HEARTBROKEN: Monty Don forced to make huge lifestyle change after wife threatened to leave him
Monty Don’s decision to leave Gardeners’ World after 23 years has prompted renewed attention on the deeply personal struggles he has faced away from the cameras, including the moment his wife Sarah told him their family could not continue unless he sought help.
The much-loved horticulturist recently confirmed that the current series will be his last as host of the BBC gardening programme.
“I have a big piece of news to share with you because I have decided that this is to be my last series of Gardeners’ World,” Monty said.
He described his years on the show as “a joy” but added that it was now “time for a change.”
“So no doubt new adventures in the future but for the moment it’s the end of a chapter,” he said.
Sarah’s Ultimatum Became a Turning Point
Behind Monty’s hugely successful television career has been a long-running battle with depression, something he has spoken about openly over the years.
He has also described experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder, with his mood becoming particularly difficult during the darker winter months.
At one especially challenging point, the impact on his family became so serious that Sarah, whom he married in 1983, confronted him directly.
Speaking on White Wine Question Time in 2023, Monty recalled Sarah saying: “Look, I just can’t take any longer your moods and your black depression, you’ve got to do something about it because if you don’t, I can’t live with you – I’ll take the children and I’ll go.”
She made clear that the ultimatum was not about a lack of love.
“It’s not that I don’t want to live with you, it’s not that I don’t love you, but I just cannot cope with you,” Monty remembered her telling him.
The family was also under significant financial pressure at the time.
Monty and Sarah had previously suffered bankruptcy after their once-successful jewellery business failed in the 1980s.
They were living in rented accommodation, Monty was out of work and Sarah was caring for their three young children.
According to Monty, she finally told him: “I just can’t cope with you too if you’re not prepared to help yourself – go and see a doctor.”
Doctor Visit Changed Everything
Monty eventually followed her advice.
But when he first arrived at the doctor’s office, he struggled to explain what was really happening.
“I did that very male thing, I said ‘My knee hurts’,” he recalled.
The doctor asked whether anything else was troubling him, and Monty suddenly broke down in tears.
“He was great,” Monty said. “He said ‘This is an illness, we can help you.’”
The conversation became an important moment in how Monty began understanding and managing his mental health.
He has since spoken publicly about depression and the way gardening and the natural world can support wellbeing.
His honesty about those experiences has become another part of the relationship he has built with viewers over more than two decades on Gardeners’ World.
Fans React to His BBC Departure
Monty’s announcement that he is stepping away from the programme has left many longtime viewers emotional.
One fan wrote: “My Friday evenings will be bereft without your dulcet ‘Hello, and welcome to Gardeners’ World’.”
They added that the programme now had “some very big and muddy boots to be filled.”
Another viewer called his departure “a horticultural tragedy,” thanking Monty for sharing his “passion, knowledge and wisdom.”
Monty has presented Gardeners’ World for 23 years, with the last 16 filmed largely from Longmeadow, the garden that has become instantly recognisable to millions of viewers.
“I’ve worked with amazing people and it’s been a joy to share my gardening life and my dogs with you,” he said in his farewell announcement.
His departure marks the end of one of the BBC programme’s defining eras.
But Monty has already hinted that retirement from Gardeners’ World does not mean disappearing altogether.
After decades of professional success and considerable personal challenges, he appears ready for what he called “new adventures” — while leaving behind a legacy built not only on gardening expertise, but also on an unusual willingness to speak candidly about the harder periods of his life.
