Dame Jenni Murray, 70, reveals she’s ‘aching’ to become a grandmother but knows not to pester her two sons who are married to ‘clever, ambitious women’ in their mid to late 30s
- Jenni Murray, 70, has said she has felt ‘aches’ to have her own grandchildren
- Former Woman’s Hour host admitted to being jealous of friends who have them
- Writing in Saga magazine, Jenni said her pets are not ‘adequate substitutes’
Jenni Murray has revealed she ‘aches’ to have grandchildren and feels jealous of her friends who already have them.
Writing in Saga magazine, the 70-year-old former Woman’s Hour host said that despite her longing to be a grandmother, she knows not to ‘pester’ her two sons into having children.
Jenni said that both her sons are married to ‘ambitious’ women in their mid-to-late 30s who have professional careers.
Waiting for her own grandchildren is driving her ‘crazy’ but she has elected to stay quiet on the subject to maintain a good relationship with her daughters-in-law.
Veteran broadcaster Jenni Murray, 70, (second-from-right) has said she ‘aches’ to have grandchildren of her own. Pictured: Jenni with her husband David (left) and her two sons Charlie (second-from-left) and Ed (right) in 2011
Jenni, who hosted Woman’s Hour for more than 30 years, said she’s found that her dogs are not adequate substitutes for grandchildren and felt jealous when her goddaughter told her she was pregnant.
Writing in Saga magazine she said: ‘As the conversation came to a close I was confronted with an unexpected emotion, I was jealous.
‘I am not alone in this aching for a grandchild. For my contemporaries who don’t have children it’s out of the question of course.
‘But as I walk my dogs, I often see women of my age looking longingly at the grandparents who are swinging their little ones in the playground.
The former Woman’s Hour host also said she felt jealous after her goddaughter told her she was pregnant
‘I try to tell myself dogs are an adequate substitute. They’re not.’
The veteran broadcaster has two grown up sons, Ed and Charlie, with her husband David. But in contrast to her own mother, she chooses to bite her tongue.
‘My mother drove me crazy pestering me to give her a grandson,’ she wrote. ‘I was her only child and not having a boy was a huge disappointment for her.
‘When I had my first at what she considered was the old age of 33, her response was to grasp him from my arms and cry, “At last, my boy”.
Writing in Saga magazine, Jenni said that she has found her pets (pictured) to be less than adequate substitutes for grandchildren
‘I know never to drop hints if I’m to keep my excellent relationship with my daughters in law.
‘I taught my boys to expect complete equality in their relationships and they’ve both chosen clever, ambitious young women, heading for their mid and late thirties, who are talented professionals.
‘So I must wait, silently. The choice is theirs.’