Stephen Fry has revealed he doesn’t want to live past 100 because he ‘wouldn’t like being so lonely’.
The 66-year-old actor and presenter – who has not been seen with his husband Elliott, 36, for almost five years – admitted he would find it ‘deeply upsetting’ to see a world without his friends and family.
Speaking about longevity with David Walliams on Brave New World podcast, Stephen admitted he ‘loves the idea of death’, and that it’s the ‘idea of decay’ that shakes him.
He explained, “Personally, I’m not particularly interested in longevity for myself. I am, as I think most people are, interested in the idea of an old age that is as pain-free as possible and where there is not too much cognitive loss.
“But I’m not someone who wants to live longer than the rest of my friends.”
Stephen Fry, 66, revealed in a chat about longevity that he doesn’t want to live past 100 because he ‘wouldn’t like being so lonely’ and that he ‘likes the idea of death’ (pictured in 2023)
Stephen’s comments about loneliness come five years after he was last seen with husband Elliott Spencer, 36 (last pictured at the Rocketman UK Premiere in May 2019)
He continued: ‘If everyone – my family and friends – lived to be 120, I might be quite happy to pass 100. But as it is, I would hate to be that lone Flying Dutchman so beloved in history. .
“The survivor, whose relatives and acquaintances have since passed away. I would find that very disturbing.’
Stephen also talked about how living in California has made him concerned about how easily people can be influenced by trendy health trends.
The comedian blames the increase in the number of people following health trends on ‘snake oil salesman’.
Stephen said: The problem is that there are so many snake oil salesmen, and those of us who follow health trends can see that they are going in different directions.
‘Right now there’s a lot of interest in the human microbiome, so people are pushing fermented foods and probiotics, which I don’t think are fully proven to help in any way – except maybe for people with specific conditions like irritable bowel. syndrome or Crohn’s disease.
Yet I know many people, especially in California – where I am now and what you could always call a leader in this field – who drink nothing but kombucha and eat a lot of sauerkraut because they read somewhere that it somehow another way will help you live longer and cleaner – that strange word, ‘clean’ eating.
‘I am very doubtful, I am very sceptical, but in a positive way. A lot of these things are just about having something to sell.”
His views on living longer than a century may be bleak, but that hasn’t stopped him from jumping on the bandwagon of other fads, as he admitted to fasting.
Stephen said: ‘I am, as I think most people are, interested in the idea of an old age that is as pain-free as possible and where there is not too much cognitive loss’ (pictured at age 14)
Intermittent fasting involves not eating for an extended period of time, followed by eating normally for a while.
Stephen revealed he won’t eat for 16 hours a day.
“I’m also interested in my own health, probably in large part because I hate the fact that I tend to gain a lot of weight,” he added.
‘I constantly think about how I can lose weight properly. I am aware that crash diets are bad. I am aware that things like diet foods are bad, and that nothing can be more detrimental to good health than things like ‘diet soda’, carbonated drinks and so on.
“Then there are things like fasting, which I know are very popular these days. There seems to have been a lot of work done on the benefits of fasting.
‘I fast, in the sense that I don’t eat between nine o’clock in the evening and around lunchtime the next day, say one hour.
‘That’s something for not eating for 16 hours. And I find it has been incredibly helpful because it reduces appetite. By the time it’s one o’clock and I haven’t eaten in sixteen hours, I’m not really hungry anymore.
‘I usually just want the lightest lunch. And that is a completely new discovery for me. And I’m kind of excited about it because that’s an easy way to live.
When asked if fasting makes him feel better, Stephen said: “I really do. I think it’s a psychological thing, but I feel better because I’ve done something that isn’t as self-indulgent or depressing as overeating can be.”
Stephen’s comments come almost five years after he was pictured with his husband, Elliot.
He and Elliott – who is 30 years his junior – tied the knot in January 2015, just ten days after announcing their engagement.
Elliot, from Southampton, met Stephen in 2014 and was initially known as Mr E before they went public.
The pair are known to be keeping their romance under wraps as they were last pictured together for the star-studded Rocketman premiere in London in May 2019.
MailOnline has contacted Stephen’s representatives for comment.
Stephen and Elliott – who is 30 years his junior – tied the knot in January 2015, just 10 days after announcing their engagement (pictured at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party)