The past year or so has been pretty tumultuous for celebrity chef and food expert Nigella Lawson, as she’s been in and out of the press for a couple of different reasons.

First, there were photos released last year of Lawson and her now ex-husband Charles Saatchi having a very nasty spat inside of a restaurant. Based on the photos, Saatchi was choking Lawson during the argument, and once everything was released to the public, the former couple had a lot of explaining to do, especially Saatchi.

And if that wasn’t enough, Lawson had to talk about some very embarrassing accusations concerning her drug-taking-history, after a couple of former assistants revealed in court that she used cocaine and marijuana in the past, and used it extensively.

But this time Lawson being in the press and going viral are for far less scandalous reasons, as she’s on the cover of April’s issue of Vogue magazine, and she took the photo with absolutely no makeup on, and felt very uncomfortable doing it, she said.

Anyone else LOVING @Nigella_Lawson's cover for @BritishVogue? http://t.co/f3GWg6vQOJ pic.twitter.com/mMHpLCYQYn

— Yahoo Lifestyle UK (@YLifestyleUK) March 4, 2014

“I was terrified of being photographed without makeup,” said Lawson. “And I hate having my looks talked up. It always makes me feel I’m going to be a disappointment in the flesh.”

And although she obviously still has a passion for food and loves being a celebrity chef, Lawson says she’s pursuing other things, because up until now, she hasn’t had the time or the intense desire to make her other interests profitable.

“I love what I do, but there are other parts of my brain that I haven’t flexed in a professional way,” she said. “I do sometimes think that I’ve let the more analytical part of my brain slump slightly. I do like writing about food, but there’s so much that interests me….I’ve been working–in a cottage-industry way–on an app, which if it works could be deeply thrilling.”

Image via Twitter