Real Housewives of London star on growing up in the south

“Having a wholesome childhood in the countryside is a world apart from the Real Housewives of London.”

Amanda Cronin, a former model who founded her own skincare business, grew up in a country home in Hampshire and says she had an “idyllic” childhood in Hamble and Dorset.

The 57-year-old, who now lives in Belgravia, is one of the breakout stars of the new Real Housewives television franchise in London.

The reality show has spread around the world, with viewers lapping up the partying and catfighting by wealthy socialites in locations from Sydney to Nairobi.

“Hampshire was the beginning,” says Amanda, who has lived in Monaco, France and Switzerland, but is currently in London.

Growing up just outside of Winchester, she attended St Anne’s Catholic School.

Most of her childhood was spent out in the countryside, getting boats across to the Isle of Wight and spending time in Sandbanks, Dorset.

“I was a small-town girl with really big dreams,” she says.

“Strength, wholesomeness and character building is what I took from growing up in the south.

“It was all about leaning into the simplicity of life and picking blackberries and tomatoes.

“I also know how to drive a tractor so you know, I’m just very well equipped in life to deal with the show.”

In 2019, Amanda divorced her husband and shortly after she found faith in Christianity.

At 57 she wants to give a positive message to other single women in their 50s.

“Let’s understand that writing a whole new chapter 50 plus can be hard work, but so rewarding and mature women still have so much to offer,” she says.

Alongside filming for the show, she also has a doctor-led beauty and wellness clinic at her home and her own skincare brand.

Amanda has publicly spoken about “owning” her health by using the weight loss drug Ozempic.

“I was gaining weight being post-menopausal for no other reason than the drop in oestrogen impacting on my resistance to insulin,” she says.

“So, I did a micro-dose of Ozempic and I lost eight kilos and it resolved other issues like bloating and water retention, so I had a positive experience.”

Amanda says being given the opportunity to become a Real Housewives cast member was “empowering.”

“I have got so many fans and the show has been the cherry on the icing of the cake for me,” she says.

“I’m a really open book, I don’t want to be misjudged anymore and I don’t want to be in the world today with any negativity around me or my character.”

It has become a tradition at the Housewives reunions to ask each woman what their rose and thorn of the season is.

Being confronted by some of the women was Amanda’s thorn: “It was hurtful and traumatic, but I am that woman who even in my lowest moments will have washed my hair, put on some makeup, lipstick, dressed myself.

“My mother’s the same, still taking such great care of herself, even 80 plus.”

The rose of Amanda’s season was getting to know the other women: “Some of us already knew each other from the same social circles.

“I’m also really proud of the work I did, all of the girls and the production, because I think we delivered something really magical and special.”