The latest royal book is Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by Gyles Brandreth. The Mail started excerpting the book this weekend, and those excerpts are already making headlines in Salt Island and here in America. Brandreth was apparently friends (or friendly) with Prince Philip, but this book seems mostly like royal rota gossip presented as insider knowledge. Brandreth is the first royal biographer (that I’ve seen) to write openly about what was possibly ailing Queen Elizabeth II in her final years. Brandreth says that he heard it was a form of bone marrow cancer, which would honestly make some sense. I’ve heard some gossip that Prince Philip had cancer too. I’ve also heard rumors that both Philip and Elizabeth had really bad cases of Covid and that neither really recovered. So take these excerpts as you want – I’m taking them as just random rumor-mongering.

QEII had already passed away when William & the Wessexes got to Balmoral: There was confusion about whether or not Harry’s wife, Meghan, would go up to Scotland with him. When it became clear that Catherine was not going because she would be collecting her children from school, it emerged that Meghan was not going, either. Andrew, Edward and Sophie, and Prince William arrived at Aberdeen airport in an RAF executive jet at 3.50pm and William drove the four of them to Balmoral, 45 miles away. They arrived at 5.06pm. Queen Elizabeth II was already dead.

QEII knew her time had come: The truth is that Her Majesty always knew that her remaining time was limited. She accepted this with all the grace you’d expect. I had heard that the Queen had a form of myeloma — bone marrow cancer — which would explain her tiredness and weight loss and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so of her life. The most common symptom of myeloma is bone pain, especially in the pelvis and lower back, and multiple myeloma is a disease that often affects the elderly.

QEII’s health was bad in her final months: When the Queen’s death was registered on September 16 my prediction proved accurate. The death was certified by Dr Douglas James Allan Glass, a local GP and official apothecary to the Queen who had been looking after her in Scotland for more than 30 years and who was with her when she died. Dr Glass said: ‘We have been concerned about the Queen’s health for several months. It was expected and we were quite aware of what was going to happen.’

QEII & Prince Philip would go weeks without seeing each other: They would speak regularly on the phone, but weeks could go by without them seeing one another. That shocked some people, though not those who appreciated how well the Queen understood her husband — understood his wish to be left to his own devices, ‘not to be fussed over’, to be allowed, after more than 70 years of duty, to see out his days in his own way.

Was Elizabeth at Philip’s side when he passed away? The Queen was reported to have been at her husband’s bedside when he died on the morning of April 9, 2021. In fact, I don’t believe she was. The Duke of Edinburgh had been in a hospital bed, set up in his dressing room at Windsor Castle. That morning, he went to the bathroom, helped by a nurse. When he came back, he said he felt a little faint and wanted help getting back into bed. The nurse called the Duke’s valet and the Queen’s page, Paul Whybrew, for help — and he died before the Queen could be called. The Queen wasn’t yet up. And she wasn’t called until after a doctor had come and pronounced the Duke dead.

Elizabeth was stoic about her husband’s death: He was being laid out when the Prince of Wales arrived. Charles waited and had a cup of tea, but went away without seeing his father. Prince Edward did see him and then, gradually, the rest of the family began to arrive. As they tried to comfort the Queen, the Queen was comforting them. It helped that Elizabeth was accustomed to her own company. Even when her husband was alive, she had so often spent evenings on her own.

[From The Daily Mail]

I think bone marrow cancer sounds like a reasonable explanation for what was happening with QEII’s health in her final year, honestly. There was a big shift though, something happened to her in October 2021 – suddenly, she was doing very poorly and the palace wouldn’t specify what was going on. Was that when they found the cancer? I wonder. I saw Omid Scobie tweeting about how it’s in poor taste for the Mail to publish these excerpts given that the details about QEII’s health were always “closely guarded,” but I actually disagree. While everyone has the right to medical privacy, it is legitimately different when the person is the head of state or an elected leader. I always found it ridiculous that the palace was allowed to get away with outright lies and obfuscation about QEII’s health – she’s the head of state, not your granny. Her health was a constitutional issue, not a private issue.

Helen Mirren stars with Harrison Ford in the newest Yellowstone spinoff, 1923 Yellowstone. I haven’t caught Yellowstone fever yet but I want to see Harrison and Helen together again so I intend to check it out. They were electric in The Mosquito Coast. Helen’s been giving interviews to magazines like AARP and People to promote 1923 Yellowstone and they’re asking her about her amazing career and famous boyfriends. I knew she’d worked with Peter O’Toole but I didn’t know she dated him. If I had a time machine, I’d make a play for Peter O’Toole. I’d regret it, but I have a bagful of men I regret already, why not land a lion? Anyway, Helen didn’t dish too much about Peter, she spoke more about Liam Neeson with whom she lived for four years and still adores, even if they weren’t meant to be. And, of course, her husband of 25 years, Taylor Hackford. When People asked her how Taylor makes her feel beautiful, Helen said he doesn’t, because it’s not necessary.

On Liam Neeson: We were not meant to be together in that way, but we loved each other very, very much. I love him deeply to this day. He’s such an amazing guy. We didn’t date, we lived together for four years — we were a serious item for a while. Lucky me!

On how Taylor Hackford makes her feel beautiful: Oh, he doesn’t! I don’t think he ever makes me feel beautiful. It’s not necessary. That’s not what I love him for, honestly.

On the pandemic: I’ve worked every year since I was 20. COVID was the first time in the whole of my life I’ve not worked for six months.

[So many people] were suffering through that terrible, terrible time, but what was valuable for me was that I got to spend time with my husband and sit across the table from him every night for six months — which I’ve never done before — and not worry about or even think about work.

[From Yahoo!]

I went back and forth with Helen’s comments about Taylor not making her feel beautiful. I love that she said them, but I was trying to think if I would give the same answer. Ultimately, I would. My husband tells me I’m beautiful often. And I feel beautiful around him. But Helen’s right, that’s a me thing. I’m responsible for that, not him. Like Helen, we appreciate our husbands sharing their thoughts with us, but we own how we project ourselves.

More specific to Helen – she is correct that it’s not necessary. She’s Helen Mirren, who the hell doesn’t know she’s beautiful?

I understand what Helen said about the pandemic. I know it’s hard to put a positive spin on that period but it’s like the families who had babies during the pandemic and were able to stay home with them in a way they wouldn’t have otherwise. Silver lining and all that. Since Helen is probably facing the idea of slowing down in her career, being able to preview it must have been good for her.

Photo credit: AARP and Cover Images

It’s clear that King Charles authorized some – if not all – of the leaks about his cash-for-honours dramas. Charles was trying to get all of those scandals out there before he became king, and the leaks were released at a steady clip over the course of 2021 and 2022. There are ongoing police investigations which will not touch Charles whatsoever, and Michael Fawcett has been designated the fall guy for all of the bribery, fraud and tacky money-grabbing. When Charles became king, senior courtiers insisted that Charles would create more distance between himself and his royal foundation, although everything seems to be mired in secretive shenanigans still, to this day. Speaking of, the Mail on Sunday had this curious story about how Charles has “agreed to accept millions of pounds in donations from Qatar.” His agreement to take millions of pounds came after he held a secret in-person meeting with Qatari officials.

King Charles’s charitable foundation has agreed to accept millions of pounds in donations from Qatar, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Prince’s Foundation will receive what is thought to be £4.5 million over the next three years under the deal with the World Cup hosts, according to sources. The charity is already mired in a ‘cash for honours’ scandal, which is the subject of a police investigation.

The new revelations will raise further concern over the running of the foundation, as Qatar faces widespread condemnation for its appalling human rights record. It comes after the King had said he would have far less time to be personally involved with the charity having ascended the throne.

But The Mail on Sunday can also reveal that the King made a secret visit in a blacked-out Range Rover to a Prince’s Foundation project at the Qatari-owned Chelsea Barracks in central London on Wednesday.

Taking what is said to be annual instalments of £1.5 million over the next three years from the Qataris can only raise further questions about the King’s charity and the way it is funded.

Qatar’s homophobic laws and discrimination against women have come under scrutiny in the run-up to the World Cup. The regime has also been blamed for the deaths of thousands of migrant workers who built the tournament’s stadiums. Prince William has chosen not to fly out to the matches of England and Wales in the tournament, despite being president of the Football Association.

Wednesday’s visit by the King to the Chelsea Barracks was not publicly acknowledged on the Court Circular, the official list of events undertaken by members of the Royal Family.

The King has launched a Highgrove Shop at the site, the funds from which go directly to the Prince’s Foundation, which has its headquarters in Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland. Previously, the money from the shops was funnelled into the Prince’s Fund – as separate charitable body associated with the King.

When approached by The Mail on Sunday about the visit, a Palace spokesperson said: ‘His Majesty The King made a brief visit to the Highgrove Christmas shop to meet some of the suppliers and craftspeople whose products are sold on behalf of The Prince’s Foundation, and other supporters.’

The secret visit to one of the shops in the Qatari development is likely to raise eyebrows because it suggests a continuing level of close personal involvement by the King. It had been thought that Charles would delegate his charitable duties, particularly at The Prince’s Foundation.

[From The Mail on Sunday]

“His Majesty The King made a brief visit to the Highgrove Christmas shop to meet some of the suppliers and craftspeople…” That sounds completely above-board, like a lovely event which would appear on the Court Circular, surely? The fact that Charles’s staff had the trip on a media blackout says that Charles was actually meeting with Qatari businessmen or officials in a “private capacity.” What is it with Charles and bags full of cash? He’s literally the king!! He has hundreds of millions of pounds at his disposal now. Even if one could argue that these are legitimate charitable donations and everything is legitimate, why the secrecy and why the furtive excuses? The palace coverup is what makes this look suspicious. That and Charles feeling the need to do this sh-t in person.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Avalon Red.

When then-Prince Charles was Prince of Wales AND Duke of Cornwall, he visited both Wales and Cornwall frequently. It often felt like Charles was constantly going on mini-tours every other week in Cornwall and Wales, honestly. But it worked for him – his respect for the Welsh people helped ease their larger concerns about the title of Tywysog Cymru, and from what I’ve seen, the people of Cornwall totally embraced both Charles and Camilla. Obviously, it’s very different now that Prince William holds those two titles. He’s beefing with Michael Sheen (and Sheen is winning) and William was too lazy to visit Cornwall before last week.

William made a solo day-trip to Cornwall last Thursday, the 24th. He visited a farm and “learned more about the 130,000 acres of land with 160 miles of British coastline in 23 counties of England and Wales.” This dude is 40 years old and still going on educational field trips. The Duchy of Cornwall is the biggest real estate holder in the UK, and it’s going to fund William’s work-shy lifestyle for as long as he’s crown prince. I guess Kate wasn’t interested in learning about her Duchess of Cornwall title or role.

During William’s visit, he spoke with a nutritionist and ended up writing down everything he eats in a day. William’s diet is not great – he could use some leafy greens, but so could I (so could we all). His diet:

The Prince of Wales revealed he has a healthy start to the day by eating two eggs and wholemeal toast with butter. He wrote on a nutrition sheet that he had enjoyed apple juice and a cup of tea with milk and sugar alongside it. But for lunch he said he ate a “rubbish sandwich” with a glass of water before having white fish with mushrooms for dinner. He had a banana and chocolate brownie as his snacks for the day, and drank three cups of coffee and a glass of red wine.

Prince William revealed his intake when he was grilled by nutritionist Monique Hyland during a visit to a community urban space in Cornwall today. He also told her he needed the caffeine from a few cups of tea because “the kids keep me up at night”.

Ms Hayland told CornwallLive: “He was a little bit nervous to begin with when I asked him what he ate yesterday. He was okay to start with as he had a healthy breakfast, but then he admitted someone had got him a ‘rubbish sandwich’ for lunch, and he had a chocolate brownie and a glass of red wine. He made the point of all things in moderation. I wanted to say that was very subjective but I’d already pushed him on asking what he ate.”

[From The Sun]

One glass of red wine a day isn’t bad (unless you’re an alcoholic). There are many studies saying a glass of red wine is actually pretty good for you, although when I drank, red wine just gave me a headache. The three cups of coffee though – that’s got William’s system all out of whack. It’s one thing to need some coffee in the morning to wake up, but three cups over the course of the day? Drink more water! White fish is lean and his breakfast is fine-ish, although I wonder if he really has two eggs every morning. Hm. Interesting. I wonder what the rubbish sandwich was.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Donald Trump hasn’t done much since he announced his third presidential run. He’s just staying in Mar-a-Lago, waiting to be indicted. He threw his usual Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago too, and someone (possibly Bigly) invited Kanye West. Kanye, in turn, invited a man named Nick Fuentes. Since antisemites are repugnant to me – as in, I feel violently ill covering them – I didn’t know Fuentes’s name off the top of my head. According to people in the know, Fuentes is a major figure in the White nationalist movement and he’s one of America’s premier Holocaust deniers. I’m not surprised that he’s an associate of Ye, nor am I surprised that Trump welcomed him to MAL. This is how it went down:

Former President Donald Trump hosted White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West at his Mar-a-Lago estate this week, demonstrating his continued willingness to associate with figures who have well-publicized antisemitic views as he embarks on another White House run. West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, posted a video Thursday on Twitter in which he claimed that Trump “is really impressed with Fuentes,” who has repeatedly made antisemitic and racist comments as chronicled by the Anti-Defamation League.

Fuentes, West said in the Twitter video, “is actually a loyalist” to Trump, unlike others who he said abandoned the former president after the 2020 election.

In a text message conversation tweeted by West on Thursday, he and Fuentes said they both met with the former president. A source familiar with the dinner confirmed to CNN that Trump on Tuesday met with Fuentes and West. The source said that Fuentes was a guest of West, who attended the dinner along with Karen Giorno, who ran Trump’s 2016 Florida campaign, and another unidentified man. The group feasted on a Thanksgiving dinner for roughly two hours at Trump’s outdoor patio table.

Trump was engaged with Fuentes and found him “very interesting,” the source said, particularly Fuentes’ abilities to rattle off statistics and data, and his familiarity with Trump world. At one point during the dinner, Trump declared that he “liked” Fuentes. According to the source, the dinner grew tense at various times, including after West asked Trump to join his 2024 campaign ticket for president as vice president, which Trump “laughed off.” The source could not pinpoint the exact moment the former president’s mood shifted.

Trump acknowledged the dinner in a post on Truth Social Friday stating: “This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”

Trump repeated later Friday that he “didn’t know” Fuentes and had offered West business as well as political advice.

“I told him he should definitely not run for President, ‘any voters you may have should vote for TRUMP,’” the former president wrote on Truth Social. “Anyway, we got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson.’”

[From CNN]

Trump has been on Truth Social ever since Thanksgiving, giving various denials about what was discussed and how long he spoke to Ye and Nick Fuentes. I actually believe that Ye would just turn up at MAL with guests and that Trump wouldn’t know who they were ahead of time. I also believe that Kanye is probably too manic to make much sense these days, and that was probably why Trump’s mood shifted. Trump was being out-crazied by Ye. All that being said, Trump’s campaign is clearly in damage-control mode, not just about the fact that Trump spent hours chatting it up with two known white supremacists and antisemites, but because Trump then lied about it online. One of Trump’s advisors (unnamed) told MSNBC that the whole thing was a “f–king nightmare” and this amateurish incident will give people a reason to vote for DeSantis.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Margot Robbie covers the December issue of Vanity Fair, mostly to promote Babylon, which comes out just before Christmas. Robbie is likely to be the face of the film and the main actor doing promotion for it, especially given that Brad Pitt is also in the film and he probably won’t/can’t do any interviews to promote it. The VF piece is nice, almost boring, and I’m saying that as someone who likes Margot. She’s smart, which means she side-steps a lot of professional landmines within the interview – Pitt is only mentioned in passing and she has nothing but positive things to say about working on a David O’Russell film (and nothing particularly positive about O’Russell himself). She talks a lot about her work as a producer, which is very interesting. But I did feel like… a little scandal and controversy would probably help hype the film a little bit? I was left feeling like this was just a by-the-numbers celebrity profile. Some highlights:

The decadence of ‘Babylon’: “What you see onscreen is the chaos of making a movie and how f–ked it is, but also how it’s just the greatest thing ever. And, literally, filming it was the exact same thing. Sh-t was so unhinged and so fun and amazing and just absurd. It was definitely the best experience of my life. The way I try to explain this job—and this world—to people is that the highs are really high and the lows are really, really low. And I guess if you’re lucky, it all balances out in the middle.”

On doing on-screen nudity: “I don’t really have a whole lot of modesty left. I don’t feel embarrassed when it’s Nellie doing something. I’d feel embarrassed if it was me, but it’s all her.”

She hates being alone: “I grew up in a very loud, busy house, and so I feel safe and comfortable when there is just chaos around me. I think it’s why I love movie sets.” She hates being alone, she adds, and often invites friends to hang out in her trailer between takes.

Immediately after ‘Wolf of Wall Street’: “Something was happening in those early stages and it was all pretty awful, and I remember saying to my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ And she just looked at me, completely straight-faced, and was like, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That’s when I realized the only way was forward.”

Dealing with paparazzi & invasions of privacy: “I know how to go through airports, and now I know who’s trying to f–k me over in what ways…. [but] If my mom dies in a car accident because you wanted a photo of me going in the grocery shop, or you knock my nephew off a bike—for what? For a photo? It’s dangerous but still weirdly nothing feels like it changes.”

The Barbie movie: “Making an obvious Barbie movie would’ve been extremely easy to do and anything easy to do is probably not worth doing.”

She’s a working producer: She’s in those preproduction meetings, she’s on set, she’s putting out fires and getting “yelled at by agents.” When I point out that many actors who get producer credits don’t actually, um, do any producing, she says, “Yeah, that pissed me off. It’s so annoying because I have to fight every time. Then everyone realizes after a few months, ‘Oh, she actually is a producer.’ But even still, people direct all the money questions at my producing partners, never at me. And so many times Tom and Josey have to say, ‘She’s the one to ask, actually.’ ”

Next projects: Robbie’s also in preproduction on an Ocean’s Eleven prequel that she’ll star in and produce. Another franchise spin-off she’d been attached to, a Pirates of the Caribbean film, is dead, she tells me. “We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led—not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story—which we thought would’ve been really cool, but I guess they don’t want to do it,” she says of Disney.

[From Vanity Fair]

I totally forgot that she was loosely attached to some Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff or whatever – that’s weird that Disney didn’t want Margot to take on their extremely lucrative property. I wonder if Disney even wants to reboot it or have a spinoff? Hm. Very curious. As for the paparazzi… her family still lives in Australia, and there is a big paparazzi contingent down there. It’s not like American paps are flying to Australia just to get some shots of Margot’s mom. Those are homegrown paparazzi, taking photos for Aussie tabloids and Murdoch’s media empire. Also, I’ve never understood people who can’t be alone. I’m just built a different way – if I never had a moment to myself or had to live in chaos, I would go batsh-t crazy.

Obsessed with this photo, omg.

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Cover & IG courtesy of Vanity Fair.

On Thursday, Queen Camilla decided to do an event around kids and Paddington Bear. During the Jubbly, Queen Elizabeth II did a video with the animated Paddington Bear, from the movies, voiced by Ben Whishaw. Then, months later, QEII passed away and people left Paddington Bears in tribute to QEII all over London. Many of those stuffed animals were gathered by the Palace and they’ve given the task of “donating the bears” to Camilla. Anything to make her seem warm, pleasant and happy to be around children (when she’s none of those things).

So, on Thursday, Camilla was tasked with giving away a wicker basket full of bears to the children at an East London kindergarten. Notably, the bear-distribution operation was not handled whatsoever by Camilla or the palace. No, Barnardo’s children’s charity was tasked with gathering up all of the Paddingtons, washing them and distributing them to kids. Camilla just turned up to claim credit. The whole reason I decided to write about this is because the palace-made video from the event is not that great for Camilla. First of all, the kids aren’t paying attention to her at all. Second of all, one child stands close to Camilla and Camilla decided to lift the little girl’s arm up by her shirt cuff. It was one of the most awkward exchanges I’ve ever seen.

It’s so cringey. I mean, I can see why the galaxy-brains at Buckingham Palace thought it would be a good photo-op – Camilla and Paddington, who can hate on that? – but the fact that their own in-house videographer captured what actually happened at the event, it’s pretty bad. Stop treating children like dogs. Don’t lift a child’s arm up by the shirt cuff.

Photos courtesy of Justin Ng / Avalon.

In the past two Christmases, Queen Elizabeth II stayed in Windsor Castle, where her staff and security formed “the HMS Bubble” around her, for her own protection. She still got Covid somehow, so it’s not like the system was particularly effective. But the point is that the last time the Windsors did a big “royal Christmas at Sandringham” was 2019. Well, now that King Charles is in charge, he’s bringing back the royal Christmas tradition. I kind of hope he updates it, truly.

King Charles III is is set to spend Christmas Day at Sandringham this year – following in the steps of his mother – and marking a return to the traditional royal family Christmas on the Norfolk estate. The monarch, 74, and the Queen Consort are expected to be joined by their wider family as they mark their first festive season without the late Queen.

It follows a two-year break, when, due to the Covid pandemic, Her Majesty had spent the period at Windsor Castle two years in a row – the first with the Duke of Edinburgh, separated from her wider family in lockdown.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the royal decided to travel to Sandringham House – where Queen Elizabeth II hosted her family over the festive period throughout the decades – to spend the poignant first Yuletide since his accession to the throne.

Royal Christmases usually feature a morning trip to St Mary Magdalene Church, the greeting of well-wishers, and a family lunch with turkey and all the trimmings. The Prince and Princess of Wales – along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – are often among the gathered guests.

[From The Daily Mail]

One of those royal reporters said something about how Prince William and Kate wouldn’t be allowed to spend Christmas in Bucklebury anymore, now that they have the Wales titles. It’s true – they’ll be expected to spend the holiday in Sandringham, meaning they’ll probably just stay at Anmer Hall (which they never gave up). They’ll probably invite the extended Middleton family to Norfolk too. I would imagine the Wessexes will go to Sandringham, as will Princess Anne. Will Prince Andrew be invited? Hm.

As for the royal Christmas traditions… the traditions are from the Victorian age, and they’re very Germanic and tight-ass. It’s especially difficult for royals with young children, because the schedule doesn’t really allow for parents to enjoy the holiday by the tree, playing with the kids and all of that. I doubt Charles will change much in his first year.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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This week’s Archetypes’ podcast episode was “Beyond the Archetype: Human, Being.” The Duchess of Sussex spoke to high schoolers, Candace Bushnell, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and more about identity, being and existing beyond the archetypes. While it was a very enjoyable episode, I kind of felt like it wasn’t necessarily the strongest “archetype,” if you know what I’m saying? Like, in the previous episodes, Meghan did a good job staying on some kind of theme and dissecting the trope, stereotype or archetype in both an intellectual and personal way. This episode just felt more like a grab-bag, like Meghan just wanted to talk to kids from her old school, and Candace and Rodriguez.

On this episode, Meghan also had Amanda Gorman on as the last guest of the episode. Gorman, as I’m sure everyone remembers, is LA’s youth poet laureate, and she became mega-famous when she was asked to recite her original work, “The Hill We Climb,” at President Biden’s inauguration. On Archetypes, Gorman recited a poem she wrote about “a future that is female,” one of the lines of which was: “We will not fail, we will not sway/For where there’s will, there’s woman/And where there’s woman, there is forever a way.” Not only was Gorman a guest on Archetypes, she got to meet Meghan and Harry in person! Amanda posted the photo, above, on her social media. Harry looks so rosy-cheeked and happy. Meghan and Amanda look beautiful! Of course Meghan would be all about Amanda Gorman, another LA Girl.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Avalon Red, Archewell, Spotify.

Christina Ricci is enjoying something of a professional and personal renaissance these days. She’s booked and busy, with roles on Yellowjackets, Netflix’s Wednesday Adams show, and a series about Zelda Fitzgerald. She survived her marriage to and divorce from her abusive first husband. She remarried and she had another child. Ricci talked about all of this and more with the Times of London and she comes across really well in this piece. Mature, interesting, still a little bit of a nihilistic goth kid. Some highlights:

She loves the Wednesday Adams character: “The thing that’s most important about Wednesday, and why I think it is important for every generation to have a version of her, is that this is a girl who does not feel the pressures of our pop culture, of our society. She is a person who respects herself, who values herself for exactly who she is. She never conforms, never folds, but is always dignified and fair.”

The conversations about her body in the ‘90s: “I didn’t enjoy that. I never wore clothes to garner sexual attention, because I have always felt that kind of attention in a very threatening way.”

She really was nihilistic in her teens & 20s: “I just felt no passion, no care. I made a lot of important decisions completely dispassionately, which ended up being a problem later — so, note to anyone, don’t make important life decisions when you are going through periods of nihilism. But really it was a reaction. It was exhausting to be so upset and in pain all the time.”

Welcoming her son Freddie in her 30s: “My son’s birth really broke my nihilism and it was a pretty surprising change. I thought I would really love him and feel a lot of emotions towards him. I didn’t realise that it is all or nothing.”

Being in an abusive marriage: “I think with those things . . . Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but it took me a long time to admit to myself what was going on, what it should be called. Denial is very strong. Of course you don’t want to accept that the worst possible thing is happening and that you put yourself in that situation. So it took me a really long time to realise that.”

She loves fashion & jewelry but she’s sold a lot of stuff: “I burnt a lot of money on bags and shoes and jewellery when I was younger. You know, coming from no money and suddenly having money . . . So that was a mistake. I’ve learnt to be a little bit more intelligent about my investments. I don’t buy a ton of fashion. There are certain things that I have collected, certain bags. I had quite a Chanel-handbag collection for a while, but I sold a lot of things…. certain traumas in life go along with financial traumas, extended court situations, custody situations, fighting restraining orders. Having said that, I’m absolutely doing fine, there’s no issue. But I learnt to use these investment pieces in different ways. I also had a Chanel Fine Jewellery collection that I put to good use.”

She doesn’t want her abusive first marriage to define her: “I think it is important to say that I don’t feel like a victim in any way. I don’t feel sorry for myself. I don’t even feel like saying, ‘Well, it’s been a really hard road for me.’ Everybody has their personal issues and this has been mine, and it has been about finding my own self-worth and position and strength and power. I tell my story only because I know that, having been in situations like the one I was in, I searched for success stories, stories of people who could get out, could get over it and just be OK. And so the fact that now I am in this place where I am so much better than OK, that is my impetus for being honest about it. Today I am not ready to talk about it in more depth, but I do think it is important that we have examples for other women — that, as scary as it is, changing your life and saving yourself is the only choice.”

[From The Times]

She drops some breadcrumbs within the interview which led me to believe that no one ever role-modeled healthy relationships in her childhood. As in, her parents’ marriage was abusive and they emotionally abused her as well. It seems like she’s taken some time to unlearn toxic patterns and understand what has happened to her throughout her life. The fact that she sold her handbags and Chanel jewelry to escape her abusive marriage too… I feel so bad for her, but it’s amazing that she had that safety net in the possessions she collected over the years. She stresses that she’s doing fine now financially. Maybe she’ll start collecting purses and jewelry again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.