Joanna Page had a furious argument with her husband James Thornton over childcare duties during a recent family holiday to Spain, the actress revealed on her podcast, Lush.
Page, 49, who has been married to Thornton for 23 years and shares four children with him, described the moment she was packing three beach bags, getting the kids into swimming costumes, and applying suncream to their youngest, four-year-old Boe, while her husband stood waiting by the desk.
"I look and the kids are just waiting for me and then you are just leaning against the desk just waiting as well, like a fifth child waiting for me to finish packing three bags before we can all go downstairs," Page said.
When she asked Thornton why they could not pack the bags together, he replied that she always does them. She fired back that she always does them because he does not help.
Thornton defended himself by pointing out that he gets up to put the towels on the sunbeds. He also admitted he could not remember what the argument was about, which only added to Page's frustration.
Fans responding in the comments were divided. Some found humor in the exchange, writing that he had no recollection of the argument while she had timestamps. Others took Thornton's side, arguing that if he had packed the bags and forgotten something, she would have complained.
The holiday dispute is not the first time Page has spoken candidly about the realities of her long marriage. She told New Magazine that because she is still co-sleeping with Boe, she and Thornton barely spend time together and make a point of prioritizing their mornings when the children are at school and nursery.
Page has also previously spoken to the Daily Mail about the harder stretches of their relationship, saying parts of the marriage have been "rubbish" and that she spent four years sleeping in a separate bed. She described their dynamic as a clash between his "Northern, measured" temperament and her "manic, impulsive and fiery" nature.
She said the couple have massive arguments and bicker all the time, but credited their shared goals and values for keeping them together. Her advice to others was to be prepared to work at marriage and not give up at the first sign of difficulty.
