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Victoria Derbyshire felt 'complete' getting married at 49 to partner of 17 years

Victoria Derbyshire was prompted to get married after receiving a diagnosis for breast cancer. (Getty Images)
Victoria Derbyshire was prompted to get married after receiving a diagnosis for breast cancer. (Getty Images)

Victoria Derbyshire has revealed how she felt "complete" after getting married at 49 to her partner of 17 years.

The presenter, now 53, was prompted to walk down the aisle in 2018 with her other half, Mark Sandell, after receiving a diagnosis for breast cancer.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine, she said: "After my diagnosis, I’d said, 'If we get through this I would like to get married, but I don’t want you to do it if it’s only because you feel sorry for me.'

"It was weird to finally start calling him my husband, but amazing to get married at 49. I feel more complete now."

Derbyshire, who is mother to sons Oliver, 18, and Joe, 15, added that it was "brilliant having our boys there" to witness the special occasion.

The TV star was told she had cancer in 2015 after discovering an inverted nipple, and she went on to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

She said her first reaction after her diagnosis was "I’m going to die," but since making a full recovery she notes that the experience has now given her a "different perspective".

The broadcaster said: "When I was told [The Victoria Derbyshire Show] was being cancelled in 2020, as part of BBC cutbacks, I was gutted, but unlike breast cancer it was not a life or death situation."

While taking part in I'm A Celebrity in 2020, Derbyshire opened up about how her husband was left speechless following her diagnosis.

She said: “We could barely speak. We could barely speak to each other. We are talkers, we are open, and we just had no words because, honestly, all I was thinking was, 'I'm going to die. Seriously, I’m going to die.'

“And then I thought, 'I'm not going to see my boys grow up, I’m not going to grow old with Mark.' I just thought, 'My luck's run out.'"

In the same episode of the show, she described the NHS as "superb" and said it "saved" her life.

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