Inviting us into the North London home she shares with her Arsenal manager husband Mikel Arteta and their three sons, actress, model and spiritual life coach Lorena Bernal exclusively tells HELLO! how she’s found lasting peace and happiness – and now wants to help others to do so, too.
“My happiest moments are when my family are all together, eating together and just enjoying the moment. When Mikel and I look at our kids, or we hear them in the background playing together, we’ll look at each other like: ‘That is happiness,’” she smiles as we sit down to chat, while, behind us, two of her sporty boys kick a ball around on the lawn – which has, as you’d expect in this football-mad household, goal posts at either end.
The couple are parents to Gabriel, Daniel and Oliver, who will turn 16, 13 and ten in June.
“We feel we’ve done a good job and they’re happy and healthy. That’s the happiest moment for me.”
Family is clearly central to the star’s life; their home is dotted with precious photographs, from framed pictures in the living room of Mikel on the football pitch with his sons to wedding photos – the couple’s big day was covered exclusively by our sister title ¡HOLA! in 2010 – proudly displayed in the hallway.
The couple, who will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary this summer, have been together for 23 years, after meeting in a nightclub in their Spanish hometown of San Sebastián.
© Oliver Oglesby“There isn’t just one secret to our marriage, but I’d say it’s important to understand and to accept that you’re two individuals sharing a life, not completing each other,” the 44-year-old says.
“You’re not there to teach them how to live; you’re there to grow next to them and support their growth. But you need to accept that each person has their own rhythms, pace and journey, and that acceptance makes it amazing.
© Oliver Oglesby“And of course, there’s the love underneath it, the foundation of admiration, respect for the other person… and having fun together.
“When we have time together, we do pretty normal things, because our life is the opposite of normal. So we go for a walk or we sit and have coffee. Doing nothing together is beautiful.”
© Oliver OglesbyThe acceptance she mentions has become a cornerstone of Lorena’s work as a spiritual life coach, a passion she has pursued alongside being an in-demand actress.
© Oliver OglesbyHer passion for coaching – she has helped fellow models and actors, and other footballers’ wives – has led to the release of Lorena’s new book, It Starts With You, which guides the reader on a transformative journey to find self-acceptance and gain purpose and peace in life.
Lorena doesn’t meditate or engage in other spiritual practices to find peace. “It’s a state of being that I have and apply in my daily life,” she smiles. “No matter where I am in my life, if I’m mothering or acting or being the wife of my husband, I enjoy it, embracing every day. Because every day is one day less that I have to enjoy all this.”
© Oliver OglesbyIn the interview, Lorena also admits that she isn’t a football fan – “I don’t dislike football, but I don’t particularly like it,” she says – and, of the term Wag, adds: “It’s a shame that people are put in a box with a label, and people assume that everyone with that label is the same way.”
For the full shoot and interview, pick up a copy of this week’s HELLO!, on sale now.
It Starts With You: How to Find Lasting Peace and Happiness is out now, published by Thorsons.
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