t explain why but this feels very healing. Like I’m acknowledging I am half her. And it feels good x vive la France’.
Davina McCall, 56, beamed on Instagram on Wednesday as she revealed that she has ‘started the process of getting a French passport’ and gave the heartbreaking reason why
Davina’s late mother Florence was French and left Davina when she was three years old and moved to Paris – they had a complicated relationship
Davina wrote in the caption to her 1.7 million followers: ‘Yesterday was a huge day . I went to the French embassy to start the process of getting my French passport’
Davina has been open about her ‘f***ed up’ relationship with her mother and didn’t attend her funeral.
She shared that when her parents split up when she was just three years old, her mother Florence moved back to France.
Davina lived with her grandparents initially before moving in with her father, but only saw her mother on the holidays.
When they were together, Florence would allow Davina to drink and even did drugs with her when she was 12, and again when she was 15.
On Mother’s Day, Davina posted a photo of her step-mother Gabby and her father Andrew who passed away in 2022 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
In the caption, Davina wrote that she had a ‘crazy, funny, messy, f***ed up, loving, loathing’ relationship with her mother who died in 2008.
She thanked Gabby for being her ‘rock’ and for her ‘unwavering love’ and for keeping her sane whilst she dealt with her birth mother.
Davina often promotes self-help page My Horrid Parent to her followers who have had similar issues with their parents.
Davina’s step-mother Gabby and her father Andrew who sadly passed away in 2022 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease
In the caption, Davina wrote that she had a ‘crazy, funny, messy, f***ed up, loving, loathing’ relationship with her biological mother who died in 2008
In 2016, Davina spoke about past demons in an interview with Loose Women.
She revealed one of the hardest things about her association with drugs was the fact her mother sold a story about it weeks before her wedding day.
The presenter revealed how her late mother cashed in on her troubled past – whilst she affirmed she didn’t want to be seen as a ‘victim’ because of it.
Speaking openly about her troubled relationship with her mother, Florence, Davina revealed her mother lost out on a relationship with her after she sold a story about her.
Recalling the incident, the former Big Brother presenter revealed a visit to narcotics anonymous before her wedding made it seem as though she was about to relapse.
She told the panel: ‘I was so happy before the wedding, and I wasn’t about to relapse.’
But thanks to her mother the star was faced with numerous rumours about a slip in her sobriety, as Florence made it sound like she was.
The incident saw Davina cut her mother out of her life for good, with the TV favourite declaring she never saw her again.
It wasn’t the first time she had sold a story about her daughter, Davina explained, but it was the final straw.
‘I told her about it [selling stories],’ the Lessons I’ve Learned author said. ‘She didn’t think it was a big deal – and then she did it again.’
She added: ‘I built a bridge with my mum for the wedding, but then my husband (ex, Matthew Robertson) said that has to be it.’
Careful to explain she wasn’t ‘mum bashing’, she explained her thoughts on Florence, saying: ‘My mum was an amazing mum, but she didn’t know how to behave on a human level.’
Davina has three children – daughters Holly, 22, and Tilly, 20, and son Chester, 17, – with second husband Matthew Robertson, a television presenter.
She is currently in a relationship with Michael Douglas, a hairdresser, and the two moved in together in 2022.
Previously, Davina dated Eric Clapton, who is 22 years her senior. A recovering addict, the singer helped Davina get clean from heroin in her early 20s.
She currently hosts My Mum, Your Dad, a British dating reality show for middle-aged single parents, airing now.