The Chase star Anne Hegerty reveals she struggles with closeness which is the reason why she fears dating (Image: ITV)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeThe Chase’s Anne Hegerty has candidly shared why she’s never had a long-term partner. The 66 year old telly favourite revealed her struggle with personal space, linking her dating fears to her autism diagnosis at 45. She once even unplugged her phone to avoid a boyfriend contacting her. In a recent chat, she confessed: “I really struggle with closeness and having anyone else in the house. I think an awful lot of autistic people don’t get married or settle down. I don’t even have pets for that reason and my capacity for living with other people is just diminishing. I need a huge amount of alone time,” she firmly stated.
Anne with her co-stars from The Chase, plus host Bradley Walsh
(Image: ITV)
Anne also confessed that she’s quite content to stay single forever as she now needs more space than someone could “possibly give me.” Her last relationship, which lasted four months, only worked because it was long-distance, with her based in Manchester at the time. The quiz queen admitted she deliberately manipulated the situation so it wouldn’t work out, reports the Mirror. Anne Hegerty initially felt a mix of emotions after the end of a particular chapter in her life. Speaking to the Daily Mail, she revealed: “I’d be sitting there just waiting for the phone to ring thinking ‘don’t phone, don’t phone, don’t phone! ‘ Other times, just to get over the suspense, I’d phone him and, of course, that made him think that I wanted to talk to him but I think I just wanted to get it over with. I didn’t want to talk to him or anyone! ” This tumultuous experience impacted her decision to have children. Although she once considered motherhood, she realized she “wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it a lot.”
Anne Hegerty has opened up about her love life in a candid interview
(Image: Getty Images)
Anne recalled a past experience with a young boy and girl who would visit her, but even their delightful company was exhausting after just an hour. Instead of pursuing romantic relationships, Anne prefers platonic friendships with men, finding their company more appealing than that of women. She illustrated this point by sharing an anecdote about attending a quiz in June, where she noticed that by the end of the day, she and another woman were the only females remaining in the room. However, Anne brushed off the speculation, explaining that she was just chatting with her friends, who happened to be men. The Chase star, who took part in I’m A Celebrity in 2018, is also the godmother to her co-star Mark Labbett’s eight year old son, Lawrence. She mentioned that she always remembers to send him his birthday present along with his Christmas gift, as his birthday falls in November. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnThe ChaseAnne HegertyChristmas
