As it nears a year since his return to Irish shores, Donal Skehan has revealed the dust has finally settled and he’s feeling very positive about what the future holds.
The celebrity cook has been readjusting to life back in Dublin with his wife and two children following a four-year stint in the US, but it hasn’t been easy due to the pandemic.
However, the Howth native admits the stress and anxiety has eased over the last few days, and he’s feeling much more relaxed.
“I don’t know if it’s the change in the weather, the clocks going forward or if it’s the fact that we’re coming up on being home in Ireland for one year but things are feeling lighter and finally somewhat settled,” he said.
Donal continued, “Last year was spent not seeing the wood for the trees and just getting through and now it finally feels like we’re a lot more present and enjoying the moment rather than going through them with a swirl of stress and anxiety in the back of our heads.
“You can see it in the kids too, they see we’re more relaxed and in turn they are too. Deep breaths all round.”
Donal and his wife Sofie made the decision to come back to Ireland in 2020, as the global Covid-19 pandemic took a hold on the world.
“I can’t believe the timing. Maybe a bit naively we thought this would be gone by summer and that we would just stay put in LA and wait it out, but I’m so glad we didn’t though because in such uncertain times there’s no better place to be but home,” he told VIP Magazine.
Despite being home, they haven’t been able to see much of their family – and Sophie hasn’t been able to meet any of hers at all, as they live in Sweden.
“It’s so lovely to be home and to be close to family and friends, but we can’t wait for there to be less restrictions so that we can see them more frequently and enjoy their company again,” he said.
“We’ve enjoyed quite a few Zoom quizzes at this stage though! I feel so sorry for Sofie who hasn’t seen her family for more than 18 months now. And no one in her family has met Oliver, that’s tough.”