TV presenter and personality Davina McCall has opened up about the 'mantra' that keeps her grounded amongst fame and family tragedy.
Davina is loved by the nation for her honesty and relatability. Known for her unguarded attitude, she makes no attempts to hide the tragedies that have happened in her life.
Coupled with her straight-talking persona, Davina is famed for being incredibly upbeat and positive, which, considering her drug addiction past and family trauma, could come as a surprise to many.
In a recent interview with Best magazine, Davina revealed what keeps her going when struggles of her sister's death and both her parents' and grandparents' battles with strains of dementia become too much.
It appears that the secret to a positive attitude such as Davina's, is to be grateful, even when everything seems to be going wrong.
She told Best magazine, 'I live by the motto "an attitude of gratitude"', explaining that even after the death of her 'beautiful sister' Caroline in 2012, Davina's life mantra is to be grateful for everything she has.
The 47-year-old presenter admits that to some, she probably looks like she has the perfect life: 'Some people might look at me and think "Oh that's easy for you", but it doesn't have to be about the hot husband or the lovely kids.'
That 'perfect' ideal is far from the truth for Davina, who's openly admitted to battling a heroin addiction in the past, and her family now struggle with both her grandmothers' dementia and her father's Alzheimer's.
'When I had a heroin habit, I was the lowest I could go emotionally. I hated myself. I couldn't look in a mirror because I disgusted myself.'
It's from that low point that Davina realised being grateful for what she did have was the only way to get better, 'The day I got clean was the day I started being grateful wherever I could.'
'When my beautiful sister died I had the panic, the pain, the "Why me?"
'But I opened my eyes to the fact that we had seven weeks at home, together, sharing memories and each other's company.
'I remember the outpouring of love for her and how that made her feel. I'm still unbelievably grateful that I was holding her hand when she slipped away.'
Davina's incredible, 'grateful' mindset is still something she uses today.
'It's a simple principle, but I've even found that being grateful, even for the little things, and trying to reframe a terrible situation helps you get through it.'
