Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin has turned her back on home ownership after downsizing from a six-bedroom farmhouse in Devon.
The comedy actress, 66, and her second husband Sam Farmer, who is twelve years her junior, are renting their latest home after their children Emily, 26, and William, 23, moved out and have no plans to buy another home.
She says of their former property: ‘It had a two-acre vegetable garden, a two-acre orchard and a swimming pool. The vegetables alone were tiring.
‘We have lived in Somerset for just over a year now, with a more manageable garden. We are very happy. I don’t think we’ll buy again.’
The star, who is a keen gardener, previously said her sprawling farmhouse and accompanying garden ‘became a bit too much’ so she looked for the smaller house with Sam in Somerset and also looked for a cottage nearby.
Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin has turned her back on home ownership after downsizing from a six-bedroom farmhouse in Devon with her husband Sam Farmer
The comedy actress, 66, and her second husband Sam Farmer, who is 12 years her junior, are renting their latest home after their children Emily, 26, and William, 23, moved out and have no plans to buy another home.
She told Gardens Illustrated: ‘My big beautiful garden in Devon came with a big house and it all became a bit too much…
‘My husband Sam and I are renting a beautiful cottage in Somerset and are looking for a cottage nearby where I can start a new garden and a new gardening adventure.
In an interview with Saga Magazine, Caroline talked about the sale of her belongings, including an extensive art collection and jewelry.
She said: ‘Possessions are no longer important to me. I got rid of a lot of things two years ago, took them to auction and sold them…
‘I had quite a large art collection and a lot of jewelery and I sold it all. Now we live in a rented house and I don’t have a lot of stuff, that was very conscious.’
Caroline has previously stated that nature ‘saved her sanity’ amid her ‘volatile emotional life’ – its highs and lows.
She said: ‘Nature has saved my sanity. My mother was bipolar and I have a volatile emotional life. I sometimes have lows, but also highs…
She says of their former property: ‘It had a two-acre vegetable garden, a two-acre orchard and a swimming pool. The vegetables alone were tiring’
The star, who is a keen gardener, previously said her sprawling farmhouse and accompanying garden ‘became a bit too much’ so she looked for the smaller house with Sam in Somerset and also looked for a cottage nearby.
‘The best thing is to go outside, just listen to the birds, be quiet, relax, listen to the wind in the trees – my blood pressure drops, my heart slows down.’
Her revelation comes after Caroline revealed she is going back to school at the age of 65. She said: ‘I recently wrote my first essay in 50 years…
‘It was part of my application for a postgraduate degree in art history at the Courtauld Institute in London. I just got hired.”
Writing for Saga Magazine, she explained: ‘I left school at 16 with a few O-Levels and never went to university or pursued higher education. I’m so happy I can do it now.’
Caroline adds: ‘The children keep teasing me that I can soon get a student discount card and go to the Student Union bar.’
