Andrea McLean admits she had financial worries after deciding to leave Loose Women

Andrea McLean has spoken out on leaving Loose Women, admitting she agonised over the decision for months.

The star stepped down from the ITV show last month after 13 years, and in a new interview with OK! Magazine she explained that while her leaving left her co-stars in ‘absolute shock,’ she was confident it was the right choice. 

Now concentrating on her business with husband Nick Feeney, Andrea said she had to consider the financial implications of quitting TV. 

Financial strain: Andrea McLean has spoken out on leaving Loose Women, admitting she agonised over the decision for months

‘It was such a slow burner. By the time it came around, it felt like absolutely the right thing to do. It was a weird decision – it did feel scary!’ she told OK!

‘It took months of thinking about it. We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Nick and I sat down and wrote what we needed to prepare for.’

She continued: ‘Worst case – we would have to sell the house. Best, the This Girl Is On Fire membership and website we’ve set up works and we’re successful with that.’

Andrea and Nick now both work full time on the business, with Nick’s daughter also on board.

Working together: The star stepped down from the ITV show last month after 13 years to concentrate on her business with husband Nick Feeney

Working together: The star stepped down from the ITV show last month after 13 years to concentrate on her business with husband Nick Feeney

But she explained to OK! that she had to set some ground rules while working together, admitting: ‘I’ve been very honest with Nick and explained I need my space. I can’t sit working with him, cooking dinner with him, watching TV together and then going to bed with him.’

As for her ex co-stars, Andrea said they were all in ‘absolute shock,’ when she told them she was leaving. 

‘I didn’t breathe a word to anybody because I felt like it was such a personal decision. The hardest person to tell was Brenda Edwards, because we’ve become so close. She just burst into tears,’ remembered Andrea.

Andrea has kept in touch with Brenda and Saira Khan in the weeks since her departure, admitting she wasn’t surprised by her friend Saira’s decision to quit Loose Women shortly after she did. 

Emotional: 'It took months of thinking about it. We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Nick and I sat down and wrote what we needed to prepare for,' she explained

Emotional: ‘It took months of thinking about it. We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Nick and I sat down and wrote what we needed to prepare for,’ she explained

Trying to diffuse any rumours of a rift on the ITV show, Andrea insisted Loose Women is ‘like any working environment. If you work with a lot of people, you’re drawn to the one you sit next to. It’s exactly like that.’

While Andrea’s departure appears amicable, MailOnline exclusively revealed last week that Saira has blocked three of her former co-stars on Instagram since quitting.

The TV personality, 50, made a sudden departure from the long-running lunchtime staple last month, shortly after revealing her shock decision to quit.

And since revealing that she only ‘tolerated’ some of her fellow panellists, a source has revealed to MailOnline that Saira has now blocked Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams and Jane Moore from viewing her Instagram posts. 

Shock: As for her ex co-stars, Andrea said they were all in 'absolute shock,' when she told them she was leaving, adding: 'I didn't breathe a word to anybody'

Shock: As for her ex co-stars, Andrea said they were all in ‘absolute shock,’ when she told them she was leaving, adding: ‘I didn’t breathe a word to anybody’

While it had initially been believed that the trio of panellists had unfollowed their former co-star, the source told MailOnline all three were unceremoniously blocked.

Despite this, Kaye and Jane, both 58, are both still following Saira Skin, their co-star’s skincare business, on the social media platform.

But Saira is still following other famous faces from the chat show, including Stacey Solomon, Brenda Edwards and Ruth Langsford.

Likewise, the ex-Apprentice star has not deleted Loose Women’s Linda Robson, Coleen Nolan, Denise Welch, Kelle Bryan and Judi Love from her Instagram.

MailOnline has contacted representatives of Saira, Jane, Nadia, Kaye, and Loose Women for comment. 

Tensions: While Andrea's departure appears amicable, MailOnline exclusively revealed last week that Saira  Khan has blocked three of her former co-stars on Instagram since quitting Loose Women shortly after Andrea

Tensions: While Andrea’s departure appears amicable, MailOnline exclusively revealed last week that Saira  Khan has blocked three of her former co-stars on Instagram since quitting Loose Women shortly after Andrea

It comes after Saira shed more light on her sudden departure from Loose Women on an Instagram chat show earlier this week.

Appearing Celebrity Skin Talk, she was asked by host Scott McGlynn whether she would be staying in touch with her co-stars.

She said: ‘You make friends with some people, you tolerate some people, and some people you are just there to do the job with.’ 

Hinting there was more to be said on the matter, she went on: ‘I’m not going to go into the nitty gritty here now. There are some I will be close to because we get each other.  And there are some I won’t miss at all who I was just like “I just have to tolerate you to do the job”. 

‘You have to be professional about it. You can’t pretend that you’re all going to be best friends. On a show with different opinions, you’re not going to tolerate everybody’s opinion. That’s not a problem, just do it with respect and you have to be open minded.’ 

Instagram: Saira has unfollowed her Loose Women co-star Nadia Sawalha, soon after saying she will only stay in touch with some of her Loose Women co-stars

Instagram: Saira has unfollowed her Loose Women co-star Nadia Sawalha, soon after saying she will only stay in touch with some of her Loose Women co-stars