Davina McCall has been to hell and back since a routine health check late last year uncovered a benign brain tumour, which she had surgery to remove. But one constant through her health scare has been her partner, Michael Douglas, as OK! reports.
The Masked Singer judge revealed in November that a colloid cyst had been found after she was offered a health check-up, as part of her menopause advocacy work. She had surgery to remove the tumour and spent time in intensive care before recovering at home with the help of her boyfriend, while keeping fans updated on her progress.
Davina, 57, has been open about the challenges of her experience. Last month, she admitted that her “short-term memory is a bit remiss” but she is “on the mend”. She revealed tearfully to Steven Bartlett in an episode of on her own podcast Begin Again that she felt the benign tumour “had taken control of me and I was so angry about that” following her shock diagnosis last year – and that she and Michael had spoken about death.
She explained, “I couldn’t let it go. (I thought) ‘How dare you control my daily life like this and make me feel every day like I’m in danger?’ “I have newfound enormous sympathy for people who have benign brain tumours. Because you think… I have had so many people say to me, ‘Well, at least it was benign.’ And you think, ‘You have no idea that benign brain tumours can still kill you.’ It’s just, you don’t know when it’s going to happen. It could happen tomorrow, it could happen in years’ time. It’s different to cancer, but it is also awful. A benign does not mean fine.”
The presenter revealed that living with that knowledge was frightening. She added she feels like life’s “never going to be the same again, but in a rather good way…” Davina also explained she thought about what would happen to her children, Holly, 23, Tilly, 21, and Chester, 18, if she “didn’t make it”. “I did go and address my will and make sure that was airtight,” she said.
“I talked to Michael about my wishes. I wrote letters of wishes to all the children and put those in my will.” But now looking to the future, former Big Brother host Davina – who named her tumour ‘Jeffrey’ – said she hopes that in two years’ time, she will view the traumatic experience as “one of the greatest blessings of my life”.
She admitted the scary experience was life-changing – but looking happy, healthy, and focusing on the future, a source claims that the TV star’s terrifying health battle has only strengthened her bond with hairdresser Michael. 49. “What Davina has been through with her health has brought her and Michael even closer. He has been a total rock to her and she’s been able to completely rely on him, while going through something awful,” they said.
In the worst of times, Michael – who she has been in a relationship with since 2019, following her divorce from TV producer Matthew Robertson – truly proved that he is there for her when the going gets tough, the source added. “He’s shown how amazing he is, how much he adores her and that he can really show up for her in good times and bad. Davina knows the sign of a true partner is someone who can be there for you when things are difficult as well as when things are great,” they said.
“It’s easy to be strong in the good times, but Michael showed that he could stand by her and support her when she was going through something truly terrible. She’s been able to cry with him, laugh with him and totally rely on him for everything – he’s been there every step of this journey. They’re stronger than ever now.”
Michael and Davina have been together for five years, but love blossomed out of many years of friendship as the pair first met more than 20 years ago, while working on Big Brother. Speaking last month, Michael confessed that Davina’s health battle has been transformative for both of them. “We’ve both woken up this year with a real sense of optimism and excitement for 2025,” he said. “We’re big fans of stepping out into the unknown so I think there’ll be a bit of that going on this year. We’ll be trying some new things and seeing what happens.”
New episodes of Begin Again drop each Thursday, 8am, wherever you get your podcasts
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