Dame Mary Berry, 90, opens up emotionally about caring for her 93-year-old husband who has stayed by her side for 60 years. She calls herself “lucky”, but behind the laughter is a 90-year-old woman quietly fighting time — refusing to leave the man she’s loved for nearly six decades
Dame Mary Berry has opened up about the deep gratitude she feels for still having her husband, Paul John March Hunning, by her side after nearly six decades of marriage.
The beloved TV star, 90, spoke during an appearance at the Yeovil Literary Festival, where she shared that many of her close friends have already lost their partners — something that makes her appreciate her own circumstances even more.
Mary said she often tells herself she is “very lucky”, adding that while Paul is now “frail and forgetful”, he remains “lovely”, and she makes sure someone is always with him in case he “topples over.”
She joked that her mother, who lived until age 105, hated when friends passed away and would grumble, “So inconvenient!” — a memory Mary now recalls with fondness and a smile.
Mary and Paul — married for 59 years — share two children, Thomas, 57, and Annabel, 55. Paul, a retired antique bookseller, increasingly needs support at home, and Mary prefers not to be away from him for long. When work takes her to film BBC shows or promote her cookbooks, she returns home whenever she can. If she has to stay overnight, their daughter Annabel steps in to cook his supper and “keep an eye on him.”
Despite his age, Paul still insists Mary should enjoy her work. “He always says: ‘You enjoy it. Off you go!’” she told the audience. But she added she rarely spends nights away now, given his growing fragility.
Mary also shared a playful detail about home life — Paul is notoriously hopeless in the kitchen. She laughed as she recalled a moment when he offered her sister-in-law “red or white” because he “doesn’t do tea.”
Promoting her new book Mary At 90, the former Bake Off judge also revealed how she stays healthy at her age. She avoids second helpings, eats smaller portions, and sticks to one glass of wine in the evening — though she confessed the glass “is getting bigger.” Her guilty pleasure? “Pringles,” she admitted with a grin.
Mary also reflected on her dating life before Paul. She laughed as she told the audience she had “several boyfriends in Bath” while keeping Paul, whom she called “the London one,” as another option because she “kept her options open.”
Even now, at 90, Mary’s mix of humour, honesty and warmth remains unmistakably hers — and her devotion to Paul shines through every word.