Mary Portas says she was left homeless at 19 following her parents’ deaths as her father’s new wife ‘took their family home’ – after revealing her brother is the biological father of her son

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Mary Portas recently shared that she experienced homelessness at 19 after losing both of her parents. This came after she previously disclosed that her son’s biological father is actually her brother.

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 claimed her brother wasn’t actually having an affair with her ex-wife, Melanie Rickey, but was the one who helped them conceive their child.

During the interview, Mary shared that she became homeless as a teenager when her father’s wife sold the house they lived in.

‘My mother died when I was 16 and my father when I was 19,’ she heartbreakingly began to say.

After my father remarried, he didn’t update his will. He passed away nine months later, and as a result, his new wife inherited our family home.

We didn’t have a permanent home, and it meant losing the simple things people take for granted, like having a place to go for a Sunday meal or easily visiting family when you needed to.

Mary continued: ‘You don’t just lose your parents, you lose the social infrastructure.

I was accepted into Rada, and I really wanted to pursue acting, but I couldn’t go. I needed to stay home and take care of my brother. I worried about what would happen to him if I left to live in London, even if it was just a small place.

Mary explained that when her father married her stepmother, he moved in with her but continued to pay for their family home. He also provided Mary and her brother with money for groceries.

As a lifestyle expert, I often see families forming in beautiful and unique ways. In my experience, open communication is key, and that’s exactly what Mary did. Because she had a really close relationship with her brother and knew he wasn’t keen on having kids himself, she felt comfortable asking him to be a donor. It was a very personal decision, rooted in their strong bond and honest understanding of each other’s desires.

‘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 notes that Horatio strongly resembles her family.

Lawrence lives overseas now, but he calls us often and they always end up talking about football. Honestly, it’s really dull!

Mary got teary-eyed remembering the heartwarming 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.

Oh my gosh, just thinking about it makes me tear up! He gave it to me, you guys. It felt like… like it was meant just for me. Honestly, it was the most incredible gift ever. I’ll never forget it.

Mary was born with the last name Newton. She took her first husband’s last name, Portas, when they married in 1990, but she has since changed it back.

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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2025-12-13 12:03