Mary Portas fights back tears as she says her brother is the biological father of her son

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Mary Portas shared a deeply personal revelation: her son Horatio’s biological father is actually her brother, Lawrence.

During an interview on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast, the retail expert became emotional and shared details about her personal family life.

Mary, 65, playfully suggested her brother wasn’t actually attracted to her now ex-wife, Melanie Rickey, but was instead the person who provided the sperm for their child.

Mel expressed her desire to have a child, and I told her I really wanted to have a biological child of my own.

Look, I always knew if I had another child, they had to be connected to my other kids, you know? It was really important to me that they were biologically related – I just needed them to feel like a true part of the family, connected by blood. It wasn’t just about having a child, it was about expanding my family in a way that felt right.

Mary explained that she and her brother have a close relationship and knowing he wasn’t keen on having kids himself, she asked him to be a sperm donor.

‘He looked after me. It was a real symbiosis,’ she said.

‘And Lawrence turned up to the old donor place and said, ‘Done it, sis!’

Mary’s former wife, Melanie, gave birth to Horatio in 2012. The TV personality has noted that Horatio strongly resembles Melanie’s family.

Lawrence lives overseas now, but he always calls, and honestly, all they ever talk about is football! Ugh, it’s just…so dull. I mean, I’m happy he’s keeping in touch, but seriously, football? Every. Single. Time.

Mary got teary-eyed remembering the touching moment Lawrence first held Horatio.

The happiest moment was when my son was born. I immediately called Lawrence, and he came and picked him up.

She explained that it was a gift from him, becoming visibly emotional as she described it as the greatest gift she’d ever received.

‘Why the greatest gift?’ Jamie asked.

She explained that after years of supporting each other, he was able to give her a special gift, and she had always felt like an older sister to him.

Mary was born with the last name Newton. She took her first husband’s name, Portas, when they married in 1990, but she no longer uses it.

The former couple, who divorced in 2003, are parents to Mylo, 31, and Verity, 29. 

She became a lesbian only in her 40s, when she met Melanie and fell for her. 

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2025-12-12 20:33