She turned heads when she first hit our screens on last year’s smash-hit summer dating show, My Mum, Your Dad, while also catching the eye of silver fox Roger Hawes, with her infectious personality and long, blonde locks.
And as Janey Smith strikes a pose on our exclusive photo shoot, she’s refreshingly honest about her figure. “I feel good about myself – I mean, I’ve got a wobbly tummy and a few lumps here and there, but it doesn’t bother me because I love my food and a glass of wine,” the 48-year-old tells Closer.
“I don’t tie myself up in knots about how much I weigh,” says Janey, who is mum to son Will, 20. “When I watched the show back, I thought, ‘Bloomin’ heck, that telly has put 7lbs on me’, but then I meet people and they say, ‘Oh, you’re not as big as we thought you were!’ so you can’t win.
“I like my shoulders, and I’ve always been tall. When I was younger, I’d get teased about my height,” says 5ft 10 Janey. “I put it down to jealousy and I’ve embraced it now. Do I feel sexy? Yes, I do. I turn 50 next year, but I still feel about 20 in my head – and that’s why I get along so well with Roger, because he’s really only 19!”
The star, who has been loved-up with widower Roger, who sadly lost his wife Joanne to cancer, after meeting on the ITV show last June, credits her size 14 figure to daily workouts with the former postman. She says, “I walk lots with Roger – he keeps me fit. He’s 11 years older than me, so he’s more aware of his health now and we make a big effort to get outside and then check our steps at the end of the day. We do ankle taps – where you bring up your ankles to touch the alternative hand while standing – in the morning; it’s really effective for flexibility – we do around 100, but some days I even manage 300. I’ve also been hoola-hooping, which is great for the waist!”
But despite her bubbly nature, the singer admits she’s been impacted by the menopause, particularly with her mental health, and has only recently turned a corner. She explains, “I went into perimenopause so early – in my late 30s! It knocked me a bit, and affected my moods especially. I felt anxious, insecure and had all those gremlins.
“I noticed insecurities kicked in about my body too. I was given antidepressants twice over the years, but they didn’t agree with me and, in my heart, I just knew it wasn’t depression.
“Last Christmas, I felt so low. I thought, ‘This is a bit dangerous when you’re feeling this bad’. I had brain fog, which wasn’t great as a singer, and I had no confidence. I went back to the doctor and he recognised my symptoms were because I was perimenopausal. It was a relief. I suffered for a long time but, since going on HRT, I’m a different person.”
And the star, who presents travel segments with Roger on This Morning, says the 59-year-old has also put a spring back in her step. She previously admitted to Closer that cheeky Roger “loves PDAs”, while he went on to disclose that the pair love a bath together. And Janey confirms sparks are still flying between them.
“Roger over shares – that’s the problem,” she laughs. “But the chemistry is still there. Roger cares about his appearance and I do fancy him. Whenever we go out, he always says, ‘Janey, you look beautiful.’ He’s very young at heart and always flirts with me, which keeps me young too. He’s always up to something! If we’re going up on an escalator, he can’t keep his hands off me! I have to tell him off a bit sometimes, but he boosts my confidence. I’m the same with him, I laugh and say he’s the best looking 60-year-old man I know!”
Since they met on the show, their relationship has gone from strength to strength, with the pair rarely spending time apart despite having separate homes in Derbyshire and West Sussex. But Janey admits they’ve had their fair share of trolling.
She says, “We’ve had a few shockers, to be honest, and there’s the odd comment that sticks. People have said things like, ‘Oh, she’s really bossy’, and others have judged Roger and said it was too soon for him to be with someone again and it’s disrespectful to his late wife. So many women can be quick to pull you down. You soon realise that most people in the public eye experience trolling and you learn to brush it off.”
But the pair, who recently celebrated their first anniversary with a trip to Greece, continue to count their lucky stars that they met on TV. She says, “If it wasn’t for the show, we’d never have met. I’d had relationships in the past, but I’d never lived with anyone so it’s nice to spend so much time with Roger at each other’s places. After the show, I thought, ‘What I’ve got with Roger is good – I’m not going to mess it up, we’re in it for the long haul’.
“Roger knows I’d like to get married one day, and he would too. I think it’s just about timings and when it feels right – we won’t rush it!’
