Celebrities

Simon Reeve Reveals He Lives in ‘Middle of Nowhere’ After Unusual Marriage Contract

Published on June 17, 2025

Simon Reeve might be known for trekking across some of the most remote and dangerous parts of the world, but when it comes to home, it’s the quiet hills and fields of Devon that have stolen his heart.

The Greece with Simon Reeve presenter, now 52, once lived in the thick of it all in London, but life took a big turn back in 2013 when he and his wife Anya packed up their city lives and moved into a 125-year-old converted barn tucked away in rural Devon with their son Jake. He jokes it was never really his call to begin with, telling Great British Life, “My missus moved us down there, it was part of our marriage contract.”

Having both grown up in London, the move marked a big shift for the couple — but one that’s clearly paid off. “We’re doing the middle-aged, middle-class thing of moving to the countryside,” Simon added, laughing. And despite the tongue-in-cheek delivery, it’s obvious he’s embraced the slower pace, reported Hello! Magazine.

“When I’m not on my travels, which accounts for anything between a third and half of the year, I’m back here, and honestly, I just love the place!” he said. And for someone who’s navigated hostile terrain, conflict zones, and wild environments for a living, it’s not surprising that the calm of Devon offers some much-needed balance.

“I love being at home and doing really mundane things,” he told Great British Life. “Because the adrenaline kick from trekking into occupied Burma or dodging military personnel in South America has to be tempered.”

He described his home as a “blissful refuge” when speaking to MailOnline, and the setting certainly sounds it. He was pictured in a cheerful yellow room, with rustic beams overhead, a cosy log-burner, red patterned sofas, and shelves filled with books — the kind of space that looks like it was made to exhale in.

That said, he hasn’t turned his back on the capital completely. Simon still has a flat in the leafy London borough of Hampstead, which he describes as “a fairly perfect, I’ve-won-the-lottery-sort-of-situation – next to the Tube and with a garden.” Not bad for someone who also appreciates solitude.

And it seems the presenter’s property interest hasn’t stopped there. When asked if he could buy any building, he already had one in mind: “Bell Moor, a big block of flats overlooking Hampstead Heath,” he revealed. Not content with the neutral colours most London flats are known for, he added, “I’d paint it orange and yellow because I love warm colours.”

So, whether it’s dodging danger in distant lands or relaxing at home in the countryside, Simon seems to have struck a balance that works. With one foot in rural calm and the other in city convenience, he’s found a way to enjoy the best of both worlds — even if it took a little gentle persuasion from his wife to get there.

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