Deborah Meaden, the formidable businesswoman and Dragons’ Den star, has had an incredible journey to success, with her husband being her biggest supporter behind the scenes. Joining the hit BBC show in 2006, Deborah has become one of its most enduring figures, investing in everything from innovative beach towels to chic fashion labels.
While she’s known for her keen business acumen on screen, it’s her husband Paul who provides unwavering support off-camera. The couple’s love story began around 1985 when Paul was employed at Deborah’s family business, Weststar Holidays. Although they briefly parted ways, their love reignited after Deborah’s trip to Venezuela, leading to their marriage in 1993. In a heartfelt interview with The Guardian, Deborah couldn’t help but praise her husband, calling him “the most competent man in the world”.
(Image: BBC)
She candidly shared insights into their relationship dynamics and the path to their wedding. “It just works. Listen, everybody goes through ups and downs. But there was never a point at which… no, that’s not true. We split up before we got married. He wanted to get married and I absolutely didn’t. We used to have those circular arguments, him saying, ‘but why won’t you get married?’,” she revealed.
“And me saying, ‘what’s the point, we’re gonna stay together for the rest of our lives? ‘– ‘if that’s right then Deborah, why don’t we just get married? ‘ You know, we’d go round and round in circles. I still say to this day, he made me, he forced me. I was literally standing there outside the church, saying, ‘I’m doing this for Paul’. He knows this! But I also say, and he knows this, too, that it’s the best thing I ever did,” reports the Mirror.
Paul never ceases to amaze Deborah with his romantic surprises, especially after she was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. He saw how much joy dancing brought her and secretly took lessons so they could share the experience.
“When I was doing Strictly, Paul could see how much I loved dancing. I loved doing Strictly. He secretly took dancing lessons. I’d been so mean to him for 30 years, so horrible to him, and then he goes and does that,” Deborah enthusiastically said on The Graham Norton Show in 2021. They even travelled to Buenos Aires to master Argentine Tango and now allocate four hours a week to dance together.
(Image: Instagram/deborahmeaden)
“As a result of that he grew to love dancing, we both love dancing, we went off to Buenos Aires to learn Argentine Tango and now we both dance for four hours a week. It’s a lovely thing because we all have busy lives. Just being face to face with your partner for four hours of your week.”
Dragons’ Den star Deborah has given fans a glimpse into her domestic life, revealing that there’s one household task she absolutely detests – cleaning. She confessed to The Telegraph in 2011: “I hate cleaning so as a student I used to work in a bar at night in order to pay someone to clean my flat. I’ve never told anyone that,” She went on to admit that she still avoids housework, leaving it all to her husband Paul, saying, “I still don’t do any domestic chores; my husband Paul is in charge. It sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”
On another note, Deborah, who shares her home with cats, horses, sheep, rescue dogs, ducks and geese, has previously spoken about her affection for animals.
In a 2008 interview with The Daily Mail, she said: “There’s something in me that thinks, if I can, ‘I’ll give these guys a good life’.” She added: “We’ve got two dogs, too, but they’re definitely Paul’s. I’m not a dog person. They require too much attention. I don’t like anything with too much dependency. Children are very dependent, which is probably why we never had them.”
View news Source: https://www.ok.co.uk/tv/inside-dragons-den-deborah-meadens-34631592
