Cathy Kelly has given a glimpse into what her big Christmas will look like with her new partner and their children.
The bestselling author recently finalised her divorce from ex-husband John Sheehan and finished her cancer treatment and is so 'grateful' for this festive season.
It will be a big and busy Christmas as there will be 12 people in all, including Cathy, her new partner PJ and friends and family.
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"Christmas Day we are going to have Murray, Dillon, me, PJ, our two beautiful dogs and our cat," said Cathy.
"And then we're going to have PJ's daughter Emma and her husband Ahir Shah, who won the Edinburgh Comedy Festival the year before last - he's got a show on Netflix - and we're gonna have Kit, who is one of PJ's sons and his partner Angie, and our old friend Cindy."
Speaking to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTE Radio 1, Cathy revealed it was through her friend Cathy that she met her new partner PJ.
"Cindy went to Oxford with PJ so that's how I met PJ, [it] was through my friendship with this wonderful woman, Cindy, and her two daughters. So it's good. It's gonna be 12 of us [on Christmas Day]," she explained.
Looking ahead to this Christmas after a challenging year, Cathy is grateful for everything she has.
"Even through the very difficult part of my marriage and divorce and all that, I still felt incredibly grateful because I have my two beautiful boys and I've been given this writing gift, which means I can do something I love," she said. "So when you've gone through something so shattering, which could mean I wasn't going to be here, it is a gift. Everything is a gift.
"I think this is going to be the best Christmas ever because I'm so much more relaxed. I'm in a beautiful space with beautiful people I love and I'm aware of how lucky I am - and I think that's a gift, to be aware of it."
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