Miriam Margolyes separated from partner of 52 years during lockdown: ‘I want to be with her for the rest of my life’

‘I was lucky enough to find someone who was prepared to love me,’ actor says

Sabrina Barr
Monday 27 April 2020 12:22 BST
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Miriam Margolyes opens up on how much she is missing her partner of 52 years during lockdown

Miriam Margolyes has opened up about how much she is missing her partner of 52 years while separated during the lockdown.

On Monday, the Harry Potter star appeared on This Morning via video chat to speak with co-hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

During their conversation, Margolyes was asked whether she would have preferred to live with her partner during the lockdown, as the pair are currently living apart.

The actor and voice artist has been with her partner, retired professor Heather Sutherland, for 52 years.

“I would have loved that actually,” Margolyes said on the notion of being in lockdown together amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t know whether she would because she’s an introvert, so she likes to be quiet and get on with her work, which is she’s writing a book about Indonesia. But I would have loved that.”

Margolyes added that she is “not afraid” of the idea of staying at home with Sutherland, stating that they will “really try to be together from now on because that’s what life’s about, loving someone”.

“I was lucky enough to find someone who was prepared to love me. I’m not that lovable, you know, I’m smelly and noisy and all that sort of thing,” the 78-year-old said.

“But she loves me and I want to be with her for the rest of my life. That’s all I want.”

Miriam Margolyes speaks to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning

Several people praised Margolyes for her openness when describing her feelings for her partner.

“Oh my goodness, I love her. It’s so refreshing to see someone being open about their love for someone, not being afraid to put it out there,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“So heartfelt to hear Miriam talk about her partner of 52 years together and how lucky she is to have found someone like her,” another said.

Following the announcement of a nationwide lockdown on Monday 23 March, deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said that couples who do not live together should either stay apart or “test the strength of their relationship” by moving in together.

“The issue here is that we do not want to have people switching in and out of households. It would defeat the purpose of the reduction in social interactions and would allow transmission of disease,” Ms Harries said.

“So perhaps test really carefully your strength of feeling and stay with the household either together or apart, but keep it that way while we go forward because otherwise we will not all be working towards achieving our outcome.”

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