Rochelle and Marvin Humes: Anybody who says they’ve got balance is lying
By Camilla Foster, PA
This Morning presenter Rochelle Humes believes any parent who claims that they have figured out the perfect “balance” between work and home life is probably “lying”.
“I feel like I’m either an amazing mum, and have turned up to every play date and have managed to remember every non-uniform day, or I feel like I’m bossing it at work,” the singer and TV host, 35, said.
“Anybody that tells you they’ve got balance is lying because it’s really hard to grasp.
“We’re just winging it and trying our best to make sure we tick every box. But with balance – if anyone has the answer to that then please call me!”
The former member of The Saturdays shares three children – Alaia-Mai, 11, Valentina Raine, seven, and Blake, three – with her DJ husband Marvin, 39, who rose to fame in British boy band, JLS.
She added that working as a team has allowed both of them to shine in their careers.
“When Marvin was in the jungle [for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!] for example, I knew that those weeks were going to be a write-off,” she said.
“We always say that we both can’t always shine at once, so we just try and give each other those moments when we can.”
At times when they are both busy filming – such as this March when they were recording and co-hosting the seventh season of BBC One’s The Hit List game show in Glasgow – Rochelle’s mum, Roz Wiseman, has been a “lifeline”.
The presenter explained: “We’re really lucky with my mum, she’s a bit of a lifeline. My mum is a well-oiled machine – she is always like, ‘What date am I in? What date am I out’?”
The glamorous couple tied the knot at Blenheim Palace in 2012, but more than a decade on, they still try to organise date nights to keep the spark alive.
Marvin explained: “We try and do date nights when we can, and go to Ibiza in August, just the two of us, for a few nights. I always say, we are husband and wife first and our relationship is the most important thing.
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“Obviously, our children are paramount in our lives as well, but we never want to lose sight of the two of us as a couple, because there are so many distractions – we get pulled left, right, centre, up and down, individually and collectively.”
They said working together on The Hit List is a lot of fun but can be a logistical nightmare in terms of family life.
“The benefits are obviously that it is easy for us, we know and trust each other and can be honest,” said Rochelle. “It’s a very different dynamic when somebody is so close to you.
“But I think the downsides are when we were doing stuff together, logistically it’s a little bit more of a nightmare for us with home life and the kids. Everything has to be a bit militant behind the scenes.”
Marvin grew up watching an array of iconic game shows, such as Wheel Of Fortune and Strike It Lucky, and believes The Hit List’s longevity is down to its breadth of music.
“Aside from the gameplay, I think the show is a success because it spans so many genres and decades of music, so everybody can feel like at some point there is going to be something that they’re going to know the answer to,” he said.
Their kids also love the show and often recreate it at home.
“We do Disney and Little Mix rounds at home,” said Rochelle. “I think they are getting to the age now where they actually understand that that is us at work.
“I remember at Alaia’s parents evening, her teacher said that she overheard Alaia saying to one of her friends, ‘What channels are your mummy and daddy on?’ She just thought that everybody’s parents were on the telly!
“I think now they realise that it is a little bit different and quite cool.”
The Hit List returns to screens at 6:20pm on Saturday, August 17th on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.