Trinny Woodall reveals how death of ex-husband Johnny made her 'stronger'

Beauty guru and TV star Trinny Woodall has opened up about the death of her ex-husband Johnny Elichaoff who died by suicide in 2014.

Trinny and Johnny wed in 1999 and welcomed their only child in October 2003. They went their separate ways in 2008 and remained friends until Johnny tragically took his own life in November 2014.

Appearing on Jamie Laing's podcast titled Great Company, the 60-year-old revealed that while she "didn't grieve for many, many years" his passing made her "stronger."

Sharing a glimpse inside her loss, Trinny told Jamie how after Johnny's death, she felt "nothing worse can happen now, so I should take the greatest risk" – selling her home to invest in her beauty brand, Trinny London.

Speaking about her daughter Lyla, whom she shares with Johnny, she continued: "It was a time when maybe I should have knuckled down and made things as safe as possible for Lyla.

"But I also knew that this was a crossroads in my life… Emotionally, I couldn't have lost more than to lose my daughter's father for her… It makes you stronger."

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Trinny continued: "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, when you look at what it is. It is like that tsunami that comes and it kind of trawls the guts out of you… I have got inner strength and I had a lot of people relying on me when that happened.

"I needed to be the one who would look after everyone, because also it was a place I felt comfortable in, to be the one who would just take care."

This isn't the first time Trinny has spoken about Johnny's death. During a candid chat with journalist Jessica Rowe on an episode of The Big Talk Show, the What Not To Wear star said: "When I was 50 Lyla's father died under tragic circumstances. I had stopped doing TV. I didn't have an income. I was living off the residue of a couple of books."

"I remember I was at the funeral of my husband and afterwards I had people around to my house and I had some very good friends and they said, 'Trinny we know you want to start this idea but you need to be responsible for Lyla. Maybe you should get a job instead?'

"I said to them I can't be 60 and wish I'd started it earlier. So, they said send us the business plan when you're ready, and they were one of the first investors."

Aside from Lyla, Trinny is also a stepmother to Johnny's son Zak from a previous relationship.

When she's not busy with her parenting duties, Trinny continues to develop her multi-billion-dollar empire. As the company's founder and CEO, her makeup and skincare business, which she launched in 2017, is now thought to be worth a whopping $250 million.

If you have been affected by this story and wish to seek help, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you're feeling, or if you're worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.