SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2023--

Sunny Hostin was called out by viewers for 'talking negatively about other relationships' as she commented on Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's romance

GALESBURG, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 14, 2023--

A professional cuddler who makes a living giving clients hugs has said people travel from all over the globe to receive the cuddle therapy she offers which is “far less intimate than a massage” and helps people from “all walks of life”. Natasha Wicks, 44, from Coventry, West Midlands, says that despite criticism, cuddling is scientifically proven to release happy hormones like dopamine and that a lot of her clients are “the big spoon in life” and go to her for emotional support that they do not have at home. As such, many of her clients are caregivers and most of them join Natasha for two-hour hugging sessions, costing £70 an hour. The sessions vary depending on what the client wants, some having “emotional hugs”, others talking more and some wanting to “sit at opposite ends of the sofa with our legs and feet entwined”. Natasha became a cuddle therapist in 2015 and, while she has had comments online from people criticising the practice, she said that her family and friends were unsurprised when she first started giving professional cuddles. She said: “They all said to me that I give the best cuddles so it’s not surprising that I’d start doing it as a job. “It’s very much what I do, I help people and want to make people feel better. It’s a natural thing when someone is going through a tough time to want to give them a hug. “Cuddle therapy might not be as widely accepted in society but it’s far less intimate than other things like massages which are seen as normal.” Prior to becoming a cuddler, Natasha originally trained as a CBT therapist and counsellor. She said: “There’d be situations where I would be talking to someone and they’d really need a hug, but obviously, you’d have professional boundaries in place and it wouldn’t have been appropriate. “It was just a really natural thing. One client had finished her final session and we had agreed that she wasn’t my patient anymore so we hugged goodbye. She said to me that she’d wanted to do that for a long time and I thought ‘me too’.” Looking into cuddle therapy, which she said was increasing in popularity in 2014, Natasha took a training course. By 2015, she was a qualified cuddler and started taking on new patients for cuddle sessions. Natasha provides a minimum session of one hour but said most people go for at least two hours, sometimes longer if they are receiving more than one type of therapy. She said: “I always give people a hug on the doorstep when they arrive and then they’ll come in and relax, and we’ll have an initial chat about what brings them here. After that, I’ll put on some ambient music and we’ll have a cuddle on my cuddle sofa. “It can be daunting coming into a stranger’s house and I can tell the difference in them from arriving to leaving. The first hug they might be angled away from me but when we’re hugging goodbye, I can get my head in between their neck and shoulders and you can almost feel that a weight has been lifted from them.” There is not one type of person that visits Natasha for cuddles, but she says that a lot of her clients are caregivers. She said: “There’s all sorts of people who come for a cuddle, from people who have moved away from home for the first time and just want a mum hug all the way to people in their 80s. “I’m inclusive of all genders and all ages. I get a lot of clients who are the carers of their family and they are so busy looking after other people, and probably giving the hugs and support to other people, that they don’t have that for themselves. “A lot of people that come to see me are generally people are the big spoon in the life – they take care of others and don’t want to show a vulnerable side to people because they don’t want people to worry that they can’t cope. “I get a lot of carers, a lot of NHS staff, a lot of mums, a lot of people that are in a world where they have to be the strong one in the situation and they just want to be able to come here and let their guard down.” Natasha’s priority is to make people feel at ease when they arrive as she said it can be “nerve wracking” turning up at someone’s house for a hug. Setting out clear boundaries prior to meeting, the therapist has said that the patients she has welcomed into her home have all been respectful. She added: “I always say to people that when your body relaxes, your tummy might crumble and mine might too, but that people don’t need to worry about it. Sometimes people fall asleep and they might snore or fart, it’s just natural things that happen. It’s happened twice where someone has got an erection and that’s fine, I have boundaries and we’ll just change position. “I want people to feel reassured that, as soon as they get in, they feel comfortable.” Despite the unconventional therapy, when Natasha first took on cuddle clients, she said her family were completely “unsurprised” and the step from CBT therapy to cuddle therapy was a “natural evolution”. While Natasha focuses her time on a holistic approach for treating people, she noted that there is also neuroscience behind cuddles. According to the 44-year-old, physical touch activates the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex and cuddling releases oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. Now, Natasha also does EMDR therapy and is a mental health swim host, and has clients travel from all over the globe to receive her hugs. She said: “Working from Coventry is brilliant because I’m only nine minutes on the train from Birmingham Airport and people come to visit me from all over. I get a client from Belgium, someone from Ireland and people from all over the UK who come to see me. “I wanted to find a sofa bed that just looked like a big comfy sofa for cuddle sessions. I’d started off with a big L shaped sofa but after about five years, it was sagging a bit, there’d been a lot of healing done on that sofa and it was time for a new one. “Now I have a sofa bed in my living room that I use as my cuddle sofa. It’s in the living room and it’s used for everyday life, watching TV with my partner, having people round and also for my work.” Breaking down the taboo around cuddle therapy, Natasha hopes more people will embrace the alternative treatment. She added: “As it’s become more popular, more people are becoming qualified as cuddlers and I think that’s great. “I’ve had comments online before of people thinking it’s weird or not understanding but there are other things we accept in society that are much more intimate than cuddles, like massages. “It’s not weird, it’s actually a really lovely thing to be able to make another soul feel better for a while.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live New warnings about ‘concerning’ rise in at-home cosmetic dentistry What is ‘beer tanning’ and why are experts warning against it? Christian Cowan: Designing is like dreaming

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Mikel Arteta admitted it was a “genuine dream” watching Arsenal’s dominant 6-0 victory over Lens at the Emirates Stadium which saw them qualify for the Champions League last 16. The Gunners topped Group B with a game to spare after they battered their French opponents with six different goalscorers. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard struck in the first half before Jorginho added their sixth from the penalty spot late on. Arsenal boss Arteta talked up his team’s determination which secured the club’s 100th Champions League victory. “It was a genuine dream,” Arteta said. “We had a chance to qualify today and we’ve done it in a really convincing way against a really good side. The team from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game. “It’s great we’re able to win in this way and we showed at home not to concede any goals and score a lot which is a positive factor. The players need to believe we can do that against big opponents.” The Spaniard noted that qualification with a game to spare allows him to rotate in Arsenal’s final group fixture against PSV Eindhoven on December 12. Arteta added: “Every time we play a football match we’ll prepare in the best way but it will give us some room now certainly in relation to the state of the squad by being able to use certain players more or less.” Havertz scored his second in as many games after the German netted a dramatic late winner in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League victory at Brentford. The attacker’s influence in recent games has impressed Arteta after a difficult start to life in north London since his reported £65million move from Chelsea in the summer. “Kai again scored two goals in two games and that’s really good for the confidence of the player,” he added. “He’s scoring goals, playing well, participating in wins. Those are positive attributes and you can see the reception of his team-mates and the crowd singing his name and being with him in every positive action. We had a chance to qualify today and we’ve done it in a really convincing way against a really good side. The team from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game Mikel Arteta “These are good things that are going to help him show why he’s a tremendous player.” Declan Rice had another flawless game in midfield and Arteta applauded the England international’s consistency and decision-making. He said: “He was superb again today with the consistency and understanding of the game that he’s showing. “The decision-making all the time and the action and timing to win the ball back is so good.” Read More Arsenal show how Champions League should be done – Man Utd and Newcastle take note... Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe Arsenal vs Lens LIVE: Champions League result and reaction Kai Havertz gives Arsenal the perfect ‘example’ to follow in title race Mikel Arteta hails Aaron Ramsdale despite errors in Arsenal’s win over Brentford Arteta says Premier League managers ‘in it together’ in wake of FA charge

HENDERSON, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 13, 2023--

Everton manager Sean Dyche has paid tribute to Bill Kenwright, who died on Monday at the age of 78, calling the late chairman “an amazing servant” to the club. On Wednesday morning, Dyche and club captain Seamus Coleman laid flowers at the statue of Dixie Dean outside Goodison Park, where the Everton squad were holding a training session. All players and staff observed a minute’s silence before the session and Kenwright’s image was shown on the stadium’s screens. Everton announced on Tuesday that Kenwright had died following a battle with cancer. In a statement on the club website, Dyche said: “It’s a very sad time for everyone at Everton Football Club to lose our chairman, someone who has been such an amazing servant to the club in so many ways. “His influence in bringing me to Everton in the first place was important and I have nothing but gratitude and respect for his unwavering support of myself, the staff and our players. “It was a pleasure to share the moment of reaching our objective last season with him – a moment I know he felt so strongly about after such an arduous season, on and off the pitch… “He was an incredible professional, in terms of what he did with Everton and also what he achieved in the theatre industry. Spending time with him and learning about his family, you couldn’t help but be taken by his passion.” Dyche was told of the news midway through Tuesday’s training and called an immediate halt to the session as players and staff paid their respects. Kenwright, who succeeded Sir Phillip Carter as chairman in 2004 after first joining the board at Goodison Park in 1989, had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver in August. Liverpool-born Kenwright was a successful theatre and film producer when asked to join the Everton board in 1989. He bought a majority 68 per cent stake in the club in 1999 and became deputy chairman before replacing Carter in his current role. Dyche added: “Beyond his deep love of his family, one of those big passions, of course, was football – the game as a whole, as well as his obvious lasting love of Everton football club. “His story – a boyhood supporter who went on to become chairman – is something so rare in the modern game, especially at the top level. “He always believed in Everton and stood by the club, even in the toughest times. He was steadfast until the very end. “Like so many who knew him, my heart and my thoughts are with his family at this extremely sad time.” Read More Tom Curry in England’s starting line-up to face Argentina Gabriel Jesus urges Arsenal team-mates to believe they can win Champions League Sale condemn ‘disgusting abuse’ aimed at Tom Curry and his family Leigh Halfpenny announces international retirement after 101 caps for Wales Moeen Ali: Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood will be fired up to face England Having ‘hero’ in opponent’s corner could unsettle Tyson Fury – Carl Frampton