James May has encouraged his fellow men to "make the effort" in a heartfelt Valentine's Day message. The former Top Gear host, who has been with his partner, art critic Sarah Frater, for nearly 25 years, took to social media on Friday, February 14 to share their plans for the romantic day. The 62-year-old told his 3.1 million followers on X - formerly known as Twitter: "It's St Valentine's day. So later on I, for one, will be cooking Sainsbury's chicken pie with delicious BirdsEye frozen peas for my best girl, followed by a massive piece of cheeeese. Men - make the effort.".
Despite being together since 2000, the couple have never married and keep their relationship largely out of the public eye. Sarah is an esteemed art critic, primarily reviewing dance performances for various respected publications. The pair live together in West London but have no children. On the Driven podcast, James opened up about his decision not to become a father, attributing it to being "a late developer".
He said: "I think it was just a result of life, let's put that down to being a late developer.". He has previously expressed contentment with being an uncle, stating he didn't want to be an older father with young children, believing it would be "unfair" and "weird.". In a candid interview with The Times, he shared his unease about age disparities, recalling a school peer with an older parent: "Maybe 'unfair' was a bit strong. But when I was at school there was a boy whose dad was the same age as my granddad and it felt weird," he admitted.
As per the Express, James also touched on Al Pacino's relationship with Noor Alfallah, who is 54 years his junior, noting that despite their age difference, Pacino welcomed his fourth child in 2023. James mused: "And that actor who recently had a child with a much younger woman? He's not going to be around very much, is he? Then again, you can be young and still not be around much, so who knows?". Despite not having children himself, James embraces being an uncle, enjoying time with his nieces and nephews and appreciates working with younger colleagues, particularly those in their twenties.
