Miriam O’Callaghan has admitted she cherishes her marriage so much more after splitting with her first husband.
The RTE star ended her marriage with Tom McGurk in 1995Â after 12Â years together – before finding love again.
And Miriam, who then met Steve Carson five years later, admits that without the “dark side” she wouldn’t appreciate the good things.
“A broken marriage is so painful and so sad that I just feel happy to have found love again,” she told VIP Magazine.
Second husband: Miriam and Steve Carson
“And I think, maybe you cherish it a bit more and just never want to lose it. I’ve had downs in my life, but if you know the dark side then you can appreciate the bright side.
“And for me everything is positive. If somebody isn’t dying, or doesn’t have a terrible illness, then what’s the problem?
“But yes, Steve is great. He’s a very good father and a very good stepfather. He was very young when he took on four young girls.”
And Miriam believes that the same philosophy applies to Steve, who is currently living half the week away from her in Northern Ireland as part of his new job with the BBC.
“He was 27 [when he took on her girls], but he has always been very mature. But maybe we go back to loss?,” she said.
Telly: Miriam is just back with new season of Saturday Night With Miriam
“His mother died of cancer when he was four-years-old and I think that made him very responsible.”
And Miriam feels that her work was also pushed on by grief after the death of her sister Anne, aged 33.
The Prime Time star says it means she would now try to pack as much living into life as possible.
She added; “If Anne hadn’t died, would I be sitting here now being miserable and not working hard? Probably not.
“But, I do think if early in life you face death, and someone dies that you adore, it’s so catastrophic that it does change you.
“It’s like BC and AD: my life before and after the death of my sister.”
