‘I get very lonely’: Jane Horrocks reveals feeling isolated in later life, struggling to find a sense of purpose

While there's been a shift towards celebrating midlife and later life, and there's a lot more positivity surrounding the 'second act' years, there's still a certain amount of difficulty that comes with these years.

Loneliness can be rife, and empty nesters can also be dealing with caring for and saying goodbye to ageing parents, while adjusting to a very big shift in their purpose in life.

Some of these things aren't really talked about enough, so it's very refreshing that actress Jane Horrocks has been very honest about her experience of isolation as she advances in years, even suggesting she "doesn't know" whether her two children would be there for her if she really needed them.

Jane is single, after splitting from long-term partner Nick Vivian in 2017. The couple share children Dylan and Molly.

Appearing on Saga's Experience is Everything podcast, Jane discussed how she felt after her parents died - a time she'd had to clear out the home they lived in, where her children had also spent many times with them as a family.

This period in her life also coincided with both children leaving home.

"It's been the hardest part of my life," she tells host Jenni Murray. "It does all come at the same time and and then you sort of think, well, what is my purpose now?" she adds.

Sadly, Jane continues, "My children don't really need me. My parents are gone, so they don't need me anymore, the scripts aren't exactly flying through the door, so what is the purpose?"

Coping with an empty nest, parents passing and splitting up with a partner - Jane Horrocks bears all - YouTube

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With more heartbreaking honesty, Jane says, "Clearing my family home was the worst thing that I've ever done. In fact, it was worse than losing my mum because it held so many memories. It was it was a very, very tricky time, a very sad time."

With her parents gone and her children living their own lives, Jane is asked directly whether she feels lonely.

The actress's simple response to this is, "Yeah. Very." When questioned about how she tackles loneliness, Jane says, "I try and shift the energy, whether it be going out, meeting up with people - I'm not good with my own company."

She explains, "So rather than plummet into a very dark place, I try and do something about it."

Jenni suggests that if Jane really needed them, her children would be there for her. Sadly, she reveals "I don't know" whether they would or not. "I have no idea, I don't know," she adds with brutal honestly.

Jane's relationship with Nick Vivian broke down while she was going through the dark time of losing her parents. She shares that she's since had another relationship but it didn't work out because she "isn't very good at commitment."

She believes this is because she's always been independent and came to rely just upon herself, and now doesn't want to rely on anybody else.

Jane says she still doesn't know what her sense of purpose is. "I've got to be patient and not press that," she says, adding, "It's an unknown entity what's next, I think it's just trusting that what will be."

She concludes with the same candour she's shown throughout the entire interview, "I won't be in any place of resistance of just allowing the next stage to unfold."