Ricky Gervais’ long-term partner Jane Fallon has admitted she has no regrets about the couple’s decision not to have children.
The TV producer turned bestselling novelist, 65, who has been in a relationship with the comedian, 64, for over four decades, confessed that she knew from a young age that having children wasn’t part of her life plan.
‘When I was little, you know the cliche of a little girl is they imagine their wedding day and their wedding dress… it was none of that, ever,’ Jane said on the Second Act podcast with Ateh Jewel on Monday.
‘I would think about getting a dog or something. It was always about work and my life. I would think about the flat that I would live in and stuff like that.
‘But I was never into that kind of romance stuff.’
The author, who has penned several Sunday Times bestsellers including Faking Friends and Queen Bee, explained that being the youngest of five siblings meant she escaped family pressure to have grandchildren for her parents.
Ricky Gervais’ long-term partner Jane Fallon has admitted she has no regrets about the couple’s decision not to have children
The TV producer turned bestselling novelist, 65, who has been in a relationship with the comedian, 64, for over four decades, confessed that she knew from a young age that having children wasn’t part of her life plan
‘Luckily, big family – other people have had kids, so you’re the youngest, the other people have had them, so the pressure is off,’ she said.
‘I feel bad for people in smaller families where they feel that pressure from their parents to give them grandchildren or whatever. I never had any of that.’
Jane admitted that her anxiety would have made her an overbearing mother, comparing herself to one of her sisters who she praised for finding the perfect balance raising her children.
‘I’m a real catastrophist… I assume the worst,’ she confessed. ‘When I watch my next sister up and her two kids, she’s so brilliant.
‘She’s just got that balance right of letting them be independent but not being reckless.
‘I would stifle the life out of my kids. I can’t even let my cat out. I think your job as a parent is to create independent, go-be-free [kids]. It’s really hard.’
The author added: ‘I just thought I’ll be a better auntie – and auntie to my friends’ kids – than I will be a mother.
‘I just didn’t think I’d be very good at it because I thought I’d be too anxious.’
Jane admitted that her anxiety would have made her an overbearing mother, comparing herself to one of her sisters who she praised for finding the perfect balance raising her children
Jane and Ricky, who met as students at University College London in 1982, have been together for 44 years but have never married.
The pair moved in together in 1984 in what Ricky has previously described as a tiny flat ‘above some sort of seedy sauna’ in King’s Cross, where they went through ‘a good few years when we had absolutely no money’.
On the podcast, Jane also reflected on how their relationship worked because they pursued different career paths at different paces, with her rise in television production coming before Ricky’s meteoric success as a comedian.
‘I think often if you both want to do exactly the same thing, then I think it’s really hard work,’ said Jane, whose TV producer credits include Teachers, This Life and EastEnders.
She added that when she started becoming successful, ‘Ricky didn’t really know what he wanted to do at that point, he was still trying to find his thing.
‘He was just always really pleased for me because I wasn’t raining on his parade. And I was helping us get out of the [financial] ditch we were in.
‘I’ve never wanted to be a performer.
‘We did want to do totally different things, and also, with what happened to him, it was really helpful what my career had been because he wasn’t entering this alien, glamorous world.
‘I knew that TV was a really hard slog and it wasn’t all people running around having parties and having fun.
‘You work long hours, and I understand the process.
‘So it wasn’t like I’d lost him to this incredibly glamorous thing that frightened me.’
The couple, who live together in north London, have been vocal about their decision not to marry.
Ricky has previously stated: ‘We are married for all intents and purposes, everything’s shared and actually our fake marriage has lasted longer than a real one.
‘But there’s no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God.’
