Martine McCutcheon has much to celebrate in 2022.
Alongside her 10 years of marriage to 37-year-old singer Jack McManus, the former EastEnders and Love Actually star has just launched a modelling career after being signed by the prestigious Elite model agency, which has represented supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell.
And we can see why – a glance at 45-year-old Martine’s Instagram page confirms that she’s practically glowing.
Over the past decade, Martine has suffered a number of hidden illnesses that have been tough to deal with, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and Lyme disease.
But she has found ways to manage her health, which has given her the energy to chase both her dreams and her seven-year-old “miracle baby” Rafferty, who was conceived despite fertility issues.
"I think it takes a long time to work out what your own recipe is," she tells Love Sunday magazine.
" It’s taken me such a long time to look through all the stuff that’s out there, and just do what works for me.
"So it’s not as simple as just going on a crazy diet. I just feel like it’s really important to encourage women to just be the best version of themselves."
Martine says she doesn't follow a particular diet to stay healthy but has a simple trick to stay in shape.
"The 80/20 rule is what works for me," she said.
"For 80% of my week, I will have mainly just healthy proteins, vegetables and fruit, organic and veggie juices, and Flora ProActiv spread.
"And then I’ll have treats 20% of the time – I’ll have that slice of pizza, chocolate or a G&T to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I’ll do it because I know that for most of the week, I’ve been doing the good bits for my heart."
Martine also goes for a 40 minute walk every day for exercise.
"I walk with my dogs every day – it’s good for my head and my health," she said.
"Normally I’ll do the school drop-off ready to go in my trainers with the dogs in the back of the car.
"Then I’ll go straight to the forest. When we lived in London, I’d walk to the parks or go on the treadmill in the gym, but it wasn’t as satisfying as it is now.
"Now we live in the Surrey countryside I have a lot more beautiful space around me, where I have that time to breathe. I like to walk for about 40 minutes."
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Martine suffers from fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread pain and extreme tiredness.
And she has cold showers to help combat the condition.
"It’s not every day, but I have one when I can," she said.
"I’ll have a cold shower at the end [of a hot shower] and stay in there as long as I can.
"It really kind of makes me feel like I’ve been WD-40’d."
Martine and her husband Jack will celebrate 10 years of marriage this September.
"I have a very strong and silent, but supportive partner who is successful in his own right," she said.
"He’s a producer and songwriter, so he understands the industry, but he’s got his own success and his own confidence, and
he loves to help me shine.
"I’m very lucky I met somebody like that, because in our industry, you can meet people who are either competing with you or they don’t understand the industry. So for me, it was the perfect cocktail."
The couple share a seven-year-son that Martine says was the "absolute best thing that’s ever happened to me".
She explains: "Rafferty was a miracle child. I was told I couldn’t have children and when I was trying to have IVF, they were like, ';Nope, you can’t have children.'
"Afterwards they were like, 'We don’t know how you had him!' They said the same thing to my mum and she had two children. So it’s obvious we’re very, very blessed with our little miracles, because I know it’s a struggle for a lot of women. I’m biased, but Rafferty is a very special soul."
Martine McCutcheon is working with Flora ProActiv to announce its partnership with HEART UK and educate the country on the importance of understanding and testing cholesterol levels. This Valentine’s Day, Flora ProActiv has created a set of cards to encourage cholesterol testing, where all proceeds will go to HEART UK.
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