A woman who dropped out of university and once referred to working as ‘slavery’ has admitted to Ben Fogle that she used to be ‘naïve,’ and now wants to go back to school to train as an electrician.
Annalisa, 28, from Turin, started travelling the world at 19 and make a buck by busking before settling in Sweden, where she raised her son Nico, and met with Ben Fogle for New Lives in the Wild in 2019.
At the time, the mother-of-one, who lived on the street before she came to Sweden, relied on foraging and dumpster diving for food, and had no intention of going back to her native Italy or pursuing a career.
However, three years on, Annalisa admitted her perspective on the world has become ‘broader.’ as she welcomed Ben back to Sweden for Return to the Wild, which aired on Channel 5.
Viewers were delighted to find out that the mother-of-one, who is now in a relationship with a man named Odin, said she wants to train as an electrician.
Annalisa, 28, from Turin, dropped out of university aged 19 before settling in Sweden with her son Nico. In 2019, she welcomed Ben Fogle to her home for New Lives in the Wild. Ben has revisited Annalisa, who now lives with her partner Odin, left, for Return to the Wild, airing tonight at 9pm on Channel 5
As they caught up, Annalisa explained to Ben that she still relies on foraged foods and has taught her son the same skills.
The mother-of-one has kept herself busy with projects around her house, including building a treehouse for her son using timber from the surrounding woodland.
She connected a nearby well to her house to get running water, and now has electricity in the house.
She had also linked up a bike to an old washing machine, creating a mechanism that allows the machine to be powered by her pedalling.
The biggest change, however, is that she’s no longer single, revealing to Ben she is now with a man called Odin, who she met six months after the presenter’s last visit.
On the premiere of New Lives in the Wild’s tenth season, Ben travelled to Sweden to meet with Annalisa (right), a single mother-of-own who left comfort behind for a life of busing, dumpster diving and hard work
Three years on from when she appeared on the show, Annalisa admitted she felt she was on a ‘sinking ship’ when Ben first visited
Ben posing with a treehouse Annalisa built for her son Nico, now five, using timber from the surrounding woodland
The pair still rely on dumpster diving for necessities, with Odin joking that’s one of the first activities they did together.
Annalisa admitted to Ben that having Odin around has helped her a lot.
‘I don’t think it would have been so smooth to do all that we have done here if I had kept being alone,’ she said. ‘It’s much nicer to share a dream than going like a train, doing your dream by yourself, so I am super happy.
In 2019, Annalisa was full of disdain for the Italian educational system, after dropping out of age 19 in spite of being a straight A student.
But now, the mother-of-one told Ben she had plans to go back to school to train as an electrician.
Annalisa said she feels at peace and happy in her new life and was grateful for Odin’s help around her plot of land
The presenter heard how Annalisa’s perspective on life has become ‘broader’ since his last visit
She said she wanted to train in how to install off-grid solar systems for people living remotely.
‘That’s not so common and then you can travel all over the world, go to countries maybe not as rich as Sweden,’ she told Ben.
The presenter said he was amazed to see that Annalisa is ‘constantly changing and evolving.’
Asked who would look after her son when she is at school, Annalisa revealed that Nico attended kindergarten.
‘Right now he’s going to kindergarten, three to four days a week, for four hours,’ she said.
‘I don’t necessarily believe that the education system is the best thing, so if I find a nice school with the right calling to me, the kind of education I’d want him to have, than he should go to school, but we’ll see,’ she told Ben.
In 2019, aged 24, Annalisa had told Ben she did not want to work, calling it ‘slavery.’
The mother-of-one admitted she has reflected on her world view, saying: ‘I’m almost 30 now. I think I was a bit more naïve back then, but it was also like, I was still in the chase of trying to survive here with the baby.
‘Now that the child is older, I’ve had the opportunity to do more than keep pieces together, so I think my vision of what needs to be done or what I want to do in my life is broader than what it was before,’ she added.
Ben said he was glad to see how Annalisa had kept changing and evolving since their first meeting
Annalisa, who dropped out of university age 19, in spite of being a straight A student, admitted that she is open to let her son Nico go to school if she finds one she can align herself with
While she is still frugal with her resources, Annalisa and Odin have lots of plans for their plot of land, including building a bike shed, a solar power system for their barn, a pizza oven and a hot tub.
‘We have no rush but I’m sure we are going to make all of it, we add new things all the time anyway, it will never end,’ Odin said.
When Ben asked the couple how they would get the money to finance these projects, Annalisa admitted that she and Odin do seasonal jobs to get by.
‘We have jobs, we work, not too much, but a little bit,’ Annalisa said. ‘Both of us have been personal assistants, helping people with disabilities or terminal diseases, right now I’m working sometimes in a library, and he works at the harbour.’
Annalisa told Ben: ‘When we met before, it was so much going on. I was really trying to put my hands on all the holes of a boat that was sinking, I was doing it with happiness, but it was a bit of an emergency situation,’ she admitted.
‘Now it feels like the boat is not sinking anymore. We can think “We’re going to go sailing”. I’m more peaceful, there is no urgency at the moment.’
‘Annalisa she’s incredibly intelligent,’ Ben said. ‘I hear her sing, just as I did last time, I get quite emotional, because there is a vulnerability to her, but she’s more capable than I am. She’s better at electrics, she’s better at building, she’s better at DIY.
‘She kind of makes all this look effortless, while being a mum and look at what she’s been able to achieve, since I was last here,
Viewers were delighted to see how well Annalisa had fared since Ben’s last visit, with some saying she made the right choices
Viewers were delighted to see how Annalisa’s life had turned out since Ben’s last visit.
‘She has evolved and adapted this is ever-changing canvas and she is now sharing that, not with just her son Nico, but with Odin, and that makes me so happy.’
Ben added that he was glad that the mother-of-one had met her match in Odin.
‘It feels like she’s putting down roots and I can only see this getting better, and better and better and more enjoyable as the years get along,’ the presenter said.
‘Beautiful to see the peaceful, thrifty & contented life that Annalisa has built for herself & her family in Sweden now,’ one said.
‘Annalisa is doing so well, raising an intelligent, well balanced little boy Nico. How many languages can that little boy speak? Wishing her all the luck in the world for the future. She definitely made the right choices in life,’ another wrote.
Ben Fogle: Return to The Wild is available on My5.
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