Pearl Lowe: I live with ADHD and OCD, and these conditions make holidays particularly challenging for me
Pearl Lowe, 55, is a London-born fashion and interior designer who also ventured into singing and songwriting in the past. She is married to musician Danny Goffey, with whom she has three children: Alfie (29), Frankie (26), and Betty (20). She also has a daughter, model Daisy Lowe, 36, from a prior relationship with Gavin Rossdale. The family divides their time between Frome in Somerset and their current home, and they’re deeply rooted in their local community.
For Lowe, holidays come with a unique set of hurdles. She lives with severe OCD, which means her surroundings must meet a long list of criteria, while ADHD adds another layer of travel-related chaos. She describes frequent travel missteps such as leaving for airports on the wrong day, checking into the wrong hotels, or even packing an empty suitcase. Despite these travel slips, she often overpacks yet ends up wearing the same dress repeatedly. Fortunately, she can borrow clothes from her daughters—except for Betty’s outfits, which don’t fit her style or size.
Long flights aren’t her favorite due to restlessness and boredom, but she notes that some destinations justify the journey. Sri Lanka stands out as the most underrated place she’s visited. A family trip taken just before the pandemic revealed a breathtaking country with exceptionally kind people and luxurious accommodations. The family explored from Colombo to Tangalle, where they stayed at Amanwella and enjoyed a crocodile safari on the river.
Lowe also has a fondness for Mexico. She enjoyed a stay in Tulum at La Valise and Our Habitas, praising the interior design and ambiance. Although she hasn’t yet visited Mexico City, she expresses a strong interest, especially because of her fascination with Frida Kahlo and a desire to see Kahlo’s home.
She notes plans and experiences around travel: a recent sale of their 11-bedroom Somerset home and a shift toward downsizing, with weeks spent in a Notting Hill flat and a long-term intention to settle in Frome. She mentions a favorite dining spot, High Pavement—a cozy front room in Frome’s St Catherine’s Quarter known for its remarkable tapas, which requires advance booking since it’s open only on Thursdays through Saturdays. Frome’s market, held on the first Sunday of every month from March to December, also earns her praise for its abundance of food, antiques, and other offerings. She also commends Number One Bruton for its design and Babington House, where the couple celebrated a gothic-style winter wedding in 2008.
With the move occupying her attention, she hopes travel can resume soon. She considered a home-exchange holiday but found the swapping options unattractive when compared to their own home, feeling the trade wouldn’t be fair. She is eager to revisit Morocco, recalling a stay at El Fenn in Marrakesh, a vibrant boutique hotel with exceptional food and stunning interiors, and friendly staff. A trip to the Atlas Mountains for a friend’s 50th celebration also left a lasting impression.
The family also cherishes Paxos in Greece, usually staying in a villa, and at times chartering a vintage 109-year-old boat, Circe, through Scott Williams Villas. Nights aboard Circe were magical, despite their cramped, coffin-like cabins, with a skipper named Adonis playing guitar at sunset.
One travel low point occurred about six years ago during a family holiday in Goa, India. After a difficult year, they sought rest, but an illness outbreak at the beach resort made everyone terribly sick. She still hopes to return to India someday to visit Jaipur.
As a child, Lowe spent August holidays in Mallorca, staying at a familiar Meliá hotel with family friends who joined them. Later, when she grew older, vacations with her parents often included trips to Barbados and the Sandy Lane hotel after her brothers left for university.
A formative family memory involves summers in Miami, where her father bought a house that became a recurring stop during holidays and school breaks. That city’s architecture, pastel tones, South Beach, Wynwood’s art scene, and its food left a lasting impression, especially after her father’s death in 2016.
Her earliest holiday without her parents was a Provensal adventure at Club Med with friends when she was 17. The Eighties Club Med era promised non-stop fun—sunrise to sunset, plenty of drinks, and many potential romances—often overshadowing the chance to discover the south of France itself.
Pearl Lowe is also the author of Faded Glamour in the City, published by Cico Books. Readers can order it through The Times’ bookshop with special discounts for Times+ members.
In The Times’ weekly My Hols interview series, celebrities from film, sports, politics, and beyond share their travel memories, from childhood adventures to current journeys.
Would you relate to Pearl’s experiences, and what strategies do you use to manage travel when ADHD or OCD show up in your plans? Share your thoughts in the comments—do you think these conditions fundamentally reshape how we experience holidays, or can preparation and routine truly lessen the impact?
