Jamie Oliver slams jealous critics fuming he bought mansion as chain collapsed

Jamie Oliver said he has accepted that in life some people are just “f***ing jealous”.

The British restaurateur, 48, made the scathing comment in a candid new interview, as the dad of five opened up about his Essex mansion and admitted there is touching reason behind splashing the cash on his 16th-century property.

Jamie purchased his family home in 2019 and in May of that year, all but three of his 25 restaurants were forced to close, with the loss of 1,000 jobs, after the business called in the administrators.

When quizzed about whether he gets grief about buying the property at the time his businesses collapsed, the on-screen star claimed that no one knew the real reason behind why he bought it.

He admitted there was a whole host of “intimate specifics” that he chose not to discuss, adding he was not ready to share it.

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“But if I was just being media savvy, I wouldn’t have moved there when everything was going wrong,” Jamie told The Times. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. They don’t need to know.”

He went on to say that the home is an “old gaff” only an “idiot” would have bought.

Jamie added: “But to have come from where I was born to that house that’s only had three families owning it in 600 years, for me as a kid that went through special needs in school, it’s social mobility.”

The TV chef later shared that the sprawling mansion affords him privacy after spending decades of “people giving you a kicking every now and again, whether they were right or wrong”.

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Jamie continued: “But also an acceptance that people are f***ing jealous. In my heart, I know that I’ve only got goodness to give. I would be, on my mother’s life, as happy in a tiny house in a random part of this country. Honestly, truly.”

The Olivers have offered fans a peek inside their 16th century Spains Hall via social media, which includes converted stables, six bedrooms and of course, a very large kitchen.

The home is set on a 70-acre estate, and even includes a three-bedroom lodge on the grounds.

He resides at the mansion with his wife Juliette ”Jules” Oliver, who he married in 2000, and with their seven children, daughters Poppy Honey Rose, 21, Daisy Boo Pamela, 20, Petal Blossom Rainbow, 14, and sons Buddy Bear Maurice, 13, and seven year old River Rocket Blue Dallas.

Jamie shot to fame almost 25 years ago with his cooking programme – The Naked Chef – in 1999 on the BBC

Meanwhile, the chef will return to the UK restaurant scene with the launch of Jamie Oliver Catherine Street in Covent Garden, adjacent to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

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