Sarah Beeny, the TV star and renovation expert, is currently on our screens in her Channel 4 show, Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country. The property guru has been a fixture on British TV for years, offering expert advice on shows like Property Ladder, How to Live Mortgage Free, Village SOS, Fifth Gear, and Four Rooms. Her latest show follows her family's move from London to a derelict former dairy farm in Somerset over five years ago, and their journey to transform it into their dream home. However, away from the cameras, the 52 year old has faced personal struggles, including a battle with breast cancer.
But what else do we know about her life off-screen, particularly her home and family life?. In August 2022, Sarah Beeny revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was set to undergo surgery and radiotherapy. After a challenging year of treatment, which included a mastectomy and intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she joyfully announced she was cancer-free in April 2023. She also documented her cancer journey in Sarah Beeny vs Cancer, a programme that received high praise from Channel 4 viewers.
Somerset Live reports Sarah Beeny showed her support for Yeovil Town as the club raised money for Yeovil Hospital Charity through their Paint the Park Pink campaign in October 2023. With a limited edition pink kit, the campaign managed to raise an impressive £40,000. Chatting to OK! magazine, Beeny couldn't help but sing her husband Graham's praises for the endless support he provided while she braved cancer, saying: "There are bumps along the way in life and marriage – it's not all plain sailing. But during my cancer treatment, Graham was absolutely as I'd expected him to be – great, because he's a good man.".
She went on: "I don't have a husband who will come in with tea trays, I don't have a butler! But I don't want one, I'd find that annoying. Whenever he's needed to step up, he's stepped up, and that was one of those times.". Property ace Sarah Beeny is hitched to Graham Swift and the lovely couple first locked eyes when she was just 19 and he was 18. The duo have been blessed with four lads: eldest Billy who's hit 20, Charlie's now 18, Laurie at 16, and Rafferty the youngest at 15.
Sarah's brother is also hitched to Graham's sister Caroline. Beeny spilled the beans on her less-than-ordinary bond with hubby Graham Swift in an honest natter with Prima Magazine. She revealed they have a quirky way of expressing their love and, despite their strong connection, never actually said "I love you" to each other. It became a tradition that started as a playful response to friends who would throw around the phrase too casually.
Sarah shared: "I'm married to my best friend. I don't know what our secret is, but I think having a spark of the child in you helps. I met Graham when I was 19 and he was 18. "We used to laugh at friends who would say 'I love you' after one date and then dump them the next day, so not saying it became an inside joke. To this day, we've never officially said it.". Sarah Beeny, her husband Graham, and their four sons have created a beautiful family home nestled in 220 acres of countryside in Stoney Stoke near Bruton in Somerset.
The house, which Sarah and her husband Graham Swift designed, is spacious enough to accommodate their penchant for collecting, with rooms filled with antique bookcases, cosy sofas, and some unique pieces - including Sarah's favourite, a custom-made toilet cistern. "[It's] a brass toilet cistern with Swift and Beeny Sanitary Engineers printed on it – it's lavish and ridiculous," she chuckles. "We brought it from our old house.".
Sarah has recently been very busy transforming a Wincanton barn into a multi-purpose studio for art events and film production, called Stokeford Studios. Sarah's children and Graham play together in a band called The Entitled Sons and play gigs in the area. Sarah Beeny praised her "hard-working" sons after their band manage to draw in a "huge crowd" at Glastonbury Festival in 2023. Sarah Beeny praised her "hard-working" sons after their band managed to attract a "huge crowd" at Glastonbury Festival in 2023. Tragically, when Sarah Beeny was just 10 years old, she lost her mother Ann to breast cancer.
The TV presenter also opened up to OK! Magazine about how losing her mother at such a young age deeply influenced her perspective on life and home as well as her own diagnosis. She reflected: "Home is really important for me. But it's not about how it looks, it's about how it makes people feel. My mum died when I was quite young and I've been sentimental since then. I've released myself from some of it now – and I've realised that my kids aren't sentimental at all.".
