 The couple were enjoying the first few weeks of a world-round trip alongside their four children when Michael fell ill and was initially diagnosed with colon cancer. Thankfully, a second opinion revealed that he was instead suffering with diverticulitis, a relatively common condition that affects the lining of the intestine. When Sarah's husband got the all-clear, the overwhelming sense of relief that washed over her was quickly replaced with a new-found clarity on life. Sitting on the terrace at her latest cocktail bar opening, overlooking the water in the bustling financial district of Canary Wharf, she tells The Mirror: "There's no doubt that Michael's health scare knocked us. It was a proper shock to our system. "More than ever, it really made me live in the moment in whatever I'm doing. When I'm working, I'm throwing myself at it. When I'm with the kids, I'm with the kids, when I'm with Michael, I'm with Michael. "I used to try and do ten things at once. But I've just realised that, looking back, I was just bad at all of them. Now, I'd rather do fewer things and go all in and be good at them. It definitely makes){kind=link}
Dragon’s Den star Sarah Willingham reveals the difficulties of juggling parenting with business, how her husband’s health scare gave her a new sense of clarity and how her risk of opening a bar company in the height of lockdown paid off
When Sarah Willingham took a seat at the Dragons’ Den table in 2015, she brought something refreshing to the panel. Combining her straight-talking, no-nonsense business approach with a dash of Northern warmth, the millionaire entrepreneur was the first working mum to land Dragon status, as she juggled being a parent to young children with her ever-growing business priorities.
Sitting alongside Dragons’ Den veterans Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, Sarah, who made her fortune in the hospitality industry, described her time on the panel as one of the ‘most brilliant things’ she’s ever done. But after her husband and business partner Michael Toxvaerd was faced with a life-threatening health scare, Sarah quit the show in 2017 as she knew that her family had to come first.
The couple were enjoying the first few weeks of a world-round trip alongside their four children when Michael fell ill and was initially diagnosed with colon cancer. Thankfully, a second opinion revealed that he was instead suffering with diverticulitis, a relatively common condition that affects the lining of the intestine.
When Sarah’s husband got the all-clear, the overwhelming sense of relief that washed over her was quickly replaced with a new-found clarity on life. Sitting on the terrace at her latest cocktail bar opening, overlooking the water in the bustling financial district of Canary Wharf, she tells The Mirror: “There’s no doubt that Michael’s health scare knocked us. It was a proper shock to our system.