Culture

Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings

The comedian and podcaster announced the milestone on her show, joking she may need to sell 'cigarettes and hand grenades' to cover her substantial mortgage.

4 min
Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings
The comedian and podcaster announced the milestone on her show, joking she may need to sell 'cigarettes and hand grenadeCredit · BBC

Key facts

  • Joanne McNally purchased her first house in London, announcing it on her podcast 'My Therapist Ghosted Me'.
  • She described the process as 'f*****g hard' as a single buyer in London's expensive market.
  • earnings exceeding €850,000 since launch.
  • The company posted a profit of €181,500 for the year ending December 2024.
  • McNally joked she might need to increase online collaborations or sell 'cigarettes and hand grenades' to manage her mortgage.
  • She previously admitted to having a crush on Newstalk presenter Pat Kenny during an appearance on The Claire Byrne Show.

A long-awaited step onto the property ladder

After years of renting and saving, Joanne McNally has finally bought her first home. The comedian and presenter shared the news on her podcast 'My Therapist Ghosted Me', telling co-host Vogue Williams: 'I've some news Vogue already knows — I bought a house.' McNally, a Dublin native now based in London, described the struggle of navigating the city's property market as a single person. 'It's taken me a very long time to do it,' she said. 'And as a single person, it's f*****g hard buying houses, especially in London, where it's like, “You want how much for this looking out on a load of bins?”'

The financial reality of a substantial mortgage

The 42-year-old comedian acknowledged that homeownership comes with significant financial pressure. 'I now have a substantial mortgage,' she said, adding that she may need to take on more work. 'If you see me doing a little more collab online, I want no judgment from anyone, I don't care what I'm collabing with.' In a typically self-deprecating joke, she quipped she might have to sell 'cigarettes and hand grenades' to make ends meet. Yet her finances appear robust: filings for her company, Prosecco Pig, show earnings of over €850,000 since its launch, with a profit of €181,500 for the year ending December 2024.

A comic voice for single women in their 40s

McNally's comedy resonates deeply with an audience she describes as 'mentally frail, physically groomed, dopamine addicted women with questionable drinking habits and undiagnosed ADHD.' Her latest tour, titled 'Pinotphile', takes aim at the patriarchy and the dating pool for women over 40. She rejects the term 'child-free', saying it 'sounds like you've had something removed or you've survived something.' Instead, she sees herself as a product of a generation where 'there's more single women and men than ever before, more women without children, the birth rate's declining, monogamy is under the spotlight.' Her material draws from living 'within that tornado.'

Record-breaking tours and a devoted fanbase

McNally's previous tour broke records, including at the London Palladium, where the bar sold more alcohol than ever before. She jokes that the bar bill was her own, but acknowledges the phenomenon: 'I do think that women just want to go out and enjoy themselves.' A male comic messaged her to say she had 'found her niche,' but she retorts: 'I don't think you can call that many women a niche.' Her fans often invite her to the pub before and after shows, treating her like an old friend. 'It's so sweet, but girls will message, “Hey, we're in the pub before the show, you're coming in?”' she says. 'If I took them all up on their offers, I'd be bright yellow by Christmas 2026!' Despite her onstage persona, she describes herself as 'a bit of an introvert.'

Friendship, divorce, and the return of the ship

McNally offers a nuanced view of single life and friendship. She uses a metaphor of partying on a dock while friends sail away on a boat to parenthood, but notes that the ship eventually returns. 'I am one of the very few single friends without kids left in my circle,' she says. 'Now, I'm not celebrating the divorces, but when couples first get together and build a life together, they're very busy. We reconnect as we get a little bit older, their kids are a little older, and they don't need them as much.' She has observed that some of those friendships are now 'better than they've ever been before,' offering hope to those left behind on the dock.

From Pat Kenny crush to property owner

The news of McNally's home purchase comes shortly after she made a surprise admission on The Claire Byrne Show: she fancies Newstalk presenter Pat Kenny. 'Pat Kenny, I was a child in the 80s in Ireland, [he was] the only man on the TV,' she recalled. 'He was the only man on TV, and he was in control of a lot of toys. And I mean, sorry now, if that's not hot.' Now, with a new house and a growing comedy empire, McNally is firmly in control of her own stage. As she navigates the responsibilities of homeownership, her fans — and her bank account — are watching closely.

The bottom line

  • Joanne McNally has bought her first home in London after years of renting, calling the process difficult as a single buyer.
  • Her company Prosecco Pig earned over €850,000 since launch, with a profit of €181,500 in 2024.
  • She joked that her substantial mortgage may require more online collaborations or selling 'cigarettes and hand grenades'.
  • Her comedy tour 'Pinotphile' and previous record-breaking shows target single women in their 40s, a demographic she says is often overlooked.
  • McNally rejects the term 'child-free' and sees her life as part of broader societal shifts in relationships and family.
  • She recently admitted to a childhood crush on Irish broadcaster Pat Kenny.
Galerie
Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 1Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 2Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 3Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 4Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 5Joanne McNally buys first London home after years of renting, reveals €850,000 earnings — image 6
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