Few stars have lived out their adolescence in the spotlight quite like Charlotte Church did. From the moment she sang Pie Jesu over the phone on This Morning at the tender age of 11, intense media scrutiny and tabloid frenzy has followed her through every chapter of her life, documenting her jobs, relationships and private life in intimate detail. 

She’s made no secret of how much it impacted her, so much so that I’m surprised she still wants to talk to journalists. After all, why would you put yourself back out there again after such vicious intrusion? At the mention of being a tabloid target, Church says: “It was utter f**kery – just a real psychological grinder. I think it’s made me a bit shameless. I have felt such deep and intense shame that nowadays I’m grateful because it’s made me resilient and courageous.” 

Born in Cardiff in 1986, Church recalls growing up around music and being a huge fan of “seminal black female artists” like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Aretha Franklin. “I had been singing since I was three years old but it was when I was about nine that my family thought ‘she’s got something here’. It was quite run of the mill in my family because everybody is a singer. I grew up around music but in a very working class way; a lot of my cousins, aunties and uncles are cabaret singers and one is an Elvis impersonator. That’s just what the kids in the family did: we had a go.” 

After her appearance on This Morning, Church made her stage debut on ITV’s Big, Big Talent Show which catapulted her to international fame. From then on, she juggled a classical music career – she was asked to perform at Rupert Murdoch’s 1999 wedding to Wendy Deng, and Church’s management at the time reportedly persuaded her to waive a $100,000 payment in return for “good press” – with her academic studies and vocal scholarship. When I ask what alternate careers she may have pursued, Church simply replies: “I have no idea. It’s hard to imagine; I was so young.

“I suppose I was always pretty dreamy as a child. I was really creative, I loved dancing and singing and performing; it was just music, music, music. I had a very unconventional adolescence where I travelled all over the world and met some of the most powerful, interesting and brilliant people on earth. Some of it was amazing, and some of it was really, really hard.” 

Career highs – Brit Awards, sold-out concerts, best-selling albums and performing for royals, popes and presidents – naturally came with lows. “I have played in the [most] iconic places on earth and then I’ve also played in the sh*tiest toilet-tour indie clubs. [I have been] able to adapt to whatever was happening in my life and what I was trying to do artistically and have a sense of humility.” Reflecting on the tough times, she explains: “Life is full of suffering. There’s acute suffering and then there’s suffering that’s more attritional and longitudinal but they are our greatest teachers. It is through failing, suffering and pain that growth is possible.” 

So, does she no longer worry what people think? “It’s not very human to not worry about what people think. As you get older and into your twilight years, not giving a f*** what people think is more possible, but we’re human beings. Unless you’re actually enlightened and able to really practice non-attachment, we’re always trying to belong. I’d like to say I don’t give a f*** what people think about me but I’m still deeply within my interpersonal relationships and attachments.” 

Image: Rekha Garton

The Dreaming

This is one of many glimpses I’m given into the spiritual lens through which Church now sees life. Having embarked on a journey she describes as “multilayered”, she talks about “discovering cosmology, particle physics and quantum mechanics” and how they have all guided her to the here and now – and led her to The Dreaming: her healing retreat in the rolling hills of the Elan Valley in her native Wales. 

Talking of leaning into the ‘earth mother’ trope, Church says: “This is who I’ve always been but you become more and more aligned with your own path and gifts and what you’re here to do. I do really believe every single one of us, no matter how worthless somebody thinks they are or what situation they’ve been born into, has a part to play in this enormous song. We’re all adding our bit to it; our energy, our frequency, our magic, our gifts, our shadows.” 

The Dreaming, in Church’s words, is the product of years of campaigning for climate justice and advocating for a deeper connection with the natural and spiritual world. The retreat, which opened in 2023, provides a tranquil antidote to the cacophony of the modern world, inviting guests to heal and reflect in nature – something she believes has never been more necessary. “I feel like nobody is really talking about the fact we’re literally living in and through an apocalyptic situation. We don’t know how the cookie is going to crumble but it’s happening and I really want to start talking about it. 

“How are we strengthening our communities? How are we preparing ourselves for the collapses that are to come, whether its supply chains, food, soil degradation? There’s such enormous grief associated with it and such enormous uncertainty. We need to start having a national conversation about this stuff.”

Image: Elliot Cooper

The Dreaming

Was it always her plan to launch a healing retreat? No. But this verdant patch of Welsh countryside – featuring abundant gardens designed by Chelsea Flower Show winner Juliet Sargeant, and sleek lodgings once belonging to British fashion designer Laura Ashley – has become her happy place. “That land found me and I have been its faithful servant ever since. I’ve seen so many people I love struggle with addiction and mental health, and I really get it. I really understand what it is for people to feel like they don’t have any support, [to feel] alone and disconnected. This is me doing my tiny bit to help.

“South Walians don’t often go to the centre – most people go to the west to the beaches and Pembrokeshire – but this land was advertised online [with] a photo of one of the waterfalls and I was just drawn in. I had no intention of having a healing retreat centre; I was looking for land to start a glamping business, as I also run a charity called The Awen Project, so I wanted it to be something much more aligned to young people, education, and reattaching families. 

“I’d just had a baby as well; the first time I went to see the land, Frida was three months old, so I was super connected and swimming in those super earth mother vibes. I was so permeable to the voice of the land.” 

2025 has seen Church, who facilitates many of the retreats herself, add even more to the programme. Signature three-day retreats act as digital detoxes and an opportunity to reconnect, while Song of the Soul is exclusively led by Church and enables her to perform in ways she never has before. Projects she is excited about include a four-night Witch event – offering deep witchcraft practices during the waning Gibbous moon phase – and the Belonging Family retreat aimed at reconnecting parents with children. 2026 will also see The Dreaming host a Returning to the Queer Heart retreat, specifically for the LGBT community. 

“What we need are people breaking bread around the table, integration, difference, diversity – and that’s what I want The Dreaming to be a beacon for. For the next couple of years, I’d like for us to hold space for particular groups of people who want to do the work with a view of us being seen as a leader in properly diverse wellness [and] healing spaces.” 

With so much mention of healing, what has The Dreaming taught Church about herself? “I work way too hard and I really need to cultivate more stillness. I’ve learnt I’m way more f**ked up than I initially thought but I’ve also learnt that’s absolutely fine and there’s no rush. The more weight we put on ourselves for anything – fitness, wellness, mental health – the more we put on the f**king to do list, the worse sh*t is. 

“I’m focusing on stripping as much away from my life as I possibly can. What do I really want to do on the weekend? Who do I really want to see? How do I genuinely want to spend my time? The more I feel into it, the simpler it is. I just want to go swimming in the sea and read my book for two hours with no interruptions. Sometimes, I want to eat a greasy burger by myself.” 

Now living life on her own terms, Church couldn’t seem more content. Talking of her day-to-day routine, she says: “I get up super early in the morning and speak to my ancestors at my altar; I might pray, sing or journal. Sometimes when I’m feeling particularly groovy, I put on an absolutely banging playlist and dance down to the beach and dance the sun up – that’s the only way I will ever do cardiovascular exercise. I just love dancing and shaking my ass – it’s one of my favourite things in the world to do.”

When I ask her what she would want to tell her younger self, she ponders for a moment. “My first thought was ‘relax, let it go, unclench your fists’ but in a way, it’s what kept me alive. Sometimes you have to be that impenetrable mini-dragon. Now that I don’t need to have that fight, if I was still going through what I was going through with the press intrusion when I was 16, I don’t think I’d be where I am now.” 

So, no regrets? “I wish I understood a little bit more about guardianship over myself and had better boundaries. But on the other hand it’s in my nature to be incredibly permeable, trusting, open and that has meant I have had a lot of pain but it has also taught me a lot. Shadows and gifts, always.” 

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