Andrea McLean admits she feels ‘calmer’ now that she’s quit Loose Women

Andrea McLean has spoken about her decision to leave Loose Women and how she now feels ‘calmer’.

Appearing on Monday’s edition of Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, the ex-ITV presenter told Steph McGovern about the launch of her wellness and lifestyle project This Girl Is On Fire which she describes as a ‘gym for the mind’.

Steph asked Andrea if she feels happier now, with Andrea replying: ‘I do, actually, I feel calm.’

Feeling good: Andrea McLean has spoken about her decision to leave Loose Women and how she now feels ‘calmer’

Adding: ‘I know this [This Girl Is On Fire] is what I would have loved when I was going through what I was going through.’

She went on tell Steph about her decision to leave the long-running ITV daytime show.

Andrea said: ‘The pandemic changed everything in terms of my attitude. I’d always wanted to do something like this [This Girl Is On Fire] but I was always waiting for the right time. There are people who are way smarter than me, made all these plans for 2020, and they didn’t know that wasn’t the right time… So there’s no such thing as a right time so why not just jump and hope it works.

She continued: ‘It was a hard decision to leave behind everything I knew, but you don’t ever properly leave people, you still keep in touch…’

Chat: Appearing on Monday's edition of Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4, the ex-ITV presenter told Steph McGovern about the launch of her wellness and lifestyle project This Girl Is On Fire which she describes as a 'gym for the mind'

Chat: Appearing on Monday’s edition of Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, the ex-ITV presenter told Steph McGovern about the launch of her wellness and lifestyle project This Girl Is On Fire which she describes as a ‘gym for the mind’

Steph jokingly asked whether the Loose Women will be annoyed with her being on Steph’s Packed Lunch.

Andrea laughed: ‘The don’t know… I’m scared to look at my phone! Hiiii!’

This follows reports that her business account only had £2 in the bank in the latest filed figures, according to public documents at Companies House.

The TV presenter left Loose Women to focus on her company, This Girl Is On Fire, which she runs with husband Nick Feeney.

Business: Andrea's business account only had £2 in the bank in the latest filed figures, according to public documents at Companies House (pictured on Loose Women in December)

Business: Andrea’s business account only had £2 in the bank in the latest filed figures, according to public documents at Companies House (pictured on Loose Women in December)

In the latest paperwork filed online from December 2019, the business is labelled as ‘dormant’ and shows there was only £2 ‘at the bank or in hand’. 

However, new up-to-date filings for Andrea’s company are due to be shared on the publicly available site by the end of March. 

MailOnline has contacted Andrea’s representative for a comment. 

Andrea has thrown herself into the business since leaving Loose Women and This Girl Is On Fire is set to launch a special membership on its website on February 1.

As well as her encouraging blog and website which covers wellness and lifestyle, the journalist has also written a best-selling book under the same business name.

New focus: The TV presenter, 51, and her husband Nick Feeney (pictured together) now both work full time on the business, with Nick's daughter also on board

New focus: The TV presenter, 51, and her husband Nick Feeney (pictured together) now both work full time on the business, with Nick’s daughter also on board 

After stepping down from Loose Women after 13 years on the show in December, Andrea admitted she agonised over the decision for months.

In an interview with OK! Magazine she said: ‘It was such a slow burner. By the time it came around, it felt like absolutely the right thing to do. It was a weird decision – it did feel scary!’ 

‘It took months of thinking about it. We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Nick and I sat down and wrote what we needed to prepare for.’

She continued: ‘Worst case – we would have to sell the house. Best, the This Girl Is On Fire membership and website we’ve set up works and we’re successful with that.’

Changes: Andrea left Loose Women in December to focus on her company, This Girl Is On Fire, which she runs with Nick (pictured on her final episode of Loose Women)

Changes: Andrea left Loose Women in December to focus on her company, This Girl Is On Fire, which she runs with Nick (pictured on her final episode of Loose Women)

Andrea and Nick now both work full time on the business, with Nick’s daughter also on board.

When she announced her plans to leave Loose Women in November, Andrea broke down in tears and also detailed how her departure was also linked to her nervous breakdown.

Andrea explained: ‘Like so many people this has been a time to hugely reflect and think back. So many people have been talking about how they can’t wait for life to get back to normal. I, like many people, did that and thought, ‘Do I want my life to go back to the normal that it was before?’

She told viewers: ‘Last year I had a nervous breakdown and this year the world has had a breakdown. This year I’ve been really mentally strong to deal with everything the pandemic has thrown at us. 

‘You get one life, are you living it the way you want? Are you being brave? Are you doing the thing you want?’  

Becoming emotional, Andrea added: ‘I didn’t think I was going to cry. I’ve told you ladies just before we came on air. I’m going to be leaving Loose Women because I want to be brave…

‘All the incredible feedback that I had from my book and the support I was able to give them, I want to bring it to life. It was a really, really big decision to jump and see if I fall or if I fly. And I just thought, I will never know unless I try, so I am saying goodbye to Loose Women.’  

Andrea has kept in touch with Brenda Edwards and Saira Khan in the weeks since her departure, admitting she wasn’t surprised by her friend Saira’s decision to quit Loose Women shortly after she did.  

Big decision: Andrea admitted it did feel 'scary' deciding to step away from the show after 13 years and said she and Nick prepared 'for the worst and hoped for the best' (pictured with her Loose Women co-panellists Nadia Sawalha, Jane McDonald, Denise Welch and Jane Moore)

Big decision: Andrea admitted it did feel ‘scary’ deciding to step away from the show after 13 years and said she and Nick prepared ‘for the worst and hoped for the best’ (pictured with her Loose Women co-panellists Nadia Sawalha, Jane McDonald, Denise Welch and Jane Moore)

Trying to diffuse any rumours of a rift on the ITV show, Andrea insisted Loose Women is ‘like any working environment. If you work with a lot of people, you’re drawn to the one you sit next to. It’s exactly like that.’

While Andrea’s departure appears amicable, MailOnline exclusively revealed last week that Saira has blocked three of her former co-stars on Instagram since quitting.

The TV personality, 50, made a sudden departure from the long-running lunchtime staple last month, shortly after revealing her shock decision to quit.

And since revealing that she only ‘tolerated’ some of her fellow panellists, a source has revealed to MailOnline that Saira has now blocked Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams and Jane Moore from viewing her Instagram posts.

Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30PM on Channel 4.