opens

US President Donald Trump says he has agreed to extend his threatened deadline to attack Iran by two weeks, if Iran immediately re-opens the Strait of Hormuz. His Truth Social post came less than two hours before he had said Iran would face widespread attacks on civilian infrastructure.

ALISON Hammond has declared she is “absolutely in love” with her boyfriend David Putman, despite their 22 year age gap, in a rare relationship admission.

The This Morning star has been dating Russian model David since 2023, but keeps their relationship fairly private.

Alison’s romance was a surprise to many due to David’s age, with her beau thought to be turning 29 next month.

However, Alison – who is a mum to 20-year-old son Aiden – has said their love transcends any age barriers in a new admission.

Addressing the difference, the TV star explained: “I completely understand why people are interested when there’s a 22-year gap, but what I find interesting is that it’s not as interesting when it’s the man who is older.”

Talking to the Daily Mail, she continued: “Why is that? I just want people to be happy for us.

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“We are absolutely in love.’

Alison’s comments comes after she revealed things were going “really, really well” for the couple back in December.

Ahead of spending Christmas together, along with her son Aiden, Alison gushed over her other half.

“Things are going really, really well,” she told the Mirror.

She continued: “He just has the most beautiful energy and everyone feels it when they’re in his presence. It’s very rare.

“I am so grateful that he chooses to spend his life with me.”

Alongside working as a model, David is a massage therapist and first met Alison when she booked in for a massage back in 2023.

Hitting it off, the pair have been going strong ever since.

While they don’t often make public appearances together, Alison has shared a handful of snaps with David to Instagram over their relationship.

Previously addressing their age gap, she assured that David’s maturity makes things work so well.

Alison told Good Housekeeping: “I can see how, on paper, you’d notice the age difference.

“Yes, I’m 22 years older than he is, but if you saw us together, you’d understand. People have said to me, ‘We get it now.’”

EMOTIONAL Kelsey Parker has confessed “her pain will never go away” as she opened up on grief on the fourth anniversary of her husband Tom’s death.

Kelsey unexpectedly found herself a widow at age 32 after her late husband Tom Parker from the boyband The Wanted tragically died.

The famous singer passed away in March 2022 at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

Kelsey has been open with fans on grief and juggling life as a mum – her and Tom have two children together, Aurelia and Bodhi.

Speaking on the Cbeebies HQ Parenting Helpline podcast, Kelsey shared how she’s been dealing with the grief of losing her husband four years ago.

Addressing a parent in a similar situation, Kelsey said: “Your pain is never going to go away. That pain is never gonna go away. What you learn to do is live around your pain.”

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“It makes me emotional talking about it.”

Kelsey continued: “I am grieving and I am getting out of bed and I am being a parent because I have no other choice.”

Recalling the day Tom died, she said: ” I told the kids I need to go to the hospice to make sure that the angels come for daddy today, so that’s when I knew he was gonna die.

“He’s never coming back we will never see him again.”

Talking to Tom in his last days, Kelsey remembered saying: “I said ‘I know you’ve put me on this path and I will walk this path for you now, and I will do everything to bring your children up the way you wanted to bring your children up’.”

The motivational speaker told podcast host Holly Hagan that she had no choice but to get up everyday and be a mum – her kids needed her.

She explained they were obviously going “mummy, mummy can you come make me breakfast? and Kelsey said she’s not going to turn around and say, “no I’m grieving. I’m devastated your dad’s died.”

Despite having dealt with grief so young, Kelsey felt her kids had developed strong resilience.

Geordie Shore‘s Holly captioned the podcast clip: “This episode with the fabulous @being_kelsey was so incredibly empowering. It actually ran over about an hour because we just could not stop talking.”

Since the death of her husband Kelsey has become host of the Mums The World podcast and a motivational speaker diving into the world of unexpected grief.

Kelsey has also found love again with tree surgeon, Will Lindsay, after hard-launching their relationship back in September 2024.

A NEW Wetherspoons pub has opened its doors at a holiday park near Blackpool.

Called The Springfield, the new Wetherspoons watering hole is at Haven Holidays‘ Cala Gran Holiday Park in Fleetwood.

The new pub officially opened on March 31, in time for the Easter weekend.

Between March and June and September and November, the pub will be open from 8am to 10pm each day.

Then during July and August – peak season – the pub will be open each day from 8am to serve hungry holidaymakers breakfast and remain open until midnight.

As you’d expect from a Wetherspoons pub, the bar will serve ales, wines, beers and cocktails and the food menu will boast full English breakfasts, fish and chips, burgers and pizzas.

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The pub gets its name from Springfield House, which used to stand in the 1960s, on what is now the main entrance to the park.

Inside the boozer, you’ll find Wetherspoons classic interior decor with a unique carpet designed specifically for the pub.

The design includes a motif that resembles a glass domed ceiling, resembling the nearby Marine Hall in Fleetwood.

The pub will also be able to host up to 600 people.

According to the Blackpool Gazette, Jayne Mushet, General Manager, Haven Cala Gran said: “This is a fantastic addition to Cala Gran Holiday Park and something we know our guests and owners have been eagerly anticipating.

“We’re thrilled to kick off the season by opening the doors to our brand new pub.”

Cala Gran Holiday Park can be found on the outskirts of Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast – which is around seven miles from Blackpool.

Back in 1960, the holiday park was first a camping site with a paddling pool with Springfield House still standing.

The house was then demolished later in the 1960s.

Today, visitors heading to the holiday park can enjoy a family pool with a water slide, a steam room and a number of activities including Leap of Faith and a vertical assault course.

In the warmer months, guests can also make the most of the outdoor SplashZone, which is open from May half-term until the end of August.

Exclusive to Haven, the park also has a Nerf Training Camp.

Other activities available include crazy golf, footgolf, karts, a climbing wall, a bungee trampoline and junior segways.

Rossall Beach is also a 20-minute walk from the holiday park.

If the weather is playing up though, you can head inside to paint some pottery.

In addition to the new Wetherspoons onsite, there is also a Mini Market and Cook’s Fish & Chips.

The new Wetherspoons at Cala Gran Holiday Park joins three other pubs opening at Haven holiday parks – which will take the total up to nine.

The others include The Alfred Wainwright at Haven’s Lakeland holiday park in Cumbria, named after Alfred Wainwright, the British fellwalker who wrote about the 214 fells in his seven-volume guide to the Lake District.

In Cornwall, Riviere Sands will open up The Bluff – the name refers to the steep cliff edge where the pub is.

And lastly, there will be a new Wetherspoons at Haven’s Hopton in Great Yarmouth.

It will be called The White Clover and is named after the flower grown across the county, which represents good luck.

In other holiday park news, a major UK holiday park reopens after huge £5million makeover and you can stay with Hols from £9.50.

Plus, here are our favourite beautiful British seaside towns with holiday parks you can book with £9.50 Hols.

Gemma Atkinson is now in a happy relationship with Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, but she didn’t mince words about one past flame, whom her mum described as having “bad energy”

Gemma Atkinson has shed light on the actions of a “horrible” ex-boyfriend, whom her mum once described as having “bad energy”. We’ve all experienced youthful missteps in love, and it appears the former glamour model is no different, having suffered a painful betrayal at the hands of an opportunistic former partner.

Gemma is now in a happy relationship with Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Marquez, with whom she shares two children, Mia and Thiago, but she didn’t mince words about this one past flame.

Indeed, when she and Gorka were asked if they’d ever had a partner that their parents hadn’t “got on with”, she hit out at one boyfriend from her past and described him as both a “b*****d” and a “cretin”.

Speaking in a short clip for the Lost in Translation podcast, in collaboration with Hits Radio, Gorka revealed that his mum tended to like “every partner” until they were no longer together.

Gemma said: “I dated one lad years ago; I was only about 17, 18. He was a b*****d. He’s the only person who’s ever sold a story on me. He was such a cretin. I introduced him to my mum.

“And, as soon as he left, my mum went, ‘I don’t like him; he’s got a bad energy about him’. Of course, I kicked off with her, ‘You’re wrong!’ Introduced him to the girls….

“Laura went, ‘Don’t know what it is about him, Gemma, but I just wanna batter him’. I was like, ‘Why? You’re all wrong’. A year later, turned out to be a right cretin. Sold a story on me, took money, was horrible.

“They were all right, so my advice, if your mum doesn’t like a partner on the first meeting, there might be a good reason for it. They say mums know best.”

Gemma also advised people to always trust a dog’s judgement if it “doesn’t like a person”, before adding that she doesn’t trust people who don’t like dogs, as Gorka proceeded to add a touch of humour to the chat.

He joked that he’s “never liked dogs”, has faked it for eight years, and that, in fact, his “name is not Gorka”.

Gemma, who played Lisa Hunter on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, developed a romance with Gorka when they met on the Strictly set back in 2017; four years later, Gorka popped the question, and they got engaged in 2021.

She has reportedly had something of a colourful romantic life, being linked to actors and sportsmen, including footballers Marcus Bent and Cristiano Ronaldo. Sadly, Gemma claimed that she was cheated on in the relationship she had prior to Gorka.

Not naming names, Gemma told Hits Radio: “It wasn’t that long ago, it was my fella before Gorka, we went on holiday.

“We met in the Bahamas and while we were there I took a picture of a sunset because it was a really lovely sunset, and I put it on me Instagram. I thought nothing of it.

“He put the same picture as his WhatsApp profile picture and a few days later I got this message on Instagram from this girl and she was like, ‘Woman to woman, can I ask you were you with (him) recently?’

“‘Because my boyfriend told me he was in Florida with the lads and the picture you put on Instagram he has put as his WhatsApp profile pic’.”

Interior minister says ‘vigilance at high level’, after police arrest suspect before setting off explosive device outside US bank’s headquarters.

French authorities have opened an investigation into a foiled ⁠attack targeting Bank of America’s Paris headquarters after police detained one suspect who was allegedly attempting to ignite an explosive device outside the building.

In a social media post on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the swift intervention by police had “thwarted a violent terrorist attack” in the French capital the previous night.

French newspaper Le Parisien cited a police source as saying the suspect was arrested at about 3:25am local time (02:25 GMT) outside the bank’s local headquarters in the city’s 8th arrondissement as he tried to light a device consisting of a five-litre (1.3-gallon) container filled with an unidentified liquid and an explosive charge made up of about 650 grams (23 ounces) of powder.

The suspect was taken into custody, while a second individual who was present fled the scene and remains at large. The device was taken to the Paris police’s forensics lab for full analysis.

The National Terrorism Prosecution Office told the Reuters news agency the suspected offences included attempted destruction by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a “terrorist plot”, as well as ⁠the making, possession ⁠and transport of an incendiary or explosive device with intent ⁠to carry out dangerous damage.

The probe ⁠also includes a ⁠charge of participation in a “terrorist” criminal association, covering potential ‌links to accomplices or a broader network, it said.

“Vigilance remains at a very high level,” said Nunez on X, thanking “security and intelligence forces, who are fully mobilised under my authority” in what he called the “current international context”, seemingly with reference to the escalating situation in parts of the Middle East amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Earlier in the week, Nunez had said that authorities had stepped up the personal protection of some figures from the Iranian opposition and increased security around sites that risked being targeted, including sites linked to US interests and to the Jewish community.

A spokesperson for Bank of America told Reuters the organisation was “aware of the situation” and “communicating with the authorities”.

MAFS star Charlene Douglas has revealed the heartbreaking “final days” she spent with her late friend Mel Schilling following her tragic death.

The relationship expert said she was left “devastated” as she opened up about their last moments together.

Mel Schilling has tragically died aged 54 after a brave battle with colon cancer.

The much-loved dating coach was known for her invaluable work on both the Married At First Sight Australia and UK versions of the show.

She worked alongside Charlene Douglas on Married At First Sight UK.

The TV star shared an emotional tribute, reflecting on their close bond and the impact Mel had on her life.

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Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “I’m both devastated and heartbroken to hear of the passing of my MAFS queen and friend Mel.

“I had the pleasure of spending time with Mel in her last days and will forever treasure the laughter, the memories and love we had for each other.

“Mel’s love for life, jokes and of course dancing will forever stay in my heart. What I wouldn’t give to be dancing to Beyoncé with you right now.

“Sleep in perfect peace Mel. Love you ♥️”

Mel was previously diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023, which later spread to her lungs and brain.

Her husband Gareth Brisbane announced the heartbreaking news today in an emotional Instagram post.

Alongside touching pictures of Mel, he said: “Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love.

“In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life.

“It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.”

He continued: “This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 — and nailed both.

“This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming.

“To most of you, she was Mel Schilling — matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.”

Tributes have poured in for the TV star since the tragic announcement.

Channel 4 hailed Mel as a friend who “radiated joy, warmth and optimism”.

Issuing a statement, it said: “Our thoughts and condolences are, first and foremost, with her family and loved ones.

“We’re privileged to be the channel that is home to Mel’s work, which was at the heart of Married At First Sight‘s phenomenal success, both in the UK and Australia.

“It reflected so much about her – her fierce advocacy for other women, her passion for healthy relationships and her mission to unite people in love.

“For many who work for Channel 4, Mel was not just a colleague but a friend, someone who radiated joy, warmth and optimism, who energized every room she walked into, with humour and positivity.

“Everyone who knew her will miss all this about her and much more. We share in the sorrow that we’re sure many viewers will now feel at this terrible loss.”

Animated Australian sensation “Bluey” has arrived in Disneyland, and the titular anthropomorphic pastel-coated canine has come ready to play. And dance. And to race some “barky boats.”

The Walt Disney Co. first teased that the Blue Heeler puppy and her younger sister Bingo would be coming to the Anaheim theme park in 2024. Bluey is now the star of a performance-focused takeover of the park’s Fantasyland Theatre, which officially opened Sunday.

Two shows, games and spontaneous dance parties are hallmarks of the experience, as Disneyland’s live entertainment team sought to translate the show’s particular broadcast-based appeal to the real world.

“Bluey” works because it’s charmed children and grown-ups alike, emphasizing imaginative parenting skills as much as it does Bluey’s playful spirit. Though only about seven minutes, each core “Bluey” episode unfolds patiently, often centered on make-believe, wonder and childlike ingenuity. Subtle life lessons, such as cooperation, understanding one’s self-worth, overcoming a fear of the unknown and much more, dot seemingly simple scenarios.

In many episodes, Bluey’s mom (Chilli) and dad (Bandit) indulge in their daughters’ penchant to play pretend, so much so that a friend of mine with a young girl joked that she needed to watch the show to learn how to be a better mom.

I arrived at “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” as a childless columnist, and yet I came away enchanted by what Disneyland’s live entertainment team, led by Susana Tubert, had concocted. It’s a little silly and corny, yes, but manages to vary the tempo and can even tug at one’s heartstrings by showing the bond between siblings.

Theme park fare, especially when aimed at a preschool set, tends to fall back on high-energy, photo-op-based treatments, and while there’s plenty of amped-up goofiness here, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” understands that’s not why the series was the most-streamed program in 2025, according to data from research firm Nielsen.

Two core shows are featured in the experience, and some “Bluey” regulars make an appearance. The overbearing, bratty hand-puppet Unicorse, for instance, plays key roles in launching each performance. Set to play continuously throughout the day, with breaks for Bluey and Bingo to appear on stage and dance or play with youngsters, each has a slightly different tone and feel.

One emphasizes an adventure story, its themes encouraging Bluey to flash some bravery and dispel stereotypes. The other takes a lighter touch, with some of the softer, almost ballad-like songs from the show, such as “Rain (Boldly in the Pretend),” highlighted, seeking to emphasize the bond between Bluey and Bingo. Here, I thought of Bluey’s more tender moments — those, for instance, that emphasize becoming comfortable with growing older and letting go.

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” features live music, puppets and dance breakouts.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

“We try to hit the humor, the play — shared play — and some of the more profound experiences that these characters go through,” Tubert says. “At the end of the second show, you’ll see a moment that is really quite beautiful. It’s a tribute to sisterhood, and how these two characters of Bluey and Bingo connect with one another.”

While one can certainly sit in the Fantasyland Theatre’s stands and simply take in the two shows, there are plenty of moments geared at getting audiences moving. Dances, for instance, may mimic animal behaviors, or reference popular moments from the series, such as getting grannies to floss.

A nod to the attention-seeking fairies — here, less Tinker Bell and more a metaphor for being noticed — inspires a “Riverdance”-like breakout. The five-piece, brass-heavy band gets a workout when Bluey’s impossible-to-control toy Chattermax has a cameo. The squawking plaything can test even Bluey’s patience.

Throughout, performers walk a line between teaching the maneuvers to the crowd and getting lost in the moment themselves. The challenge for Disney choreographer Taylor Worden was to create dance moves that also doubled as audience encouragement.

Spin, for instance, like a flower in the wind, or lightly snap your fingers to recall the sound of rain. Bounce with your hands in front of you as if you’re driving a car down a rocky street, or put your hand above your head and try for an elegant, ballerina-inspired twirl.

“It actually was letting go of all of those technical things that I’ve learned and letting that inner child come out,” Worden says. “As imaginative as Bluey and Bingo are, I wanted to hone in on that. I want everybody to enjoy, have fun and play. Play is at the forefront of everything. It’s so easy to get set in our ways, and even as an adult, it’s so hard to actually play nowadays. This has been such an experience to get to a childlike state.”

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” references many show moments from the series, including one with nods to the fairies.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

There’s more, however, to “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” than the two performances. The Fantasyland Theatre has been outfitted with pop-up installations. Some are purely photo ops, such as an opportunity for little ones to take a class photo with Bluey and her pals, while others aim to inspire exploration, such as a mini gnome village or fairy garden.

Taken as a whole, the feel is something of a fair, like hanging out with Bluey and Bingo at a backyard barbecue. The theater’s walk-up food window is serving pizza-inspired baked potatoes, a colored chocolate pretzel meant to mimic an asparagus pretzel wand, and more.

There’s also a place to race some “barky boats.” In the show, barky boats is a game that takes place on a tiny stream with tree bark, but there’s no water here. Instead, look for a track in a nook above the seating area, where one can race wooden blocks affixed with wheels — think Pinewood Derby — down a track painted to mimic a waterway. Throughout the theater, the colors are springlike and muted, pastels that are lightly bright and storybook-inspired. Even the dance costumes adopt this soft, crayon-like color palette.

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” at the Disneyland Resort invites audience participation.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

“The color palette works perfectly with the set,” says Trevor Rush, a manager with costume design and development. “Lots of pastel colors. ‘Bluey,’ that world, focuses very much in that primary world. You won’t see a lot of black represented.”

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” does not currently have an end date, but is expected to be a Disneyland staple throughout the spring and summer seasons, with showtimes currently set for the late morning and early afternoons. For Tubert, who has an extensive background in theater, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” is meant to highlight the theme park as a place of play, where one can be a bit silly, and maybe even a little vulnerable.

“There’s a nonjudgmental safe space that we’ve created in ‘Bluey’s Best Day Ever!’ that invites everyone to feel uninhibited and the joy of playfulness,” Tubert says.

Neither Alexander Straus nor Mark Parsons were around when Angel City played its first NWSL game in 2022. But they didn’t miss much; in four years the team had one winning season and made just one playoff appearance.

So Straus, in his first full season as coach, and Parsons, 15 months into his job as sporting director, decided to raze the club and its sad history and start over. That break from the past couldn’t have been much clearer than it was in the opening game of the team’s fifth season Sunday, one which ended in a 4-0 rout of the Chicago Stars.

Three of the goals — from Evelyn Shores, Ary Borges and Maiara Niehues — came from players who weren’t on the roster at the start of last season. Borges also picked up her first Angel City assist.

The performance was the most dominant in club history and the margin of victory matched Angel City’s largest ever. It was also the team’s first season-opening win since 2022.

“There is a little bit of a new beginning,” Straus said.

“We’re a completely different organization than we were at the end of last year,” Parsons added.

Angel City proved that when teenager Kennedy Fuller opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, dribbling up the right wing and into the box before driving a right-footed shot off Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher and just inside the near post.

Shores doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, heading in a Fuller corner for her second NWSL goal before Borges, a Brazilian international, made it 3-0 13 minutes later, jumping on a short goal kick by Naeher, then beating the keeper cleanly with a left-footed shot from the center of the box.

Niehues, another Brazilian international, closed the scoring in the 70th minute on a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir got the assist on that goal. Of the four goal-scorers for Angel City, only Borges is over 21.

Angel City dominated the match statistically as much as it did on the field, outshooting Chicago 17-7 and putting six of those shots on target. Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson needed to make just two saves to record the clean sheet.

The announced crowd of 16,813 on a beautiful sun-splashed afternoon was the smallest for an Angel City opener.

Ella Bruccoleri looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House as she takes on the leading role in new BBC period drama

Call the Midwife star Ella Bruccoleri has landed the leading role in new BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister.

The 10-episode series, which is based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, follows the “overlooked” character of Mary Bennet, played by Ella, who looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House, where she featured as Sister Frances until 2022.

The series begins at Longbourn, where the Bennet family’s five unmarried daughters navigate the rigid expectations of Regency society.

“Her journey sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention,” the synopsis says.

“The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way,” it goes on.

Fans don’t have long to wait for the show to drop as it had since been confirmed that it will premiere on BBC One at 8pm on Sunday ( March 15) and all episodes will be available to stream on iPlayer.

Speaking to the BBC about her new role, Ella explained: “Mary’s not your typical period drama heroine.

“She lives in a world where, particularly for women, appearance is everything, and she doesn’t understand that value system at all.

“Instead, she turns to literature that offers a different viewpoint. Her favourite book is Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women, because it argues that women shouldn’t have to be beautiful — they should be intelligent and pious.”

Giving fans further insight on her character, she added: “Mary Bennet has been written off by many members of her family, and as a result she’s written herself off too. When we meet her at the beginning of the series, she’s living with her family in a small village and has never really left that world.

“These are the only people she knows, and she understands herself through the values they impose on her. We know these characters from Pride and Prejudice, but it’s fascinating to see the impact they have on someone like Mary.”

Giving her thoughts on the new adaptation, the star said: “When I read Jane Austen, I’m always struck by how witty it is so witty, with humour in every line.

“Sarah Quintrell really brings that into the scripts, and Janice Hadlow’s book does the same. The novel is very different in style from Austen, but it feels like a genuine extension of Pride and Prejudice.

“Sarah’s scripts tread the line between comedy and drama better than anything I’ve ever read. It feels like a tragicomedy – it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s also not afraid to delve into emotionally weighty material. That feels very true to Jane Austen.”

The Other Bennet Sister debuts on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday (March 15) at 8pm

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WASHINGTON — Jill Biden is breaking her silence about Joe Biden’s decision to abruptly end his 2024 presidential reelection bid under pressure from Democrats concerned about his age, health and viability against Republican Donald Trump in a rematch of their 2020 campaign.

A political spouse for nearly 50 years, Jill Biden said she has never publicly discussed her feelings about the three-week stretch when her husband ended his political career, instead saving her thoughts for the pages of her soon-to-be-released memoir.

Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on Wednesday announced that her book, “View from the East Wing: A Memoir,” is scheduled to be published June 2.

Jill Biden told the Associated Press in a brief telephone interview that the book is a “reflection of my four years as first lady” and that writing it was somewhat healing.

“It was kind of cathartic for me to write it, and I wrote about all the, you know, sometimes painful — but other times, most of it really beautiful moments that Joe and I shared during his presidency,” she said.

Jill Biden declined on Tuesday to discuss any of those moments, good or bad — including watching her husband work his way to the decision to end his five-decade-long political career by dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

In an announcement video shared on Instagram, she said she wants to “set the record straight.”

The last chapter of her husband’s political career

In April 2023, then-President Joe Biden was 80 and the oldest president in U.S. history when he announced he was running for a second term. His age and fitness to serve another four years — which would take him to age 86 — became a source of concern for the public. Some fellow Democrats began to pressure him to step aside after he turned in a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June 2024 in which he struggled, in a raspy voice, to land his debating points and often appeared to lose his train of thought. Aides blamed the poor performance on a cold.

Joe Biden at first insisted that he would stay in the race, but after a few weeks he withdrew from the campaign and endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris, his vice president. Harris became the party’s presidential nominee but lost to Trump in the November 2024 election.

Jill Biden said that, with the book, “I have put things in perspective,” presenting what she describes as a “more balanced view” of her husband’s time as president.

The memoir is also a tribute of the sorts to women who, like herself, juggle multiple roles.

“It’s also a story about my being able to balance life, you know, as a working woman and as a mother, a grandmother, a first lady,” she said.

During her four years in the role, Jill Biden, 74, made history as the first first lady to continue the career she had before entering the White House. She had taught English and writing for decades at the community college level, and she continued teaching twice a week at a Northern Virginia school while serving as first lady.

Joe Biden ‘doing well’ after his cancer diagnosis

The former president’s office announced in May 2025 that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones. He’s receiving treatment.

Jill Biden said it was “quite a shock getting the diagnosis” for her husband, who’s now 83.

“The fact that it is in his bones means that he will have cancer, you know, all his lifetime,” Jill Biden said. She said the doctors say he will “live out his natural life.”

“Like most retired couples, he’ll probably drive me crazy till the end of it,” she joked.

She said he visits Washington at least once a week for meetings or to give speeches.

A unique period in American history

The former first lady also writes in the book about serving during a unique period in U.S. history, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the publisher.

Her husband was sworn into office on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, just two weeks after a mob of Trump supporters, spurred by his false claims that the Republican lost because of election fraud, stormed the building in a violent attempt to keep lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden’s victory.

Joe Biden’s first year in office was dominated by the federal response to the pandemic and, while he mostly stayed at the White House, Jill Biden wore face mask and traveled around the country to encourage people to get their vaccinations. She also continued her advocacy on behalf of military families, education and community colleges, cancer prevention and women’s health initiatives.

Before she became first lady, Jill Biden was second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, when her husband was Barack Obama’s vice president. She currently chairs the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network.

Jill Biden is also the author of “Where the Light Enters,” published in 2019, in which she writes about meeting Joe Biden, then a U.S. senator from Delaware, and marrying and building a life with him. She also has written three children’s books.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.