‘I asked about renewing our vows - my husband was horrified!’ Sara Davies on the secret to a long-lasting marriage

Sara Davies has revealed the simple rule that’s kept her 27-year relationship alive - spending one night together a week.

The former Dragons’ Den star, who met her husband Simon when she was just 15, says Thursday date nights are the key to their long-lasting marriage.

The couple, who wed in 2007 and have two sons, Oliver, 11, and Charlie, 9, live in Teesside, close to both sets of parents.

“The kids sleep at their grandparents every Thursday,” Sara explains. “It’s lovely for the grandparents and we get that quality time together too.”

Sara, who is worth a reported £37m, admits they don’t do extravagant date nights.

“I’m not a big one for saying, ‘Let’s go out for dinner,’ because we have to eat out so much for work,” she says. “We’ll have friends around, or it’s a chance to catch up on a movie we’ve been wanting to watch - something the kids wouldn’t be interested in.”

Speaking exclusively to woman & home as our June issue cover star, Sara describes how their relationship evolved as they grew from teenage sweethearts to business partners and parents.

“We got together when we were teenagers and didn’t have any responsibilities,” she explains. “We’ve gone from innocence and a care-free nature to building the business together, then building our lives together. Through all of those different stages together, we’re stronger for it.”

So as they near their 20th anniversary, would the couple contemplate renewing their wedding vows?

“I remember once joking about it with Simon and he just looked horrified!,” laughs Sara. “He was like, ‘Why do we need to do that? It sounds like a load of expense for no apparent reason?’ So that’s a no!”

There’s no denying they can afford it. The couple are co-founders of craft supplies company Crafter’s Companion - a business Sara began as a student at the University of York - which is worth more than £30 million - and Sara insists they’re every inch a team.

“I’ve never really thought about being a breadwinner, because we always do everything together,” she says. “We’ve always operated as a team and therefore the money that’s come into the household has come into the business that we’re running together. It’s never felt like one of us earns the money and the other doesn’t.”

Even her many investments - including those from her seven years on Dragon’s Den, a commitment she paused last year to focus on Crafters Companion - are a shared effort.

“People think, ‘Sara’s invested in them’ but when those businesses are doing well, it’s not just because of that. It’s because we’ve worked collectively, as a team. Simon’s really involved."

Unlike her publicity-shy husband, Sara’s on-screen presence is growing. She made history as the youngest female Dragon on Dragons’ Den when she joined in 2019, two years before becoming a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. More recently, she hosted ITV gameshow Time Is Money and will soon appear in a new series called The Box.

And after hosting her ITV festive celebrity craft show Christmas Craft Off, Sara is hungry to carve out a bigger space on screen.

“I look at all the cookery shows out there and there’s so much you can do in crafting in the same way,” she says. “There’s so many celebrity chefs, but you just don’t see celebrity crafters. I had so many ideas, tips, tricks and hacks that I wanted to share with people.

“When I pitched the idea, they loved it so much, instead of doing a one-off, they did a five-part series. I really hope that’s the start of my own show, owning that craft space.”

Most recently, Sara and her younger sister Helen have launched a new podcast Mind Your Business, where they share business advice, lessons and mistakes. It’s recorded in a building where the sisters lived as children and Sara later ran Crafter’s Companion.

“Doing it with Helen gets me to a place where I’m prepared to be a little bit more open and vulnerable than I would ordinarily be," says Sara.

"As much as I say that vulnerability is a bit of a superpower in business, my walls are still up all the time. Whereas in that environment - in what used to be our childhood home and with my brother-in-law doing the sound - I feel so relaxed. It’s helped me drop my guard so the podcast is drawing out raw honesty. I think that’s what people are really loving!”