Comparison,’ begins one of Miranda Hart’s favourite quotes, recently shared on Instagram with her 1.2million followers, ‘is the thief of joy’.
And joy is an emotion the actress and comedienne, 51, who earlier this month surprised fans with news of her secret wedding, has been brimming with of late.
Making a string of media appearances to launch her new book I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You, which details her private battle with Lyme disease – a chronic condition which left her bedbound for years – Miranda was tight-lipped about the identity of her new husband.
After much speculation, he was confirmed to be Richard Fairs, the 60-year-old boss of a building company, with whom Miranda struck up a romance during lockdown and married this year.
But it is here that the comparisons – sorry, Miranda – begin. For while Miranda has been candid in the past about her lonely single life, Richard has been married before – and to someone who has much in common with his new bride.
Amanda Heart, 51, married Richard Fairs, a 60-year-old boss of a building company, after striking up a romance with him during lockdown
Jeanne Fairs, 60, was the new Mr Hart’s first wife. The pair, who have two grown-up children, were married for over 25 years before separating in 2017, and it seems he may have a type.
With their shoulder-length, light-brown hair, elongated faces and strong jawlines, not to mention broad smiles and thin, arched eyebrows, Jeanne and Miranda share striking similarities in appearance.
Though different in height and stature – Miranda is 6ft 1in and has opened up about how her illness made her gain weight, while Jeanne’s children Jack and Shula tower over their slim, petite mother – their wardrobes are remarkably alike, too.
Social media photographs show them wearing similar nautical stripes, leopard-print scarves and chunky cardigans. And the comparisons don’t end there.
Jeanne, an English teacher who is currently assistant head at a secondary school in Portishead, just outside Bristol, has a flair for comedy writing, much like her ex-husband’s new wife.
Her blog The Dragonfly Jar is filled with irreverent, self-deprecating posts about life as a divorcee, featuring jokes – spanning her love of David Cassidy, comic interactions with her teenage students and her penchant for ‘disco naps’ – that would no doubt make Miranda laugh.
Both women also share a tight bond with their siblings. Jeanne is the youngest of four. She has a brother and a sister – her other sister died in 2019. Meanwhile, Miranda’s sister Alice lives next door to their parents in Hambledon, Hampshire, and is said to have helped facilitate her wedding at the local village church.
Like Richard, whom Miranda calls her ‘Bristol boy’, Jeanne originally hails from the city. However, she attended Angmering Comprehensive School in West Sussex, while Miranda went to Downe House in Berkshire, the all-girls alma mater of Kate and Pippa Middleton.
Both women grew up in religious families. ‘As Bible-thumping Methodists, even buying a raffle ticket – let alone chomping on a wine gum – was strictly frowned upon,’ Jeanne writes in her blog. Meanwhile, Miranda is a staunch Christian, having once admitted: ‘It’s scary to say you’re pro-God.’
Children feature prominently in both their worlds, too. Jeanne, whose two grown-up children call her ‘Mama J’, refers to them as her ‘brilliant cheerleaders’.
‘If you are lucky enough to have kids – whatever their age – spend time with them,’ she writes.
Richard was married to first wife Jeanne Fairs, 60, for over 25 years before separating in 2017
‘When I am on my knees and doubting myself, my two just seem to ‘get’ me.’
Miranda doesn’t have children, doting instead on her dog, a poochon called Patti. But she is a proud auntie to her niece and nephew. Writing on X after her niece Jemima was born in 2009, she said: ‘Well done my sis having kids so I can have some to play with but hand back pronto at any sign of tears or poo.’
Friends say she is a devoted and generous aunt, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with young children on the set of the BBC’s Call The Midwife, in which her character Chummy went on to have a son of her own.
On Mother’s Day in 2019, Miranda posted online: ‘Happy Day to all those who have chosen to or haven’t been able to have children, but nurture and cherish and mother in other ways.’
And she has written children’s books, including The Girl With The Lost Smile – a tale of an 11-year-old girl who can’t find her smile – which was published in 2017.
Though they hail from very different worlds – Miranda lives in a £2million London townhouse; Jeanne has bought and renovated a run-down cottage near Bristol – they also share several interests.
Both like gardening and plants, both watch period dramas – Miranda starred in the 2020 film adaptation of Emma; Jeanne favours the BBC box set of Pride And Prejudice – and both have a penchant for making others laugh by donning silly outfits and doing humorous dances.
One recent photograph from her blog shows Jeanne wearing a mermaid tail at a book club meet-up, and she jokes about doing a ‘Telly Tubby dance’ at her son’s forthcoming wedding.
Meanwhile, Miranda is a Strictly Come Dancing fan and treats her Instagram followers to ‘choreography Tuesday’, recreating moves from the competition.
Were the circumstances different, one wonders if they could have been friends. Both are careful about what they eat; while Richard’s ex-wife is a vegetarian, Miranda follows a strict dairy and gluten-free diet and hasn’t drunk alcohol in years.
Jeanne spends much of her free time running – last year she completed a 50km ‘ultramarathon’ – and she is a trained yoga teacher. When she was younger, Miranda, too, was something of an athlete, once completing a 100m race in an astonishing 12 seconds (the women’s world record is 10.49) with no training.
They also share a desire for privacy. Though her career puts her in the spotlight, Miranda has always led a low-key private life. That she kept a new romance, engagement and wedding under wraps shows just how good she is at leading a ‘normal’ life.
Even in her book, where she details meeting Richard when he came to fix a mould problem at her home, and their first date over a takeaway pizza, she doesn’t name him, and she still hasn’t shared a picture of them together.
When contacted by the Mail for comment this week, Jeanne did not respond, while friends and family did not want to speak about Richard’s new romance.
She, too, appears to have found love in later life, referring on her blog to a 60-something, handsome new partner, whom she calls ‘my chap’. On a weekend away, he surprised her with a bunch of sunflowers and a mug painted with a dragonfly – a gesture which made her ‘melt emotionally’, she says.
Jeanne would no doubt empathise with Miranda’s words from her new book: ‘The fact I could meet somebody is not some kind of romcom story, but it’s hope; there’s always hope, things can change.’ Whether she will rush to buy a copy is another question.