Dame Mary Berry is well known for her positive take on her life and work, sharing how she embraces traditional marriage values, and how the smallest things helped her through grief after the loss of her son, William.
However, the baking star has recently offered rare insight into her biggest regret in life, and what she wishes she’d done differently in relation to it – although she does follow up this reveal with her top tips for throwing off regrets and living a happy life.
During an appearance on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, Mary shares that her biggest regret is not spending more time with her father, and not trying to get to know him better through his “brusque” personality.
“I wish I’d spoken more to my father, who was quite brusque,” Mary tells Fearne. She adds, “I should’ve talked and spent more time with him, but when I came to London to work, I’d go home at weekends and see friends.”
She reiterates again that instead of seeing friends on visits home, she should’ve put time into her relationship with her dad. “I should’ve spent more time with him,” she says again.
Fearne is sympathetic to this regret, saying in return, “I think most of us feel like that about a parent or grandparent – wishing we’d asked for more stories – that’s what I’m craving from my nan, all those brilliant life stories.”
Mary then weighs in on the advice she’d give her younger self, and it’s well worth hearing. “Don’t make rash decisions,” she says, explaining that if an opportunity or new venture is offered, her younger self should “sleep on it, and do something about it the next morning.”
Mary shares that throughout life, she’s often taken a new opportunity immediately, later pondering, “I should’ve waited, I should’ve thought. Make sure that you’re going to make the right decision.”
It does appear Mary doesn’t like to dwell on past mistakes, and as well as giving positive advice to her younger self, also shares her top tips for living a happier life.
“One of the most important things in life is to be kind,” she says, adding, “It takes a bit of thinking about, to be kind, to be helpful, to be tolerant.”
With a lot of self-awareness, she also shares that she has learnt to understand that “I’m not always right,” which has been a valuable life lesson to be happy.
When questioned about her ultimate “happy place” in life, Mary gives the most adorable answer.
“My happy place is with my family, at home, preferably on a lovely spring day, outside, having an easy lunch, lots of conversation and fun,” she shares.
After speaking with Mary, Fearne has some advice for her podcast listeners based on what the baking star told her.
Fearne says, “If you’ve got a granny alive, a grandad alive, or someone who is in their eighth or ninth century, quiz them.”
“Quiz them about life, get all the tips,” she adds, concluding, “We need to be learning about life and longevity from people who have lived long lives.” This seems like fantastic advice to live by.
