Sara Davies on staying strong for her family, body confidence and living frugally

Sara Davies may seem like the ultimate strong woman: business owner, former Strictly Come Dancing star, and of course, a Dragon on Dragon’s Den. We’re used to thinking of her as being the ultimate in girl power, seeming to have it all.

But there is one thing that Sara, 42, still struggles with - and that is showing emotion in front of people she cares about. And it’s all down to her upbringing in the north east. And now, when she needs to have a private moment, she keeps it away from her husband Simon - with whom she shares sons Oliver, 12, and Charlie, nine.

Speaking in the latest issue of woman&home, she said, ‘I still don’t feel comfortable crying in front of Simon. Last week, after a stressful day, emotions were running high. In bed, I was reading, and I waited for Simon to fall asleep before I let the tears fall. I didn’t want sympathy or to talk about it.

‘I just needed to let it out. Simon shoulders an awful lot. He’s often the strong one for me. I run at 100 miles an hour, and he comes along with a sweeping brush behind.

‘He doesn’t need me being emotional on top, so I deal with that on my own. When I was a child, we had a really strong family unit, and I never saw my parents getting upset, so I grew up knowing that I had to hold myself together.’

Despite that, Sara - who famously created the hugely successful company Crafter’s Companion, before selling it and then rescuing it from administration in 2025 - does have one area she has newfound confidence in, and that’s her body. After having issues with her body image in the past, Sara now feels better than ever, now she’s taken control of it.

She tells us, ‘A couple of years ago, the doctor said to me, “By next year, you’ll be pre-diabetic.” It was the kick up the bum that I needed. When I was younger, I wanted to be thin, and I yo-yo dieted all my life, but dieting is only good if you want to lose weight, and now that’s not the aim.

‘I want to be strong and healthy. I’m in a privileged position to afford a nutritionist who has helped me understand food and food groups, and I’ve naturally lost weight, although I’m still a bit overweight.

‘I’ve never lost my mam tum, nine years since my last pregnancy, but I embrace it as who I am. What counts is I know my heart and body are strong. I do strength training twice a week over Zoom with a PT, then three or four mornings a week I run – it’s great for my mind. It’s not about being fast, but moving my body.’

And despite all of her success, she is keen to set a good example to her children, and still lives frugally despite her healthy bank balance.

‘ Being able to afford something and feeling right to have it are different. It’s why I only buy smoked salmon when it’s on sale. At an airport, I once overheard someone say, ‘That’s Sara Davies, that Dragon,’ and someone replied, ‘It’s not. There’s only Ryanair flights leaving. She’s probably got a private jet.’

We were travelling to Spain and I could have afforded a private jet, but I don’t want my kids thinking we can fly that way when the Benidorm bus works just fine. I think, ‘How do I bring up my kids in the same way and instil the right values when I’m in a really different place to where my parents were?’ How refreshing!