CAROL Vorderman was left red-faced as she was grilled over her “friends with benefits” live on TV today.
The former star, 65, appeared on ‘s Vanessa where they discussed if it was okay to have multiple partners.
Carol Vorderman was grilled over her ‘friends with benefits’ live on TV todayCredit: jeremyvineon5/TikTok
Host Vanessa Feltz was keen to probe Carol on her love lifeCredit: jeremyvineon5/TikTok
previously raised eyebrows by revealing she , and wasn’t exclusively any of them.
Host was quick to probe Carol about her love life, and asked: “So these gentlemen, what are they there for?”
Carol burst out laughing, as Vanessa continued: “Would it be fair to call them friends with benefits?”
The mathematician replied: “I think that’s probably better.”
Vanessa then asked Carol how she stops herself from developing feelings for these men, especially feelings of jealousy if they start to date other women.
The presenter said: “Usually, maybe this is just me, once you’ve done the benefit bit, you start to miss them by lunchtime and get upset if they haven’t phoned.
“Are we different?”
Carol replied: “Yes definitely different on that.”
Vanessa was then keen to know how Carol approaches the situation, to which she explained: “So, one of my friends, is in America.
“We’ve known each other for 12 years, we talk all the time. He’s very successful.”
Vanessa said: “And then it’s Sunday afternoon, you could have had a walk through the park hand-in-hand.
“Do you not miss him? You don’t feel like you’d like him to just be there and share your whole life?”
Carol bluntly replied: “No.”
She went onto explain: “Obviously I have friends who are very happily married for 30 years, 40 years.
Carol explained how she stops herself from developing feelings for these menCredit: Getty
“But there equally as we all know, marriages break down and more than half break down.
“Life changes, society changes.
“And what we have for the very first time, is a generation of women from my kind of age, who are more financially independent than our mothers ever were.
“And we can, unlike when I was growing up, if you went into a pub they’d be one room where the women were allowed to go and another room where only men were allowed to go.
“There weren’t cafes, book clubs, all these different things.
“The biggest boom in the travel industry is solo travel.”
But Vanessa didn’t seem convinced and asked Carol how she felt when it comes to not having a special person in her life during the highs and lows.
She said: “But what about the loveliest thing on earth is your special person, who is there to love you and you’re there to love them. God forbid, they’re the ones that are worrying, they’re the ones that are driving you to the hospital.
“And if it’s friends with benefits it’s not quite the same.”
Carol replied: “I’m not asking for that from them.
“I have a wonderful extended family.
“I have great friends and that’s enough.”
In 2024, Carol revealed she had ditched TWO of her ‘special friends’ as she gave an update on her ‘free-spirited’ dating life.
The TV admitted that she was not in a relationship with any of the men.
This meant all parties were free to move on when they wanted.
In an interview with The Times , Carol revealed she was down to three “special friends”.
She explained with a shrug: “Life’s moved on, it’s free-spirited. There’s no ownership but it works.
“I haven’t had many relationships but I’ve had a couple of bad ones — they’re a gamble.”
She continued: “I love being single. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being with a full-time partner.
“Most women, even happily married ones, would say if something happened to their partner they’d feel the same. They to me say, ‘Yay! Good for you!’”
Despite her approach to relationships in recent years, Carol admitted she was “very happily married” to her second husband – and father of her children – Patrick King for many years until they separated in 2000.
Carol was previously married to officer Christopher Mather when she was 24, but the union only lasted 12 months.
Speaking about her “special friends”, Carol previously told You magazine: “Oh yeah, yeah, my ‘special friends’. I’m continuing with that system and it’s working very well.
“I’m not a jealous person and I’m happy when my friends are happy, whether they are ‘special friends’ or not.
“The goal of my life is to be happy, not to be in love. I just find people interesting and life interesting.”
Carol has also called out the double standard in society regarding dating.
She previously told Fabulous: “In the past, you’d be called horrible words as a woman.
“A man is a ‘player’, but there is no female equivalent word.
“So I’ve made one up. I call it ‘Boada’, which is like [ancient warrior queen] Boadicea.”
Carol revealed she was down to three ‘special friends’Credit: Instagram
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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