MORE than a decade has passed since TV presenter Laura Hamilton last appeared on the cover of Fabulous.
At the time, she was a children’s TV presenter and had just come runner-up on Dancing On Ice. It’s fair to say, a lot has changed since then.
“That feels like a lifetime ago,” she says today.
“I wasn’t even married then. I wasn’t on A Place In The Sun – I always laugh that the show has seen me through so much – an engagement, a marriage, the birth of my son, the birth of my daughter and then a divorce.
“I’ve come out the other side now and I’m so grateful to be part of A Place In The Sun family. They have been so incredible and supportive throughout my whole journey,” she says.
“For example, there aren’t many employers that allow you to have your kids and then bring them abroad with you while you’re filming.
“Honestly, you never know where life’s going to take you. You’ve just got to bloody enjoy the ride.”
It hasn’t been the easiest ride for Laura, who split from her husband of 10 years – insurance broker Alex Goward, 43 – in 2022.
They share two children together – 10-year-old son Rocco and eight-year-old daughter Tahlia.
“I have been on a journey,” Laura says. “But who hasn’t? At 42 years old, I’m at a point in my life where I probably feel more comfortable in all aspects of my life.
“There’s been ups and there’s been downs. I’m always a glass-half-full rather than half-empty person.
“I think if there’s a couple that’s separating and they’ve got kids, I’d tell them: ‘It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.’
“People change throughout their lives. I think about how, as a generation, many parents in my children’s school aren’t actually married.
“My mum and dad have been married for 43 years, but that is incredible and an absolute rarity.
“I really feel like it is absolutely possible to separate and do it in an amicable way, and focus on the fact that your children are the priority.
“Sometimes, parents stay together and they aren’t as happy as they should be. That can be so negative to the children involved,” she says.
“You can be apart and co-parent, and it could be really positive for the kids.
“I don’t think I have failed [at marriage], because I’ve got two amazing children. They’re what’s important. My children are really adaptable. They’re happy. We’ve got really good family on both sides.
“I’ve got amazing friends. They’ve got amazing friends. And everyone’s happy. That’s the most important thing.”
Laura does admit, though, that some people did question the couple’s decision to separate – worrying that, at 39, it was a “scary” time to be on her own.
I’ve always been quite a strong and independent person
She disagreed. “I’ve always been quite a strong and independent person. I don’t feel like I was ‘starting again’.
“I never really speak about why I separated, which I think is why there’s this fascination about it. It feels such a long time ago to me now, and I’ve embraced where I am.”
Property expert Laura has recently been linked to business CEO James Pettigrew, 44, who is in the process of divorce from his wife – but she won’t confirm if the rumours are true.
“I don’t know where this story came from,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“I’m dating. I’m having fun. No, I don’t have the apps. I’ve tried those in the past three years. I went on Raya and thought: ‘This is not for me.’ I like to meet people organically.
“People do look at me and say: ‘I know you from somewhere…’ and that starts a conversation.
“I did go out on a date with somebody and the only thing he wanted to talk about was buying a property in the sun. I’m not here to be your property consultant!
“But it’s quite difficult for me to date when you look at my life and how busy I am. I’ve got two children and I’m abroad every other week.
“Really, I should have a man in every country. That would be a more interesting story [laughs]. ‘Oh, she’s got one in Ibiza, she’s got one in Mallorca.’ No, that’s not who I am.
“I’ve got a busy life and a great group of friends. It’s probably a bad thing to say, but I think I might be a little bit intimidating to men. My life is full, so it’s not like I need to be with somebody to validate me.
“If I could tell my 26-year-old self anything, I’d say: ‘Believe in yourself. You will be fine on your own.’”
Whether Laura does end up with James or in another serious relationship with someone else, one thing she has decided is that she won’t be so public about her next romance.
“I’ve massively learned,” she says.
“I had a public relationship. I had a wedding in a magazine and all that followed. Going forward, that aspect of my life will be private. It won’t be a secret – people I’m close to will know what’s going on – but it will be confidential,” she says.
“Just because you’re in the public eye, it doesn’t mean that you have to have everything out there for everyone to see.”
Away from finding love, Laura’s passion is finding people homes abroad – and she’s even snapped up her own place in Mallorca.
“I love everything about A Place In The Sun. I’ve always been passionate about travel. I love property, I’ve been buying and selling houses since I was 19.
“What people don’t realise is that it takes five days to film the one-hour show. We shoot for a week and we have to wear the same outfit for four days – everyone gets asked to bring two of every outfit.
I don’t have that or my wardrobe would be ridiculous, so I wash my clothes by hand every night.
“You spend a lot of time with the couples, and they open up to us. We end up saying to the director: ‘Do you realise she’s recovered from breast cancer?’ It’s nice to make a difference in people’s lives.”
But it’s not to say it’s all plain sailing filming a show aboard, and Laura has had some mishaps over the years.
“Every week is different. There have been episodes where couples have had a fallout midweek, and you’re like: ‘What’s going to happen?’ It’s stressful.
“I remember when I’d just had Tahlia and had gone back to work pretty quickly, so I was still breastfeeding. I was filming with this couple and I said to the director: ‘My left boob is about to start leaking.’ And he was like: ‘What?’
“I had this pale-green dress on and there was this massive patch. So, if you ever see that episode, that’s why I’m walking around with my arm covering it, because we had to keep filming. I was saying: ‘I need to just get this milk out of my boob.’”
A Place In The Sun, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2000, is a fan favourite.
It’s among the 10 most-watched programmes on the channel on any given week – and has only got more popular since Covid.
“The pandemic happened and people can work remotely, and that changed everything really,” Laura explains.
I do better from business and property than I do in my career in TV
“People want that escapism. A lot of people buy abroad – even me!
“I’ve bought a place in Pollensa in Mallorca. It was a bit mad, as my parents were visiting me and I said: ‘Let’s go view a couple of houses.’ The next thing I knew, I’d bought one! It’s a renovation project and then a holiday home.”
Property development is Laura’s main money earner, with 60% of her salary coming from buying and selling.
“I do better from business and property than I do in my career in TV,” she admits.
“But I love my TV job. My mum and dad always used to say to me: ‘If you want to work in television, always make sure you’ve got a back-up’.
“I love to be entrepreneurial. I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ve tried things that haven’t worked out and things that have, but that doesn’t mean I see it as a failure – I see it as a learning curve.”
Perhaps one of Laura’s more surprising roles was when she became a postmistress in order to save her local Post Office in Purley, Surrey, from closing.
She was very fortunate to avoid being caught up in the Horizon scandal, in which more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted for stealing and are still fighting for justice now.
“It was really crazy. Seven years ago, the local village shop was in disrepair and was closing down. It was previously a Post Office.
“And I thought: ‘I’m going to bring back the Post Office to the community and integrate it into a coffee shop and deli.’”
She did all the Post Office exams and hired staff to run it, but found it too much of a challenge.
“After a year, the coffee shop and deli really took off. But the Post Office was very difficult to run and balance the books. It was like a bank. We had a massive safe and we were dealing with a lot of money. Security would come every week and deliver the cash.
“People used to say: ‘It’s like running a pub and you’re the landlady.’ Your name’s above the door and if anything goes wrong, on your shoulders be it.
“I just thought: ‘I can’t run this side of it any more’. So we decided to wrap it up. That must have been about 12 months before the whole Horizon scandal, so I’m kind of glad I got out of that when I did.”
It’s clear that Laura doesn’t sit still for long. She’s recently started learning to be a pilot, and with her daredevil attitude could following her A Place In The Sun pal Scarlette Douglas on to I’m A Celebrity! be on the cards?
“I love a challenge,” she admits. “I live in a country house with lots of spiders. I’m learning to fly.
“My dad flies, so I grew up with that and always sort of thought: ‘I want to learn’. Never say never,” she says on the subject of the jungle.
“If an opportunity comes my way, I think: ‘Yeah, let’s just see what happens.’ I’m a ‘yes’ person. Even if I don’t know how to do something, I’ll figure it out.”
Do you have any skincare heroes?
A hydrafacial is my way of switching off – it helps look after my skin, as it’s in the sun all the time. I take Gold Collagen every day. I use a lot of Murad products, too.
What are your make-up bag essentials?
I do my own make-up on A Place In The Sun and I only take hand luggage, so I’m very minimal. I mix Mac face tint with Clinique tinted moisturiser.
Then I brush Chanel powder over to make sure it stays on. Then it’s Maybelline mascara and Kylie Jenner Lip Kit.
What do you splurge on?
Candles – I’d love one of those massive Diptique ones, but they are about £400!
Do you have any beauty hacks?
I use a Benefit brow pencil as a lipliner.
Who’s your celeb beauty icon?
Reese Witherspoon – she’s beautiful and never seems to age.
