The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling off the trees, and the beautiful October issue of VIP Magazine is finally here. In this month’s issue, we’ve got a whole host of incredible interviews, exclusive chats, autumnal fashion, beauty buzz, and so, so much more.
This month’s magazine features chats with some of Ireland’s most recognisable stars, where we talk new life, uncovering the truth, the secret to staying grounded, and more.
Our cover star for October is the amazing Anna Geary. A broadcaster, former athlete, and new mother, she invites us into her gorgeous Co. Kildare home where she lives with her husband Kevin Sexton and their seven-week-old son, Ronan.
Anna had been up half the night with her newborn, and she doesn’t dress up this fact either. Her interview is refreshingly honest as she opens up about how difficult she has found becoming a parent, saying that she is equally besotted and overwhelmed.
“Life turned upside down; life turned back to front; life turned inside out!” she tells us. “And the sleep deprivation – woah! I am currently operating at a capacity that feels like I’m back in my early 20s after going out on a series of nights out over Christmas!”
But it’s not just motherhood that we chat to Anna about in this month’s issue. A proud “culchie,” the former camogie player says that she’s only delighted with her latest series for RTÉ, Love In The Country.
The series is an Irish take on The Farmer Wants A Wife, and focuses on singletons living in rural Ireland who are struggling to find ‘the one.’ Anna says that as a farmer’s daughter, she knows how all consuming life on the farm can be.
“I also know that your nearest social scene can be quite a distance away and how it can therefore be really hard to meet someone. There’s the local pub where everyone knows you, and you are not going to go on a date with someone in your local pub because they’d nearly be able to hear your conversation!
“It is difficult to find love in the country and these days it’s even harder because there is less of a social scene […] I’m a really romantic at heart.”
Another woman who has got her family at the forefront of her life is Eileen Whelan. The RTÉ One newsreader is in our homes every week, but this month she turned the tables and allowed us into her gorgeous Wicklow world. We caught up with Eileen at the stunning five-star Druids Glen resort along with husband Larry and 10-year-old son Larry Jnr to talk all things family, her work, and of course, the latest RTÉ controversy.
Eileen says that while it was “strange” to report on RTÉ while working for RTÉ, her role first and foremost is to ask the difficult questions. “Suddenly we were reporting on our own organisation. I recall on one occasion thinking ‘My God, I’ve been writing headlines about RTÉ for something like five days in a row – what can I say today?’.”
The newsreader then went on to say that she remains sympathetic for her former colleague, Ryan Tubridy, who has now left RTÉ.
“I’ve always been and still am a big fan of Ryan Tubridy and I have huge sympathy for the way things worked out for him in the end,” she said. “However, the revelations were shocking, and it was quite a stressful story to report on. I was as angry as anyone else at the revelations.”
Eileen’s eldest son, Sean, wasn’t able to make it on the day, but she speaks incredibly highly of both her sons and expresses how proud she is of them. She also chats about being a single parent to Sean for a number of years before she met Larry.
“I’ve always loved being a mother to Sean, he was such a gorgeous baby and an easy toddler. However, no one tells you how lonely and overwhelming it can be when you become a mother for the first time.”
Eileen, who went through two rounds of IVF before having her second son, also touches on the new legislation aimed at couples who are struggling with the financial cost of such treatments.
“The legislation is very welcome and will open doors for so many people!” she says. “IVF is notoriously expensive. It’s stressful, exhausting, and heartbreaking for many when it doesn’t work out. It’s a very tough journey.”
In this month’s issue, we also catch up with Mr Rose Of Tralee himself, Dáithí O’Sé as he gives us his Quickshots. He tells VIP all about what he’s watching at the moment (Dopesick, Ted Lasso), how his perfect Friday night would go (movie and buffalo wings), and whether or not he’s a messy person (very neat, apparently!)
Dáithí also shares whether he ever gets stressed, or if he’s simply a “cool cucumber” every day of the week. “In terms of the job, it’s not brain surgery,” he says of presenting. “I listen a lot for my living, it’s a lot more listening than talking. It’s not about me, it’s about the guest always.
“Off the air, what annoys me, Rita [he asks his wife beside him)? Nothing, she says! Life’s too short to worry about things. You have to handle issues as they come along.”
And on that note, it would be good to wrap up our sneak peak into October’s issue of VIP. If you’re still eager for more interviews, insights, and more, make sure to pick up the latest issue of the magazine – in stores nationwide now!
