Naga Munchetty, a beloved fixture on BBC Breakfast, shares the famous red sofa with her co-host Charlie Stayt from Wednesday to Saturday.

She joined the network in 2010, initially presenting the early morning bulletins on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News before securing a permanent hosting position.

The accomplished 50-year-old TV personality began her broadcasting career as a reporter for Reuters Financial Television. She later served as a senior producer for CNBC Europe but decided she preferred being in front of the camera.

She returned to reporting for Channel 4 News and took up a presenting role with Bloomberg Television.

In January 2021, Naga surprised her devoted fans by announcing a new radio role. She would fill in for Emma Barnett on her Radio 5 programme from Mondays to Wednesdays while continuing her on-screen career on BBC Breakfast, reports Bristol Live.

While much is known about Naga’s extensive career and fame, but less about the TV star off-air.

Marriage and family

Naga is married to James Haggar. The couple dated for a while before tying the knot in 2007.

The happy pair were so engrossed in their lives that starting a family never seemed to align with their busy schedules. The BBC Breakfast star has since admitted they have chosen not to have children and faced backlash over their decision.

In a candid chat with The Times, Naga Munchetty shared her personal choice not to have children: “We never tried, and I never miscarried; we just never really wanted them. We kept putting the decision off, and then life got better for us, we became more selfish… and just didn’t find the time.”

She also disclosed to The Sun that she had been branded “wicked” for “denying” her mother grandchildren, prompting her to reflect: “It’s quite interesting, isn’t it, how people react?”

TV husband

While Naga is a familiar face on television, her husband, James Haggar, prefers to remain behind the scenes. With a successful career in broadcast television, James currently works as a television director and broadcast consultant for Sky News’ panel show The Pledge.

His impressive resume includes over a decade as a senior director at CNBC International and prior roles directing Five News and OK TV.

Health Battle

Naga bravely opened up about her health struggles during her BBC Radio 5 Live show, revealing her diagnosis of adenomyosis at the age of 47 after years of enduring symptoms without knowing the cause.

The broadcaster revealed to The Times the harrowing details of her agonising experience with periods, explaining that what she endured was far from normal. Naga recounted: “(A normal period) It’s not throwing up. It’s not diarrhoea. It’s not hugging a toilet and crying because you’re sweating through pain, fainting, cramped over, loading yourself up with painkillers way more than you should be, from the age of 15.”

In a harrowing episode, Naga recalled how she once phoned an ambulance amid excruciating pain and made it clear to her husband, James, that in case she lost consciousness, he should prevent doctors from performing a hysterectomy on her.

According to the NHS, adenomyosis is defined as when the inner lining of the womb encroaches upon the muscular wall, with sufferers often experiencing intensified symptoms during their menstrual cycle.

Reflecting on past relationships

Last year, in a candid chat about her initial forays into romance, Naga shared some personal insights. During an interview with Adrian Lobb for The Big Issue’s Letter To My Younger Self feature, she divulged: “I was never fancied at school. I didn’t have a boyfriend until I was 17.”

Recollecting her early love experiences, she confessed: “But he was wonderful, my first boyfriend. I was with him for a couple of years. I think it’s so good to have boyfriends and girlfriends when you’re younger because you learn to accept that things don’t necessarily last, and they don’t have to.”

Reflecting on her personal experiences, Naga shared some wisdom: “You can enjoy the time you have. You’re changing, things change… But ending relationships will always cause pain, so do it with kindness.”

Furious row with husband in street

During a telling podcast session in which Naga guest-starred alongside former BBC Breakfast anchor Louise Minchin and triathlon commentator Annie Emmerson on Her Spirit podcast, the beloved news host divulged details about the most intense argument she ever had with her husband, James.

Affectionately known for her fitness enthusiasm and jogging habits, Naga doesn’t share this particular interest with her less athletically inclined husband, James.

In an ill-fated attempt to bond in 2013, Naga roped her spouse into running a marathon under harrowing weather conditions. This event triggered what she described during the Her Spirit podcast chat as James’s spectacular “meltdown,” which she accused her of deception.

Revisiting an anecdote from 2020, Naga recounted: “So I roped him into training for the marathon, and it was horrible. The weather was horrible; it had snowed, it was cold, and it was miserable.”

She detailed further: “Anyway, we were running, and he hated it. He didn’t want to do it, he got roped into it, he moaned all the time. Every time I said, ‘Let’s go for a run’, he would moan and would be moaning the whole time, like miserable. So it was literally a case of me dragging him along.

“We probably had two miles to go home up a hill, and he said, ‘How long does it say?’ And I said, ‘Oh, it’s saying eigh.t’,” She continued: “Well, I won’t tell you what he said, but he actually had a meltdown in the road.”

Imitating her husband’s voice, Naga exclaimed: “‘You’re lying to me, I’m sick of you lying about how far we’re going to go, lying about this, I don’t want to do this, you made me’.

“He was raging, and that was one of the huge rows,” Naga reflected.

BBC Breakfast airs everyday from 6am on BBC One.