Nigella Lawson knows a thing or two about the single life. Having divorced from her husband Charles Saatchi in 2013, the beloved cook suddenly found herself in her 50s and on her own for the first time in years.
It’s a situation many older women can relate to, with an increasing number of over-50s calling it quits around the world. In Australia and the UK, more over-50s are getting divorced than any other age bracket.
Now, Lawson, who’s beloved for her delectable dishes, cookbooks and TV shows around the world, has offered a little advice to single women. In her very first cookbook, How to Eat, Lawson wrote about the importance of making the time to cook delicious and fulfilling meals for yourself, even if it’s just you at the table.
Website 9 Honey reports that at her talk at Sydney’s Enmore theatre last week, Lawson reiterated her philosophy.
“‘It doesn’t matter, it’s only me,’ – that’s a very sad thing to think,” she said. “There’s something about cooking for yourself that feels like, is it self-acceptance?
“Maybe as a woman you often find yourself servicing other people and responding to their needs, so actually making something simple to eat for yourself, it just feels nice to take care of oneself. I think that’s important.”
While it may sound simplistic to some, it’s actually a powerful thought for women who’ve spent most of their lives caring for others and now find themselves living alone.
Lawson has spoken out in the past about the need for women to take better care of themselves and not deprive themselves of the food they want. She’s openly criticised strict diets and society’s obsession with being thin, telling Mumamia in 2016 that she prefers to work on a “eat what you want” basis to eliminate feelings of guilt.
“I prefer to concentrate on what I add to my diet, rather than what I take away, and that seems a much happier way of looking at it. It’s an essential act of kindness towards yourself,” she said.
She also hit out at fad diets, such as the clean eating movement, saying it implies that “everything else is dirty and shameful”.
“I think food-shaming is pernicious,” she added.
Well you know what, ladies? If it’s good enough for Nigella, it’s good enough for us.