Yahoo News Meet The Rees-Moggs: Jacob Rees-Mogg not worried about people’s perception of him
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has already made peace with his life and the 17th-century Somerset home where he lives with his family.
The British politician, broadcaster and Conservative Party member who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset from 2010 to 2024, is not worried about people’s perception of him or reinforcing negative ideas.
It’s why the 55-year-old was eager about opening up his private life to the general public and potentially reinforcing any perceptions in a new discovery+ documentary called Meet The Rees-Moggs.
READ MORE: Jacob Rees-Mogg's unusual demand of maid revealed in Meet the Rees-Moggs trailer
“I’ve always thought that you shouldn’t pretend to be something that you’re not, and I’ve always tried not to pretend to be something I’m not. So I don’t think anybody interested will be surprised that we live the way that we live, and no there’s no hiding it – and I wouldn’t want to do that,” he says.
“I never thought it was too intrusive. I think if you are in public life, you live a public life. I don’t believe in privacy laws. I don’t think that you can take the benefits of public life without taking the drawbacks of it. You need to be open about how you are.”
Meet The Rees-Moggs is a reality series with unprecedented access to Sir Jacob, his wife Helena, their six children, Peter, Mary, Alfred, Thomas, Anselm and Sixtus, as well as housekeeping staff and Veronica, their nanny.
He allows cameras to have a never-before-seen look into his day-to-day life, how his busy household coped during the 2024 general election in which the Conservatives lost power to Labour and Sir Jacob lost his seat, and how the family is coping with life after politics.
Sir Jacob, who attended Eton before reading history at Trinity College, Oxford, worked in finance and set up his own company, Somerset Capital Management, in 2007.
He was appointed leader of the Commons by then-prime minister Boris Johnson in July 2019 and later became minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency.
Having been made business secretary when Liz Truss became prime minister in September 2022, Eurosceptic Sir Jacob resigned from government a month later when she stepped down.
The classic car enthusiast, who owns a 1936 and a 1968 Bentley, was made a Knight Bachelor in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours in 2022.
His wife Helena, 47, whom he married in 2007, said of concerns ahead of the documentary series airing: “I’m not extremely awkward on camera, but I certainly have no experience.
Lady Rees-Mogg added she hoped “our house wouldn’t look like a complete tip which, despite everyone’s best efforts, I’m afraid it often does because there’s eight of us, six children, including five boys who play cricket — sometimes in the house — which is obviously not allowed, and some of us ride too”.
But there was one thing the couple were unanimous about and that had everything to do with their children.
“I think the only things that we were concerned about whilst watching it was anything about the children. This was very much my concern before we started filming, that if the children were upset about something or something had gone wrong, whatever it was, I thought that needed careful handling,” Sir Jacob said.
“The film crew were absolutely brilliant and very good about the children. I’ve said so many things, sometimes silly things, in the past, that there was nothing particularly I could say that made you any better off.”
Nanny Veronica has been with the family since before Sir Jacob, the son of the late Times newspaper editor William Rees-Mogg, was born.
For viewers who may not have ever had a nanny of their own, the role can seem quite antiquated until perhaps the usefulness is seen on screen.
“I think there’s a wonderful thing about Nanny being from the second generation, and how much it’s taught my children. Nanny grew up when they were still rationing, and she points out to the children when they are putting half a ton of butter on their toast that that would have been a week’s ration when she was a child,” he says.
“And I think this is a wonderful way that they are connected to an important part of our history in a living sense, rather than just getting it from a book, and that her mother had to get clothing coupons for the children.
“You know, all of this was going on in Nanny’s lifetime, and it’s very immediate for the children and it’s a reminder, perhaps, that life isn’t necessarily always as easy and comfortable as it currently seems. I think that’s a good thing for children to understand.”
Faith is also another big part of the Rees-Mogg family. While some people may set aside a space where they can pray, Sir Jacob’s family has a chapel attached to their home in Somerset.
“I go over to it every day before sunset,” says Sir Jacob, who is Roman Catholic. “We’re very lucky, and we’re very fortunate in the way things came together, and therefore the space was available. And then we were given things, and a church closed, and bits and pieces came off sale from local churches that they didn’t need, and so we were able to add to the chapel to make it more chapel-like rather than just a room.”
The chapel is also home to some special items of veneration for the Catholic faith, including what is said to be a fragment of the wooden cross on which Jesus was crucified.
“I’ve got relics of different degrees of certainty,” Sir Jacob says, explaining: “I have various pieces of the True Cross... but they are an aid to faith – they are not faith itself. I was given them. You’re not allowed to sell relics. You can sell the reliquary (that houses the religious items), but you can’t sell the relic.”
Asked whether he thinks opinions could change thanks to the programme, the Brexit-backing former MP said: “I don’t think I’ll change many people’s minds.
“I think it is interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes with politicians, that if you’re a public figure you need to lead your life quite publicly, and I think it’s fair to let people see what’s going on.
“But I’d be astonished if arch Remainers suddenly think, ‘Oh my goodness, Brexit was a wonderful idea after all’.”
Meet the Rees-Moggs will stream from 2nd December on discovery+.
