Fearne Cotton says 'crippling anxiety' left her afraid of work and driving and living like 'a hermit' but the single star is now the happiest she's ever been

Fearne Cotton has said her 'crippling anxiety' left her afraid of work and 'living like a hermit'.

The presenter, 44, reflected on the period of her life when she revealed that she needed surgery to remove two benign tumours from her jaw in December 2024.

The following week, she announced her separation from husband Jesse Wood, the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, after ten years of marriage.

In a new interview, the star opened up about being 'stuck in deep anxiety' during this turbulent time in her life.

Fearne told The Sun: 'I built up a snowball of anxiety that could be triggered by just stumbling over a word in a conversation.'

She continued: 'It was just nuts, I was crippled with anxiety, I had panic attacks constantly.

'There were lots of things I couldn't do – I couldn't drive a car, couldn't do a lot of TV work I'd been doing, I just felt debilitated.'

However, nearly two years on and Fearne admitted that she is 'now the happiest I've ever been'.

She revealed it was a therapist who helped her to realise she was struggling with anger. 

It comes after Fearne ditched her husband Jesse's surname after their split.

The presenter changed the name she uses as a director of We Are Happy Place, the private firm into which she pays her pounds earned as a Radio 2 presenter and podcast host.

She has now changed her name from 'Mrs Fearne Wood' back to 'Ms Fearne Cotton' after her ex-husband Jesse announced that his new girlfriend Made In Chelsea's Gemma Gregory is expecting his child.

Two of Jesse's four previous children son Rex, 12, and daughter Honey, nine, were with Fearne.

The author's representatives declined to say whether her divorce has been finalised from Jesse when contacted by the Daily Mail. 

In June, Fearne admitted she is 'dealing with certain stressful things' as she opened up on Instagram.

As Jesse prepares to welcome his fifth child with his new girlfriend Gemma, Fearne confessed she is going through a stressful time at the moment.

Sharing a heartwarming story about how a stranger wrote her and her daughter a poem after seeing them out together in London, she began: 'So something really lovely happened today that was a good reminder for me that there are good eggs out there and lovely things can happen if you are open to them.

'So, like many of you, I'm racing through my week, I'm juggling all sorts, I'm also dealing with certain stressful things I'm trying to grow and learn through rather than drowning.'

Fearne then explained how she was out in a coffee shop with her daughter when an elderly man came over and complimented her daughter's red hair.

He then wrote the pair of them a poem. Fearne explained: 'He handed us this beautiful poem that was so magical and sort of wished us prayers and happiness, and to always have a smile on our faces.

'It was so lovely, and he handed over the poem, and he said, "Should we jump for joy?" And we all jumped on the spot.

'And then me and my daughter had sort of cracked up laughing, thanked Dennis profusely, and left. And we just had a huge grin on our faces.

'It's a good reminder, there are great people out there.'

Fearne didn't explicitly reveal what the stressful circumstances were.

However, the month before Jesse's new girlfriend Gemma took to Instagram as she gushed that she and Jesse were settling into their 'new casa' as she showed off her bump in a series of bikini-clad snaps. 

The happy pair made the most of the heatwave with a barbecue in the garden, with Gemma gushing they were about to enter a 'new chapter together'.

Gemma shared a gallery of snaps from the move as she showed off their new home, writing: 'Happy new chapter. Casa coming together. And a hop and skip from the soul fam @nellieultraviolet.