Fleming’s new cookbook, ‘Cook Yourself Happy,’ is out now.
Caroline Fleming is closing the Ladies of London chapter of her life.
“I think that Ladies of London, for now, is parked on a really beautiful bookshelf, with a lot of other magnificent pieces of work,” she tells ET. “I can't tell you if [or] when someone's gonna reach for that book again … you know, there are also books that lie on shelves for generations and generations without anybody reading them. So, who knows?”
It’s likely that the Bravo series’ third season finale, which aired back in February, will serve as the show’s series finale. There are currently no plans to film a fourth season, and main cast members Caroline Stanbury and Marissa Hermer no longer live in London full-time. (Bravo did not have a comment on the status of Ladies of London.)
Even if it does return one day, it would take a lot of convincing to get Fleming to sign back on for more.
“Being a part of a reality TV show was… that was a journey,” Fleming says. “A lot of the filming was around things that I wouldn't normally involve myself in. I don't enjoy unkindness. I don't enjoy gossip. I don't really want it to have any place in my life. I want to do good stuff.”
“Of course, life has s***ty moments,” she continues. “My life absolutely has s***ty moments, too, but I try to deal with those s***ty moments in the kindest way that I possibly can, and in a way that actually has positive solution.”
Fleming is now bringing that positivity into homes with her first English-language cookbook, Cook Yourself Happy. It’s a celebration of her Danish heritage, filled with personal anecdotes and family memories -- from her mom and dad’s unique culinary skills (he was into making broth, she was into homemade vinegar) -- to traditions, including mushroom hunts and crab fishing.
“The Danes have been known to be the happiest country since 1973,” Fleming says. “I think a lot of that has to do with, in Denmark, people do stuff as a family. School finishes quite early, normal work finishes quite early. So, once you do your school, you do your sports, you come home, you're with your family.”
“A lot of that time is actually spent around preparing food,” she adds. “And then sitting down and enjoying meals, together as a family … I think that really has got a lot to do with your inner happiness at the end of the day.”
Fleming hopes she can get people off their phones and tablets and back to the dinner table with her back-to-basics book.
“There is so much noise, which I think, unfortunately, is replacing a lot of what should be quality time,” she explains. “Transparent conversations. The essence of gluing love. And I think it's a real shame that life has come to that point. So, I try and share, in each recipe, a story that I very much hope will inspire families and friends, or couples, or whatever it might be to want to come together again, and come together over a meal that's delicious and nutritious, and also perhaps embark on those conversations that we don't really want to have.”
Fleming shares she found her own way to happiness while writing the book, telling ET she’s ready for her “next chapter.”
“I think it looks like a happiness journey,” she gushes. “I would say that my life is in balance. And in a really healthy balance.”
Cook Yourself Happy is available everywhere books are sold.