Liz Jones's Diary: In which I learn an important lesson - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life Liz Jones Liz Jones’ s Diary In which I learn an important lesson By You Magazine - January 24, 2021 The man who says he’s in love with me, despite never having met me, continued to send long emails. Each one had its own heading, such as, ‘More about me’, ‘Last one tonight I promise’ and ‘New Year opportunities’. Abbey Lossing A couple of things put me off. First, that he chose as a lunch venue a hotel that would involve me in a five-hour round trip. I know I’ve criticised men for only dating within a manageable distance, but I’m too busy to drive for five hours to meet a man who heads an email: ‘Quirks’. Then came the inevitable missive that really set off alarm bells: ‘Mostly, my pleasure in sex is giving my partner pleasure. I’m not one to boast, as I’m rusty, and would probably take ages to get you to the heights you deserve. Better get back to your podcast…’ Oh. My. God. Who discusses sex with a woman they haven’t met! Men are mad! And I certainly don’t need another man who hangs on my every word. I ignored the sex stuff but told him off about this point. That I can’t date a stalker. He promised he would never listen to another podcast or read another word. But they all say, ‘Write what you like’ until you write what they don’t like*. They want their ego, as well as other unspeakable parts, massaged. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not hard to please. I once had sex with a man** because he bought me a cinema ticket, even though I couldn’t follow the film as this was pre-laser eye surgery and pre-hearing aids. My then boyfriend bought me a DVD of The L Word one Christmas (it wasn’t even the box set; the protagonists were lesbians), and I still married him! But then, a month ago, something happened. The model Stella Tennant sadly died aged 50. Her death shook me as I had, 16 years ago, travelled to her home in Berwick-upon-Tweed to interview her, an encounter that literally changed my life. Unlike most famous people, she picked me up from the station in her battered estate car, stuffed full of dry-cleaning and dog towels. I wore Burberry as an homage to her role in the brand’s new campaign; she wore old jeans and dirty Converse sneakers. Her handsome husband made me a vegan lunch so delicious I still remember each ingredient. We went for a walk with her children and stood, gazing back at her perfect doll’s house. She told me she had made enough money from modelling to be set for life, and never had to dip into the family funds (her grandmother was Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire). She dropped me back at the station. When I got home to London, my husband was on the sofa, having not made dinner. ‘Let’s order a curry,’ I said, smarting that he hadn’t asked what Stella was like. ‘We could,’ he said. ‘But I can’t be bothered to find the number.’ The contrast between what Stella had and what I had was stark, but I wasn’t jealous. I was inspired. I wanted the country house, the boot room, to not wear make-up each time I left the house, to embrace nature. I got all those things, but they didn’t make me happy. I remember, after Celebrity Big Brother, I went for dinner with a former housemate. She showed me on her phone the Ferrari she’d just taken delivery of. ‘Ah,’ I thought. ‘I deserve a nice car.’ Within days, I’d taken out a lease on a Mercedes. Only later did I discover it was the former housemate’s fiancé who’d bought the Ferrari for her. Stella’s marriage had broken up not long before she died. Nobody’s life is quite what it seems. Her final inspiration will be that I will no longer waste my life striving for what other people have. Nobody’s perfect, after all… *You might think it mean, but as Andrew Neil told my then soon-to-be-ex-husband on TV, ‘If you don’t want to be written about, don’t date a columnist!’ ** Osama Bin Laden lookalike RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Liz Jones In which I m turfed out on to the street Liz Jones In which I m torn between two men Liz Jones In which I have a birthday date DON' T MISS Fiona Bruce Sometimes I struggle not to cry November 14, 2021 17 beautiful 2021 diaries to help you to look forward to December 4, 2020 Why women leave men for women What’ s fuelling the rise of April 28, 2019 Hollywood veteran Laura Linney on plastic surgery friendship and her stellar July 3, 2017 You can shop the khaki jumpsuit from Holly Willoughby’ s new M& S July 17, 2019 The secrets and lies behind this happy family photo April 11, 2021 It’ s cocktail hour Olly Smith’ s cocktail recipes and Eleanor Maidment s canapé November 14, 2021 BBC One has revealed its Christmas TV schedule and there’ s lots December 2, 2020 YOU Beauty Box August Reviews August 1, 2017 Rome has been named the cheapest major city to visit in August 7, 2019 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. 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