Fearne Cotton has said she wants to say goodbye to ‘shame, guilt and worrying whether I’m likeable in 2026’ as she shared a candid New Year’s message
The TV presenter, 44, took to her Instagram with a video sharing her plans for New Year’s Eve
Fearne Cotton has revealed she is ready to walk into 2026 leaving behind “shame, guilt and worrying whether I’m likeable,” after sharing an emotional and deeply honest New Year message with fans.
It comes after Fearne recalled being sacked by Simon Cowell and revealed the incredible gift Sharon Osbourne gave her when she left X Factor spin off show, The Xtra Factor
The 44-year-old TV star took to Instagram with a video filmed from home, explaining that illness had forced her to cancel New Year’s Eve plans.
The star fronted the show for one series in 2007, later being replaced by her friend Holly Willoughby
“So I was meant to go to my mate’s party tonight,” she told followers, “but as you can tell from my bright red nose and beady eyes, I’ve still got the lurgy. I feel dreadful, so I’m not going anywhere.”
Fearne pictured with Brian Friedman, Simon, Dermot O’Leary, Sharon and Dannii Minogue on the show in 2007
Instead of heading out, Fearne said she would spend the night reflecting on how she wants to respond to life in the year ahead.
“New Year is a funny one,” she explained. “We feel like we have to come up with this huge list of things we’re going to do next year, and things we’re not going to do. That’s almost impossible, because although we have autonomy over some outcomes, there are loads of things we simply can’t control.”
So rather than setting goals, Fearne said she would focus on how she reacts.
“I want to react to things honestly, which means worrying a lot less about being likeable,” she said. “I want to react without guilt, because it’s fu**ing pointless. I want to react without shame, because it feels horrible and gets me nowhere.
“And I want to react from a place that lacks ego, because my ego makes me defensive and cold-hearted… which isn’t good.”
She added: “So that’s what I’m going to focus on tonight, while I’m lying in bed with a heated blanket feeling dreadful. But whatever you’re doing — Happy New Year.”
Alongside the clip she wrote:
“Full of lurgy, full of contemplation. This heavy cold is forcing me to do very little, which I’m not good at. In 2026 I want to say goodbye to shame, guilt and worrying whether or not I’m likeable. A big challenge perhaps, but a worthwhile one. You?”
The post comes shortly after Fearne recalled being “essentially sacked” by Simon Cowell from The Xtra Factor in 2007, later being replaced by close friend Holly Willoughby. While giving fans a tour of her wardrobe on Instagram in August, she revealed that Sharon Osbourne had gifted her a Prada handbag after her departure.
“I’m doing an awkward amount of name-dropping here,” she joked. “This bag was given to me by Sharon Osbourne after I finished Xtra Factor. I essentially got sacked from… anyway, I got a bag out of it.”
Fearne also spoke candidly last year to The Times about the brutal reality of working in TV.
“I’ve been sacked a million times,” she said. “Sometimes you’re not even told — you just turn the telly on and someone else is doing your job. It’s all a big game.”
Elsewhere, the star recently admitted that life as a single mum has left her emotionally exhausted following her split from husband Jesse Wood after 10 years of marriage.
In her most honest interview since the separation, Fearne confessed that some days she is left “crying in her car” while juggling work and raising her two children alone.
“I’m just dropping lots of balls constantly,” she told Women’s Health podcast Just As Well. “I had nothing the kids liked for breakfast on Monday — cereal but no milk, butter but no bread, pancakes but no maple syrup. It’s like an absolute s**t show.”
Despite the chaos, Fearne insisted she is enjoying most of the journey — and hopes 2026 will be the year she finally lets go of the weight she’s carried for so long.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
