CELEBRITY INTERVIEW
MY LIFE IN HEALTH
TV presenter-turned-psychotherapist Melinda Messenger, 52, talks to Joanna Ebsworth about changing careers, new beginnings, following her heart and the importance of taking on new challenges.
My life is totally different in every way to my glamour modelling days. I started modelling in my late 20s, so it feels like it happened in another lifetime, to be honest. It was a mixed time, with lots of fun, excitement, adventure and challenges.
I look back and think I definitely wouldn’t want to be doing all of that now, that’s for sure! But I guess it was quite a significant time in my life, and it was a springboard for so many opportunities.
The modelling side of my career was actually very short. Following an interview with Chris Evans on TFI Friday, I was asked by TV producers to host my first-ever show, and then it was just endless presenting offers after that. I worked in TV solidly for more than 10 years, working every day back-to-back, and while I was very grateful to have all those opportunities, I knew that if I didn’t make a conscious choice to change my path, I’d massively regret it later.
I actively started trying to keep a low profile when I became pregnant with my first son, Morgan, just so I could try to have as normal a life as possible. I carried on working in television, but I also tried to keep my distance.
I was doing Dancing on Ice in 2010 when a calling within me told me I should do something else. And I knew that if I didn’t take control of the situation – however it was going to unfold and however it would turn out – something precious in me would be destroyed. I decided to honour that and see where it took me, and it’s taken me to where I am today.
I started to wind down my TV work when I began training for my new career in psychotherapy around seven years ago, and while I obviously still do some TV work, I tend to pick and choose opportunities.
Retraining for a new career hasn’t been an easy journey. Lots of people have since said to me they’d also love to retrain in a new career but don’t know how they’d manage it or do it. And I really understand all of that. I’ve faced real challenges. There were times when I thought it wasn’t going to be possible. There were lots of false starts and huge difficulties, but it’s all part of the challenge, and it meant that I got to develop in a more balanced way and work on the areas of me that weren’t so strong. So, while the challenge wasn’t easy, it was a good thing. weather’s bad and you don’t feel like it and you think the crop isn’t going to yield anything, but you keep going because you believe in
