She turned 40 in 2020, and Judi Love says ever since then, her priorities have shifted. While she used to worry about having curves, she’s now adopted a “don’t care attitude” – and feels liberated.
The comedian, now 41, even says that she loves nothing more than to get naked in front of the mirror to boost her self-confidence.
She tells Closer, “Every woman who looks at their body thinks, ‘Urgh’, there is somebody else who will look at your body and say, ‘I wish I had that.’ It doesn’t matter what size or what age, there will be another woman who thinks your body is better than hers.
“It’s about coming to a place of acceptance and, if there are things you don’t like, then work on them, but accept yourself. It’s about honestly standing in front of that mirror naked and just embracing yourself, feeling your body, grabbing that thigh, grabbing your tummy, grabbing your boobs.
“I love to stand in front of the mirror naked and cover myself with cream, that way I can see every single part and every angle of my body. What my body looks like from the left, from the side and from the back. That’s the best way for you to build your confidence and just take that step. If you’re going on holiday, put on the damn bikini!”
Judi – who is London-born but whose family is from Jamaica – burst onto the comedy scene in 2012, breaking a taboo and talking about the funnier side of caring for her mother who had dementia. Her debut show was called “Laughter Is Healing”.
Since then, she’s appeared on Celebrity MasterChef, Pranksterz, Taskmaster and starred on the latest series of Strictly.
She’s been on the Loose Women panel since 2020, the same year she turned 40, and says that, so far, this is her best decade yet.
She says, “I have loved my 40s so far. It’s about coming into your own and you feel that you don’t really owe anyone anything. You don’t have to try to be anybody else.
“I love working on Loose Women. I find the women on the show so inspiring; we’ve got actresses, news reporters and singers and, every time I go on set, I’m inspired by someone and there’s a different story that I hear that makes me think, ‘Wow, OK, I’m surrounded by boss women’.
“There’s nothing that I probably couldn’t ask that comes into my head that I feel like I couldn’t get advice for because I’m on a panel with nearly 20 women with different experiences, and that is a blessing.”
Judi is a single mother of two children, aged 12 and 16, who she chooses to keep out of the limelight. And despite her huge career success, Judi says that being a mum is her most important role – although her kids do love her job.
She says, “Being a mum has grounded me really. It’s always hard juggling motherhood and a career, but I hope and pray that I’ve done enough so that they can thrive in a world when they’re adults on their own. I think that’s the only thing I can really hope for.
“And my kids do love the opportunities that my work brings. They go to nice events. They know that Mummy knows people who they really love – like Stormzy!”
Judi also keeps her love life private, but said earlier this year that she’s “definitely dating” and would love to find The One. And she now says, “One day I would like to get married. Why not? But I do think it’s more about finding love, and not about the rituals. So as long as that is the forefront of the relationship, I would definitely like to get married one day.”
Read more celebrity news and interviews in this week's Closer magazine - OUT NOW