She’s said to be the highest earning woman on TV – even ahead of the likes of Holly Willoughby – for her role on Good Morning Britain. But last week, Susanna Reid revealed she wanted to scale back on her work commitments to focus on her three children.
Revealing that while she’ll be keeping her role on GMB – which she’s described as “TV tinder” as producers continue to scrabble to find a replacement following Piers Morgan’s departure – Susanna, 51, added that she won’t take on any “extra” work.
“I’ve made the decision this year, because my boys are doing GCSE and A-levels, it is really important for me that I am present,” she announced on the show last week. “I’ve just decided that they’ll be my focus this year.”
Now a source tells Closer how Susanna has been re-evaluating her life after lockdown.
The source says, “She’s felt her entire life has centred on work for so long and she wants to put herself and her family first. She doesn’t want to miss out on time she has before her two youngest leave for university. She’s told friends she’s worried she’ll look back in 10 years’ time and think ‘What was all that work for?’”
Susanna rose to fame when she began presenting BBC Breakfast in 2003, before her shock departure to join ITV to host GMB in 2014 – joined the following year by her former co-host Piers Morgan.
CHECK OUT Susanna Reid's GMB outfits and high street dupes
Susanna Reid: All her clothes from Good Morning Britain and where to get it cheaper on the high street
1 of 2TUESDAY 3 May
Susanna interviewed Boris Johnson and she looked amazing. The GMB presenter wore this red pencil dress and heels - a classic outfit that's perfect for everyone's wardrobe.**Where you can get Susanna's look for less on the high street:**From New Look you can recreate Susanna's entire outfit for less than £30...
2 of 2susanna reid red dress
READ MORE celeb news
Meghan Markle's brother: 'She will have to face what she's done'
Lucy Mecklenburgh's ultimatum: tells Ryan Thomas to end fallout with Tina O'Brien
Viewers feared for the future of the show when, with ratings soaring, Piers quit over a row about Meghan Markle with co-presenter Alex Beresford last May. But proving she is a powerhouse in her own right, her contract was renewed for £1.1m.
She’s also hosted a string of hard-hitting documentaries, including British Grandma On Death Row With Susanna Reid, which airs next week, as well as being runner-up on Strictly in 2013 and appearing on other shows including Loose Women.
But while her career has gone from strength-to-strength, Susanna – who shares sons Sam, 19, Finn, 17, and Jack, 16, with ex Dominic Cotton – has previously revealed how she battles with “mum guilt”.
Admitting she cried when her eldest left for university in 2020, Susanna said, “This is the start of three or four years with all my ducklings leaving, then there’s going to be an empty nest. I find that really hard. There are moments when you think, ‘Why was I not present when they were tiny?’ I was around a lot for them, but sometimes you can regret you weren’t there playing with them every single moment of every single day. You have that kind of guilt.”
Following her split from Dominic in 2014, Susanna has not settled down despite dating Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish on and off since 2018.
They were last spotted sharing a meal in London last summer but haven’t been seen together since, and now the source says Susanna is ready to move on.
The source says, “She is single, but she feels like she wants to put some time into finding a new man. She’s hoping to spend the extra time she’ll have by sacrificing extra work projects to work on herself too, as well as her boys, and that includes dating. She’s hoping a calmer schedule will allow her to put more time into looking for her Mr Right, too.”
Read more in the latest issue of Closer magazine – OUT NOW.