This Morning star Martin Lewis opened up on his own experiences with having a stepmother during a segment on the hit ITV show on Tuesday afternoon
Martin Lewis, the ITV money guru, opened up about personal matters on Tuesday’s episode of This Morning.
Prompted by presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary addressing the issue of a ‘wicked’ stepmother stereotype, with Dermot commenting that this negative image could deter single mothers from dating due to fear of being associated with it.
Stepping into the conversation on stepfamilies was Martin, who reflected on his own experience having been introduced to a stepmother in his teenage years.
Breaking down the stereotype, Martin confided: “My stepmother joined us in 1986, when I was 14. The stereotype wasn’t the issue.”
He discussed the greater challenge he faced reconciling with the arrival of a new family member while mourning his mother: “The issue was, I had a stepmother joining me when I was still in terrible grief of the loss of my mother.”, reports the Express.
The financial whizz shared the emotional complexities of those times with Alison and Dermot, insisting that despite his stepmother’s best efforts, as a young teenager, his grief clouded their relationship.
He said: “There was nothing she could’ve done that would’ve made me want her to be there because of the reason she was there and the great difficulties. I remember when she took down some of our family photos.”
Now looking back, Martin acknowledges the tough position his stepmother was in and how they have since formed a positive relationship, saying: “I get on well with my stepmum now and she’s still in my life, I have a wonderful half-sister and it’s all fantastic.
The ITV star told Alison and Dermot that often the conversation surrounds the stepparent, with the children being overlooked.Martin continued: “.
The ITV personality opened up to Alison and Dermot, noting that the focus of such conversations usually lands on the stepparent, while the experiences of the children can sometimes be ignored.
Martin elaborated: “There are children involved and not all about the step-parents are on both sides, we were one family. We were with my dad because we lost my mum.”
Acknowledging the difficulty for everyone involved, he added: “It was very hard for my stepmother, but it was very hard to have a stepmother too, at 14, suffering from post-traumatic stress and grief.”
Offering an honest reflection, Martin admitted: “My stepmother done the best job that she could and we get on very well now but I didn’t want her there and I didn’t like her being there, I think that’s perfectly understandable at the time.”
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am