Paula Radcliffe has recently opened up about her daughter Isla’s traumatic cancer battle, when she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer when she was age 13. As well as this horrible ordeal, Paula has been candid about her devastating reason for fleeing the UK in 2005.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the mother-of-two admitted: “I found it too distressing to stay in England after what happened in Athens – I felt like I’d let the country down. I decided I didn’t want to live somewhere where I was recognised all the time.”
She was alluding to dramatically pulling out of the Athens marathon due to injury when she was a favourite to win gold.
Sunshine calling
However, the lure of a new location to call home was also driven by a desire for sunshine and the perfect place to raise her children. And that place was Monte Carlo in Monaco.
“I was attracted to the better weather,” she told the publication. Continuing: “I do altitude training in the Pyrenees, which is easy to reach from here, and I also wanted to bring my kids up to be bilingual, which I think is a big advantage in the modern world.”
But what might be surprising is that despite her impressive running career and commentary work, the star still rents a property. “We can’t afford to buy in Monaco,” she confessed to The Telegraph in another interview. “Everything here is very expensive. Two-bedroom apartments cost anything from £1 million up to £6 million or £7 million for a really good location with views. I’m certainly not in that bracket.”
© Photo: Getty ImagesPaula has no intention of heading back to Britain, by the sounds of her adoration for Monte Carlo. “I love waking up to the beautiful blue of the sea of the Côte d’Azur and yet also being close to the mountains. You have the best of both worlds, an interesting friendly city, with lots to see and do… The weather is good, and the beaches are very inviting, so you can easily swim in the sea all year round. During the low season it is even nicer, as it is less crowded.”
Relaxed lifestyle
Giving an insight into her life over there in an interview with The Guardian, Paula painted a picture of her days off: “I stay in bed as long as possible, or until my nine-year-old decides I’ve had enough sleep. Sunday breakfast is pancakes, we make them together, and then I’ll head out for a run. That’s when I have space to think.”
Relaxation for Paula is spending time “on the beach with kayaks in the summer” and “when it’s colder, we might head to the mountains and ski, or I’ll stay at home with my daughter, who loves to bake”.
Paula’s Instagram feed, with over 70,000 followers, is mainly dedicated to her running and commentary work, but very occasionally she shares glimpses into her private residence. Her décor is kept simple with white walls, a grey sofa and monochrome artwork on the walls of the lounge.
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