Take That's Howard Donald opens up about his mental health and becoming a dad again in his 50s

He's found it tough

Take That's Howard Donald
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 12th Nov 2020

Howard Donald is part of one of the biggest boy bands from the last few decades. With hits like 'It Only Takes a Minute', 'Relight My Fire', and 'Babe', Take That made regular appearances at the top of the charts in the 90s.

They first split in 1999, but after reuniting they returned with even more successful songs, including 'The Flood' and 'These Days'

Howard has four children, including daughters Grace (22) and Lola (15), and his newest additions Bowie (four) and Dougie (three). In a recent interview on Dave Berry's podcast, Dadpod, Howard opened up on what it was like becoming a dad again now that he's in his 50s.

In the candid conversation, Howard revealed, "I think, at 52, which is what I am, I've really struggled in the 50s being a father. I've actually really taken it physically and mentally, draining for me…I would advise to fathers who maybe already have children that may be in their teenage years, don't do it. In (your) 50's don't do it.

The singer continued, "That's my personal experience. I'm sure there's people out there in their 50s that have found it a doddle, maybe they've got, you know, babysitters and nannies and stuff like that, maybe not, maybe they're really struggling as well, but, I've really struggled with it and I would never advise anyone in their 50s to have young children."

He went on to reveal that his 15-year-old daughter Lola has also decided to move in with him which has been a learning curve. "We've put her in a school, and it all happened very quickly… I'm learning again because I've never brought her up underneath the same roof. So, all of a sudden, she comes here at 15, which is the worst age ever, apparently, so I'm told."

Despite the full house Howard explained, "The amazing thing is, she wanted to come over here and be in England because she wanted to start again, year 10 and do her GCSEs here, but she really wanted to be with her family.

"You know, she wanted to be together where her brothers are here and her, her other sister's here who's in London and I think it's really good for her."

Reflecting on his singing career, Howard revealed that his first daughter was born three years after Take That split for the first time in 1999. At the time he wished his daughter had been able to see him on stage performing, however when the band reformed in 2006 Grace was able to see him.

Most recently, on Take That's last tour, Howard explained how, "Lola had Bowie and Dougie on her shoulders in the pit, while we were performing on stage, watching us…"

Howard also opened about men's mental health saying, "There's a lot of people suffering behind closed doors that don't wanna talk about it and that's, kind of, what I've done, you know?

"When I've been struggling with children, you know, your friend will talk to you about and you, sort of, hide it a little bit."

Dave Berry’s Dadpod is available to download every Thursday from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Absolute Radio app, absoluteradio.co.uk, and all mainstream podcast providers.

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