We can always rely on Sharon Osbourne to Cut The Crap! (Credits: Emily Manley)
Sharon Osbourne is about to make one of the biggest moves of her life.
The former X Factor judge is returning to the UK with husband Ozzy Osbourne after nearly two decades of living primarily in Los Angeles, California with their children Aimee, Jack, Kelly and now their brood of grandchildren.
However, home is where the heart is and Sharon, 71, and Ozzy, 74, are packing up their sun-kissed mansion to move back to their Buckinghamshire digs this Christmas after extensive renovations.
It’ll mean that Ozzy, former star of the metal band Black Sabbath, can be close to friends and family as he focuses on his health after several years of setbacks, which have included a serious fall, multiple surgeries for a back injury, fears he’d been left paralysed and his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Sharon has been the pillar of strength by his side along the way and, for her, returning to the UK means she can take up other work commitments such as hosting TalkTV series The Talk and now her new stage show Sharon Osbourne Cut The Crap, which opens at London’s Fortune Theatre in January.
As the Osbournes prepare to head back home, Metro caught up with the straight-talking family matriarch to see how she’s found all the recent life changes…
If you hear what sounds like Sharon’s unmistakeable laugh nearby, that’s because she’ll soon be back on UK soil (Picture: Getty Images)
Sharon, where are you? I can’t see you on my Zoom.
I’m still in bed John. But you’re on my screen so it’s fine.
In Los Angeles? I thought you had moved back to the UK.
Yes but we still have our house here which we will put up on the market soon. But the market is so bad nobody’s buying anything.
Would it be gauche of me to ask what it’s going for?
Oh, I don’t know. And yes, IT IS gauche of you.
Sorry. Who is coming with you to the UK – the whole family (including grown up children Jack, Kelly and Aimee)?
No just Ozzy. My son has four kids and he’s divorced. His wife would never allow the kids to move. My daughters Aimee and Kelly will keep their houses here and come back and forth. But we will be in our home in Buckinghamshire before Christmas.
Sharon has been husband Ozzy Osbourne’s rock throughout his health ordeal in recent years (Picture: Getty Images)
Sharon and Ozzy won’t be moving to the UK with their kids (Picture: Getty Images)
Why are you returning to England?
I want to go back to where I came from. It’s very strange here [in the US] right now. It’s like a tinderbox. We’re living in crazy times and it’s just horrendous what’s going on worldwide. I just feel safer back in England. I’m hoping I can live a more peaceful life and have more privacy here.
In LA my husband can’t go for a walk without paparazzi taking pictures and people saying ‘Poor frail Ozzy, he’s got three months to live’, or rubbish like that. Today he’s gone to the doctors and he is always followed by the same photographers. And it’s like ‘Come on! How many pictures do you need of him with a walking stick?’
After you move house your new stage show Cut The Crap! opens which is all about your life. It’s a helluva life.
Yes, Kate Thornton is going to be the moderator asking me questions and there will be questions from the audience.
That title – sounds like you’ve got no time for bull***t in your life.
Time is so precious. It’s the one thing you cannot buy. Over the years I’ve tried to control myself when I’m around people that bullsh*t. But as you get older you just lose that…
That famous politeness of yours?
Well, now I don’t give a f**k [and say] “Just shut up!” [Show]business is the worst for bullsh*t. People say one thing to your face and another after you walk out the door. This industry is very tough. You can make a lot of money and it gives you power. But it sometimes makes me behave in a way that I really don’t want to. Unfortunately, you have to survive though.
Sharon says showbusiness is ‘the worst for bulls**t’ (Picture: WireImage)
Sharon ‘felt ostracised’ by the music industry when she fell out with her music manager dad (Picture: WireImage)
In your show you talk about some of the hardest years you’ve had.
They really started with my father [music manager Don Arden who was Ozzy’s manager]. When I fell out with him I was really sort of ostracised by the music industry because I left him and married Ozzy. It was a fight for survival. I was trying to keep a career going and a roof overhead. It was a major part of my life as was keeping my marriage together with somebody who was an addict.
On your podcast show The Osbournes with Ozzy, Jack and Kelly you recently spoke about how violent your late father could be. Yet you still loved him it seems.
It was a very weird relationship. I loved my father. He taught me a lot, he gave me a great childhood. But yes, he used to wrap my hair around his hand and yank my head. And then when you work for your father and he asks you to do things which are basically illegal and very risky, how do you forgive him? But I did because it’s so bad to carry that around with you. So I was there for my dad when he was older and he needed me.
You have also spoken recently about your struggle with weight and how you’ve lost more than is good for you. Is this because of the pressure of being a TV personality?
No, I’ve always had a terrible weight problem since I was a little girl. I can remember going to school on the Underground and on certain platforms there used to be huge weighing machines. I used to put pennies in all the time to check my weight. So it was never because someone told me to lose weight or look a certain way. It came from within. It came from me as a child.
Sharon has shared the heartbreaking origin of her body image struggles (Picture: Rex Features)
I was never an addict or an alcoholic. I used food. If I was happy or sad or anything I was like ‘I need ice cream!’. And now for the first time in my life I can’t put the weight back on. My husband, who has no filter, says ‘It makes you look really old.’ I’m like, ‘Thanks darling. That’s great!’
Are the hard times behind you at last?
No, because I look at my husband’s illness and how it’s changed our lives.
He has Parkinson’s disease and a spinal injury.
It’s been a very, very tough five years. The pain is getting better but it’s devastating watching someone you love be sick for so long. And it changes the family’s life radically. Yes I get to spend more time with Ozzy, but I think he’s fed up with me telling him what to do. Taking care of him has put my life on a different path to what it was.
Where will that path take you now?
I just hope that before I am on the last chapter of my life that I can find serenity and peace of mind. Because that’s what I strive for.
Sharon Osbourne Cut The Crap! Live and uncensored on stage at The Fortune Theatre, London Jan 21 and The Alexandra, Birmingham on Jan 24.
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Sharon chats to Metro about their big move back to the UK.