Springwatch’s Michaela Strachan on ‘difficult dynamic’ with partner she never married

Michaela Strachan has ruled out the possibility of marrying her long-term partner, Nick Chevallier, whom she has been dating since 2003.

Despite their romance spanning over two decades, the Springwatch presenter has no plans to walk down the aisle again following her divorce from her first husband, filmmaker Duncan Chard.

Dancing on Ice star Michaela met cameraman Nick two years after her divorce while filming in South Africa, where she now lives with their blended family.

Micheala and Nick welcomed a son called Ollie in 2006, who joined Nick’s daughter and twin sons he shared with his late wife, who died of colon cancer. Their family unit factored into their decision not to tie the knot. 

Marriage confession

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Opening up about the “difficult dynamic” at the start of their relationship, she told Platinum magazine: “We don’t see the need to get married. It’s an awful lot of expense, isn’t it?”.

The 59-year-old added that she was sensitive to entering into a family still grieving the loss of their mother. “Coming into a relationship with someone that had lost their partner, and three kids who had lost their mum, was a difficult dynamic to begin with,” she said.

“There were no real major challenges, just the feeling of, ‘Whoa, how do we handle all this?’ It needed thought and patience.”

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This is not the first time Michaela has addressed her long-term relationship. She previously credited the couple’s independence as the secret to their happy union. 

She told The Mirror in 2018: “I think the secret is not to get married,” before clarifying: “I shouldn’t say that. That could be taken well out of context. But maybe the secret is we’re apart a lot. We don’t get on each other’s nerves as much as maybe we would if we were together all the time.

“We’re both into the outdoors, we’re both into wildlife, being outdoor, being fit. We’re very like-minded people. We’re very good friends and get on really well.”

Home life

© Jo Charlesworth, BBC

Michaela’s “patience” with developing a strong family dynamic has clearly come to fruition, with the Splash! star opening up about her life in South Africa with her partner, son and stepkids. 

“I moved to South Africa 22 years ago and my partner Nick and I live on the slopes of Table Mountain National Park,” she told House Beautiful. 

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She revealed her Mediterranean-style family home is decorated with beiges and greens throughout, and it features a piece of furniture from her first marriage. 

“We have the most amazing oblong, wooden farmhouse table in our dining room with four church pews, which can seat 14 people. My ex-mother-in-law found them being advertised, long before eBay. We drove them back to Bristol, where I lived with my ex-husband, and then they came with me to Cape Town,” she said.