IN her first EVER magazine interview, Lorna Luxe talks all about the reality behind her glam Instagram shots, how she went from a council estate to a social media star and the eye-watering amount just one brand deal earns her.
Powerhouse Lorna also talks about her husband John Andrews, who is 21 years her senior and battling stage four adrenal cancer, and facing the reality of becoming a widow in her 40s. It’s an incredibly emotive read…
Fashionista Lorna Luxe, 43, keeps her 1.6 million fans hooked with her impeccable style, as well as revelations about her past eating disorder
Lorna is married to John Andrews, who is 21 years her senior and battling stage four adrenal cancer
The influencer, whose real name is Lorna Andrews, reveals she and John got into hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt to turn her social media dream into a reality
SHE’S a social media phenomenon whose fans include Rochelle Humes, Stacey Solomon and a host of other stars. So, if you are not already following , you should be.
But although her life may look perfect on Instagram, behind the squares it’s a different story. Last week, she revealed her husband’s cancer had spread, and . Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Lorna talks building her empire from nothing, and the heartbreak of facing widowhood in her forties.
The 43 year old – whose real name is – keeps her 1.6 million fans hooked with her impeccable style, as well as revelations about her past eating disorder and to her husband John Andrews, who is 21 years her senior and battling stage four adrenal cancer.
Council estate to millionaire
Now at the helm of a multimillion-pound business, it is all a far cry from her life growing up with her mum and grandparents on a council estate in Trafford, , before joining as cabin crew.
But in her first magazine interview, she reveals how she and John got into hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt to turn her dream into a reality.
Lorna, who can now earn up to £80k a month for one brand deal, reveals: “I was buying a lot of outfits and clothes to show off on my .
“I just loved it, and I always used to say to John: ‘This will make me some money at some point.
“I don’t know when, but I’ve got a feeling this is going to take off.’ I said on a podcast that we got into £50k of debt, but actually it was much, much more.
John said: ‘Actually, we got into £300k of debt. We just kept putting it on credit cards.’
“He didn’t tell me it was that much, because he wanted me to be happy, and something in my gut told me to keep going.”
It was after she’d left Virgin and started working in customer service for homeware brand Rockett St George that she first formed the idea of becoming an influencer.
“I’d gone from this very glamorous job to being on a computer.
“I was kind of bored, but they used to do these shoots in a little warehouse and make it look amazing.
“It gave me the idea to join Instagram in 2014 and do the same. I’d take a picture of my dog in a handbag or something I thought looked arty, or I’d take a mirror selfie.
‘Accidental influencer’
“I began to build a community – I’d reply to every message and it just started growing and growing. I was an accidental influencer.”
It took two years for Lorna to start and make money (and to clear the credit card debt) – but she was so convinced that it could be lucrative that she would get up before sunrise so John could take photos of her ahead of commuting to his job as a banker for HSBC in London’s Canary Wharf.
began in her 20s when, as cabin crew, the pressure to look “beautiful” took its toll.
Things came to a head when she realised she was choosing flight routes to hide the fact she was purging or not eating, and she opened up to John in 2010.
Lorna, showing off her style at a premiere in 2022, says her struggles with anorexia and bulimia began in her 20sCredit: Getty Images
Lorna married John on her 26th birthday and says their age difference ‘was never a factor’Credit: Supplied by Lorna Luxe
It took years to get better, and even now she admits: “I’m never really going to recover.”
She found comfort in her followers. “It helped my . I’d gone from being quite low when I started at Rockett St George to, two years later, having an online community.
“It made me feel empowered and confident that people cared about what I thought and what I wore.”
I knew very quickly that he was The One. We got married on my 26th birthday
Anyone who follows Lorna will be just as invested in John. They were introduced through mutual friends in a bar in when she was 25 and he was 46, marrying in a year later.
“At first, I thought: ‘Who’s this older bloke chatting to me?’ I was young and rated myself, so I was going: ‘Who do you think you are?’” Lorna laughs.
“But then as soon as I talked to him, I was thinking: ‘Wow, who is this charismatic man?’ John was the first man I was ever in awe of. He was immediately interesting to me.”
The pair have been married for 16 years and now live in a £2.5million home in , where Lorna runs her three businesses.
She fell for him because he was so generous and went out of his way to woo her.
“He went to town on gifts. After every date he would always give me a little carrier bag with something in it.
“I wouldn’t open it until I got home. Sometimes, if the previous gift had been more impressive, I’d joke: ‘I was hoping for better,’ and he would giggle at me.
John was the first man I was ever in awe of. He was immediately interesting to me
“He was just brilliant, and so much fun. I knew very quickly that he was The One. We got married on my 26th birthday.
“I picked the venue and he organised the whole thing. It was a whirlwind. The age difference was never a factor. We’ve got similar tastes.”
Perhaps the secret to their happy marriage is that Lorna, whose parents are divorced, went into it thinking it might not be forever.
“My bridesmaid said: ‘Are you alright?’ And I said: ‘Don’t worry, if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.’
“I was young, so everything felt very much like: ‘It will be fine, and if it’s not, we can sort it out.’ It was probably quite immature.
“But my mum and dad got divorced when I was four. Then I was brought up by my nana and grandad, who were happily married.
“So it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen a happy marriage.”
However, the couple’s happiness was shattered in April 2023, when John was diagnosed with stage three and had to undergo chemotherapy.
Lorna kept her followers updated throughout his treatment and they supported her when he went into remission in November 2023.
But his cancer returned in May 2024, spreading to his brain.
The age difference was never a factor. We’ve got similar tastes
There’s no doubt that John is a fighter – just before , he was rushed back to hospital with organ failure, following a complication with his chemotherapy treatment.
Doctors advised terrified Lorna to “prepare for the worst”, but he “defied the odds” and was even able to spend Christmas at home.
“What a year we’ve had with John,” Lorna says. “He was poorly with .
“The nurses pulled me aside and said: ‘I don’t think he’s going to make it. You need to start psychologically getting in the zone.’
“And I was like: ‘Absolutely not. He’s going to make it.’ And we got him better. He’s still got cancer. He’s going to live with cancer.
“It’s been quite scary because we don’t know how long we’ve got.
“We love doing stuff and going places, so we think: ‘How long until we are not going to be able to travel?’
“How long until John is not going to feel up to doing things?’ So we’re just running at a million miles an hour at the minute.
“We know we’re on a timeline. We appreciate that we’ve got a job that enables me to work from anywhere.
Lorna also reveals how she and John are child-free by choice
“We don’t have kids. Our love language is holidays, hotels, nice food and having a giggle.
“So my whole life right now is to try and enjoy our days together. We can’t take that money with us, right?”
While most people have spent this month making plans for the upcoming year or setting goals, Lorna doesn’t want to look too far ahead.
“I just take each week as it comes,” she explains. “I don’t really make long-term plans.
“Fundamentally, I’m probably going to be a widow at some point in my 40s and that’s a bit of a scary place to be for any woman.
“After John got out of hospital, he said: ‘We need to get our ducks in a row.’
“We changed accountants, we got better lawyers. He said we need to prepare, so if he’s not here things will be done and I won’t have to worry.
“We certainly aren’t discussing funerals or anything like that, though. We are just not in that space.”
Money is something that Lorna is incredibly honest about.
She’s very open about the fact that as her star has risen she has become the breadwinner – but she still likes John to pick up the bill, even if it’s coming out of their joint bank account.
I’m probably going to be a widow at some point in my 40s and that’s a bit of a scary place to be for any woman
“When we met, I was running from paycheque to paycheque,” she admits. “As soon as we were together, John was immediately like: ‘This is our money, we share everything.’
“Now, as we’ve got older, I’m the breadwinner and he’s retired, and it’s switched. But I only have this career because of him and all of his support.
“I’m financially independent, but it doesn’t feel like that. We always work as a pair. John paying the bill at dinner is a non-negotiable for me.
“It comes out of the same bank account, but this way it feels like he is stepping up to the plate and taking care of me.
“I like the perception he is the strong, alpha male, and I want him to be seen as that.”
And with Instagram algorithms constantly changing, does she ever panic that the bubble might burst?
“The only thing that troubles me is that so much of my day-to-day earnings come from these kind of apps that control my reach, and that’s quite scary because I’ve got a big mortgage,” she explains.
‘Ploughing cash’
“I know deep down I’m in a position where, if it all goes wrong tomorrow, I’d struggle.
“That’s why I keep working and I turn up to everything.”
Along with her social media brand, Lorna also runs clothing line LA-Space and 98 Beauty, which launched last year with shampoo, conditioner and a hair mask that all sold out within the first month.
When L.A-Space launched, she sold 300 windbreakers in one minute, generating £100k in a single day.
She’s planning to step into skincare over the next 12 months.
“As a business owner, I’m consistently ploughing cash into my brand,” she says. And then going: ‘Oh my god, I’ve earned nothing this year.’
“It’s a different way of working, right?
“I’m having to adjust now, because I’m not that boujee girl that can go out and buy three . I’m skint, basically,” she laughs.
“My priorities have massively changed because I’m investing everything I earn into my business.”
She adds: “I looked at LA-Space and thought: ‘Wow, the money we made from 98 in the first three months covered all the expenses and then some.
When we met, I was running from paycheque to paycheque
“Whereas, I probably spent about £600k [she invested her own savings to self-fund the company] launching LA-Space.
“And I’ve probably only just earned that back – it’s taken me two and a half years. Financially, it makes sense to do skin, beauty and hair.”
Lorna and John are , something not often spoken about honestly, because there is so much pressure on women to want kids.
“I understand that being a mother is a privilege,” she says.
“And I’m quite careful, as I know it’s a sensitive subject for women, and I’ve got friends that have struggled.
“In my 20s, we tried. Nothing happened. I wasn’t bothered enough to go to the doctor.
“Then in my 30s, I had issues around food and I wasn’t having periods. From 35 up until now, I’ve been focused on my career.
“I do think I would have struggled doing that with a baby. We kept saying: ‘If we’re not ready, we’re not ready.’
“I did think recently: ‘What if?’ – and people did say to me: ‘You can still do it.’ But it’s less about what I can do or I want, and more how that would that fit into my life.
“I’m going through so much with John that it would feel like a selfish move to have a baby, because I do think I’d struggle, especially if I didn’t have John around.
“Maybe I’ll be like and adopt one at 50!
“If it really comes to the forefront of my mind, I’ll make it happen.
“That’s what I do with most things.”
- Follow Lorna on Instagram @Lornaluxe .
What was the last. . .
Film you watched? Champagne Problems – it was terrible!
Book you read? Mr Masters by TL Swann.
Concert you went to? Glastonbury – I loved Lewis Capaldi. He blew me away.
Person you texted? My mum to ask: “Do you know where you tidied away my favourite Zara jeans?”
Thing you bought? A roast dinner for my friends.
Time you laughed? An hour ago while doing the shoot.
Podcast you listened to? My We Need To Talk with Paul C Brunson episode, as someone sent me a profound message about it.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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