Amanda Holden, 43: 'I Don't Want To Be An Old Grandmother'

Amanda Holden, 43: 'I Don't Want To Be An Old Grandmother'
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Amanda Holden wants her daughters to get married and have kids before they're 25 years old – so that the Britain's Got Talent judge can be a young(ish) grandmother.

Despite the fact her girls are just eight and two years old, the 43 year-old star fears if they follow her example she might never get to meet her grandchildren.

In an interview with Woman & Home magazine, Amanda revealed her regrets over her first failed marriage to Les Dennis and said she hopes daughters Lexi and Hollie will find Mr Right before she met hers – the girls' dad, Chris Hughes, who Amanda married in 2008.

She said: "My big hope for them is that they find the person they want to be with first time. I think you can handle most things if you've got a happy family life.

"But I said to Chris the other day I might be 80 when I have my first grandchild if Lexi waits till she's 40.

"So the only advice I'll give them about men is 'Don't get married before you are 24, but please have children before you're 25'."

Amanda was 34 when she had the first of her children with Chris following her disastrous relationship with comedian Les Dennis.

The couple wed in 1995 when she was just 24, but their marriage was rocked in 2000 when it was revealed she had an affair with actor Neil Morrissey.

Now she says she wishes she and Les had split up much sooner.

She said: "We had a good six years but then one of us should have said, 'This isn't going to work anymore'. I regret how badly he came off. When I first married Les I think I was seen by some as a gold digger and I'd go out of my way to change opinion.

"But my view now is that you just have to give yourself a break and accept that not everyone will like you. I mean, I find myself irritating sometimes - so other people must too.

"I had divorced a national treasure and very publicly had an affair, so I think a lot of people must have thought I was a bit of a minx - not least because if you're a woman you're somehow not allowed to do that kind of thing.

"But the reality is I am not that girl and have always been very much a relationship person. I could have let the country when I divorced from Les. But I didn't want to be dictated to. My mum always said I'd rather walk into trouble than run away from it."

For the full interview see the June issue of Woman & Home, on sale now.

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