Gabby Logan reveals the surprising benefits of an empty nest
The BBC presenter on the Olympics, making positive changes and still doing the splits.
Image credit: www.elisabethoff.com
The BBC presenter on the Olympics, making positive changes and still doing the splits.
“Oh yes, I can still do the splits,” Gabby Logan revealed to our own Saga Magazine. “It’s not something I’m training for, I just want to keep doing them.”
The 51-year-old broadcaster was a competitive rhythmic gymnast in her teens and once said her ambition was to still be able to get down on the floor like that at the age of 60. There are nine years left to go.
“The point is, I don’t want to decline," she says. "Now I know from all the amazing experts who’ve come on my podcast that there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do them at that age.”
Logan will be hosting the 2024 Paris Olympic Games for the BBC which starts on July 26.
She also has a successful podcast The Midpoint and a new book out, called The Midpoint Plan, both of which explain why it’s never too late to make a positive change in your life.
The most popular episode of her podcast has been where she talks to her husband Kenny about having his prostate removed due to cancer.
"When he got his diagnosis he said that once he had been treated he would like to talk about it," she says. "So we started recording little bits we could put in a podcast.
“His prostate episode is the most downloaded of all. Doctors recommend it to their patients.”
After a biopsy and scan he opted to have his prostate removed in 2022 to prevent the cancer coming back, an operation that can sometimes result in impotence. Thankfully, after a period of rehabilitation Kenny has now made a full recovery.
So good that Logan reveals the surprising benefits of having an empty nest in her new book.
“You can have daytime sex again!” she says. “My kids will kill me for oversharing, but it’s a plus point of being empty nesters.”
She’s now looking forward to a summer of sport at the Olympics.
“We’ve got a really great crop of British athletes,” Logan says. “I wasn’t an Olympic gold medal-winner, but I do understand what it takes to get there, having lived a bit of that life.”
She’ll be joining a team of BBC presenters at the games, including Clare Balding, Isa Guha and Hazel Irvine.
“Hazel is doing this Olympics and she’s a broadcaster par excellence - the benchmark for me. If Hazel’s still there, I’m still there,” she says.
But she’s not fazed by presenting to millions of people.
“You’re aware when something is enormous, but I think you want to try to get the best out of your guests. The secret, as ever, is to be yourself.”
The Midpoint Plan: Taking charge of your health, habits and happiness to thrive in midlife and beyond by Gabby Logan (Piatkus, RRP £22
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