Jane McDonald is a popular English Singer and songwriter. She is much known for her appearance in the show The Cruise, aired on BBC. It was their appearance in this that gave her the recognition she needed. Before she landed in The Cruise, she was a regular performer at various clubs and pubs. This is how she started her career.
Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, this 59-year-old singer first found her fame in The Cruise. It is an observational documentary series that aired in 1998. Directed by Chris Terrill, this series has 12 episodes. In this show, we are following a group of staff on a luxury cruise called the Galaxy through the Caribbean.
Jane McDonald on The Cruise Credit BBC
Jane had the role of entertaining the crew ship members. What started as a simple role of entertaining the guest on this luxury cruise ship escalated into something bigger. This show was so popular in the UK that it had 10.39 million viewers, which is approximately 41 percent of the audience share.
This was the show that gave her the recognition she needed as an artist, and from then on, she went on to release her independent albums. She has also done multiple stage performances since then.
Jane McDonald’s Partners and her love life
Jane’s first husband’s name is Paul. She married him before she reached any stardom, and thus nothing much is known about her relationship with him or how their marriage was. Jane seldom mentions his name as well.
Jane had her second marriage to a man called Henrik Brixen. They married in 1998. It was before her documentary series, the cruise. When they first met, he was a plumbing engineer on a ship. This relationship was disclosed in The Cruise. Once they got married, he quit his job and became her manager. Though they had great chemistry, she admitted her husband did not have much knowledge of the music industry.
Jane McDonald and Ex Husband Henrik Brixen Credit : REX
In an interview, she revealed that her husband felt like he was in the way between her music career and wanted to let her go so she could spread her wings. It was the hardest decision at first, but something she had to do because of her career. Hence she describes it as the hardest decision to make. They split in 2003. She never talks about that marriage in a bad light, as he was the one who walked away to save her career.
Jane McDonald and Ed Rothe’s Relationship
After her split with Henrik Brixen, she met Ed Rothe. They were childhood friends and have been since they were teenagers. They were not romantically involved until 2008. She narrates her love life details in her autobiography Riding The Waves, according to which he proposed to her on Christmas eve. It was in 2008, the same year they fell in love.
He said to her that he should’ve done this 26 years ago, he knew she was the one for him, and he asked her to marry him. She teared up with this heartfelt proposal. Though they never got married, the couple stayed together until the end. In 2021 she announced Ed’s death through a social media post. In the post, she revealed the reason for his death as cancer. He has been suffering from lung cancer for a few months. She thanked everyone who was a support system for her through this journey.
She also thanked the NHS staff and the team that helped her fiance through this tough period. He died on 26th march. This demise of her partner affected her the most. She had gone through a year of grief, and only her friends, family, and fans supported her in getting over the loss of her partner.
Jane McDonald and Ed Rothe
She said that it was their support that got her through it. She also had a busy career that helped a lot because it made her forget about her worries, at least while she was working. She admits that she was a mess after Ed’s death, but she bravely got through it.
In an interview, she also said that there is a new man in her life who helped her get over her grief, and this little man is none other than her niece’s newborn son, who is named after Ed.
