WELLBEING

Star of stage and screen Martine McCutcheon on managing her health issues and feeling grateful

For actress and singer Martine McCutcheon, the past year has been “a time of self-exploration, and realising what really matters” – with her wellbeing becoming a priority.

After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, ME and Lyme disease over the past few years, the mum to sixyear-old son Rafferty with songwriter and producer husband Jack McManus tells hello!: “Anybody with an ongoing illness has their own lockdown. It’s harder in a way because you’re not in it together.” Now Martine has partnered with CBD brand Pureis, in search of ways to keep calm, alongside brand ambassadors such as rugby union legend Mike Tindall.

Here, the 45 year-old, who hopes that people will continue to support each other beyond the pandemic, talks to hello! about meditation, the importance of “showing up for yourself”, and her essential wellbeing accessory…

What lockdown habits will you take into postlockdown life, Martine?

“I work less now, it’s about quality rather than quantity and I’ve realised I can do things on my own terms a lot more. I’ve said no to more things.

“[I’m] a self-employed working mum at the end of the day. People think that when you’re well known, everything’s always covered and done, but you still have to have that balance of saying: ‘That’s my cut-off point.’ Give yourself that routine and say: ‘That’s when I’m going to finish,’ and set your own rules for selfpreservation in all of it.”