Inside Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page's life from 'divorce' threats to impulsive surgery

Joanna Page has become a household name thanks to her role as Stacey Shipman in Gavin and Stacey, but away from the limelight she is a mum of four and has been through her fair share of drama.

Joanna Page, best known for her role as Stacey Shipman in Gavin and Stacey and her memorable cameo in Love Actually, is a proud mum of four.

The Welsh actress, who welcomed her youngest child unexpectedly at 44 in 2021, has been open about her personal life. Joanna, 47, is married to actor James Thornton, and together they have Eva, nine, Kit, seven, Noah, six, and one-year-old Boe.

Joanna has been candid about her home life over the years, from confessing that lockdown put a damper on her sex life to discussing her 'impulsive' decision to undergo surgery to prevent further pregnancies.

Before welcoming her fourth child, Joanna humorously admitted according to the Mirror, that she nearly divorced her husband after lockdown took a toll on their sex life.

She revealed that she and James spent so much time with their children when schools were closed that they struggled to find time for each other.

This lack of intimacy strained their relationship, leading to arguments, threats of separation, and periods of silence, Joanna confessed in 2020. "We spent the whole of the first lockdown arguing and threatening to divorce each other," she recounted. "Then we went through a month of literally not saying a single word to each other."

Joanna disclosed that she and James were accustomed to squeezing in quick intimacy sessions before collecting their kids from school, but their bustling household put a damper on their romance.

However, with the reopening of schools, they ultimately expanded their brood with the birth of their fourth child, Boe Willow.

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Previously, Joanna made an appearance on Loose Women discussing the 'impulsive' choice to have a sterilisation procedure in her mid-forties. Despite this, she acknowledged a lingering desire for more children, revealing, "Of course I'm feeling broody. After having Boe, I did have my fallopian tubes cut, I didn't really think about it a lot," adding, "I knew, inside, I'm 46 I couldn't go through another pregnancy, I'd be utterly exhausted and I also want to give enough time to my children."

She elaborated, "But not that long ago, I went on the internet, I looked up: 'Can you have your tubes put back together? ' You can. One-in-200 women can maybe get pregnant after doing that. I told James, he just looked at me and went: 'You what? What on earth are you going on about? ' so I will not be having anymore. I've got my beautiful four children."

It's noted by the NHS that female sterilisation is intended to permanently prevent pregnancy and is not easily reversed.

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Joanna has understandably made adjustments to her career over time. In a previous chat with the Mirror, she confessed that she has reduced her acting roles in favour of presenting jobs, which allows her more quality time with her children.

"I really enjoy presenting and it works a lot better with a family as you don't have to go away for weeks on end," the star elaborated.

"For the first six months after I had Eva I was away working filming two shows back to back," she recalled. "I had my mum looking after her on set but it was so tough as all I wanted to do was spend time with my new baby. Also, I just find presenting a lot more interesting. You're always doing something different and I love just being myself and chatting to people. It can be a lot more fun than sitting alone in a trailer for hours learning lines, then going out to do a scene where you're pretending to be somebody else."

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