Ulrika to reveal all in new book

Ulrika Jonsson’s new book Honest is set to reveal intimate details of her highly publicised love life, including her affair with England football manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

Her mother Gun Brodie has said that she begged the TV presenter not to tell all, saying: “I don’t believe people should wash their dirty laundry in public.”

Jonsson herself has said that the book, which she started at a troubled time in her life when her daughter Bo was diagnosed with a heart condition, is simply an attempt to understand herself and her life, after years of media criticism.

Some commentators are suggesting the book is an act of revenge against Eriksson while others argue that it is simply Jonsson’s attempt to take back control of her identity. So how will the blonde bombshell emerge from the media storm that will surely ensue?

Caroline Bradshaw, deputy editor of She magazine, believes that Jonsson “wants a chance to set the record straight”.

“There has been such a lot of speculation about her private life over the last 10 to 15 years and she just wants to take control of her life,” she says.

She does not believe Jonsson is after revenge. “This is certainly not her intention. This is a matter of public interest. People do want to know what went on. If you play away from home you have to live with the consequences but ultimately Sven is a successful football figure.

“It is not going to damage him in any way.”

She believes the book will have a positive effect. “This will only paint her in a good light. The public will get to know the real Ulrika Jonsson.”

Corinne Sweet, relationship psychologist, takes a very different view, however. While she agrees that Jonsson may have written the book to tell her side of it – she thinks the decision to publish is far from wise.

“Celebrities believe somehow that if they air all their personal stuff in public somehow they will be vindicated but I actually think it backfires,” she says.

“Of course she wants to make money but there’s a pay back in that everybody will see inside her private life and judge it and I think it’s a very vulnerable thing to do.

“I don’t think Ulrika makes wise decisions about men and I don’t think this is a wise decision even if it makes her millions.”

Sweet suggest that Jonsson may open herself up to the kind of criticism that has hounded Edwina Currie since she went public over her affair with John Major.

“Look at Edwina Currie – once you expose your public life you are open to all sorts of accusations.”

Bradshaw, however, argues that Jonsson is completely different to Edwina Currie, a political figure who represented a party that stood for family values yet was having an affair with a married man.

“I think in Ulrika’s case the public already feel they have a relationship with her. She is not pretending to be anyone other than herself.”

“She is comfortable with herself and her past and I think there is such a tremendous public interest in Ulrika partly because she is such an appealing public figure: she is beautiful, has a successful career and is a mother.”

She adds that Jonsson is a great role model for women: “She had a marriage break-up, a relationship that went sour, she has had a tough life but she is seen as a consummate survivor. Women like survivors.”

Yet Sweet believes Jonsson is showing herself to be vulnerable rather than strong by publishing the book.

“Jonsson has a naive lack of judgement and believes that somehow people will be nice to her.”

“She started off being a blonde bimbo but I think she gained public sympathy as people think of her as the wronged woman,” she adds.

“But I think by publishing this book and doing the documentary she will end up having the Geri Halliwell factor which is exposing herself too far.”

Sweet believes that Jonsson will lose public sympathy and she should have dealt with her feelings about the Eriksson in private.

“She seems to have a compulsion to expose herself and also getting into relationships with someone who is attached is re-enacting a feeling of abandonment from her past.”

Sweet adds: “It is better to make money from her talents in a different way and stay private about this very private matter.”

Bradshaw believes that Jonsson is no different from any other young woman who has suffered a series of ups and downs.

“Some people are unlucky in love and some people aren’t. It’s because she’s such a personable figure that there’s such an interest in her life but I don’t think her experiences are any different from any normal woman.”

She believes that the affair with Sven Goran Eriksson was not a trivial relationship.

“Some people say that she was trying to spin off the story but she had ended a substantial love affair in her life. If everyone else is talking about the affair then why shouldn’t she?”