68TALKINGBODYCONFIDENCE
‘IFEELSOFREE
AFTERSHAKING
MYCELLULITE’
‘LOOSEWOMEN’STAR NADIASAWALHA TELLSOK!’S
EMILYWHITWAMABOUTRAISINGHERDAUGHTERS
ANDTHEPOSITIVEREACTIONTOPOSTINGTHATVIDEOI
t’s a sweltering Wednesday
evening when OK! catches up with
Nadia Sawalha, but she’s all hugs
and smiles, despite admitting to us
that her ‘comfy’ heels may have
been a mistake.
Last week, Nadia, 54, hit back at
body shamers by uploading a video
of herself shaking her cellulite to set a
positive example about body image
to her two daughters, Maddie, 16,
and 11-year-old Kiki.
‘I always tell them that if they’re
confident they can get away with
anything,’ Nadia explains. ‘If it
wasn’t for them I would be in a
very dark place.’
The former Celebrity Big
Brother star recently admitted that
motherhood saved her life after
facing the devastation of losing her
first husband, Justin Mildwater to
suicide in 1997.
Nadia met
her current
husband, TV
producer, Mark
Adderley four
years later and
the pair now co-
host the podcast
How To Stay
Married (So Far).
On the show
Nadia speaks
openly about
struggling with
her grief, partying
too hard and
Mark’s battle with
alcoholism.
Here, the TV
panellist tells
us about being
a mum, body
confidence and
coping with the
menopause...We loved the video
of you shaking
your cellulite
that you posted!
I’ve spent the last 25
years not getting in the
pool or walking on the
beach. I just thought,
what am I doing?! It’s
just cellulite! Now I feel
so free. I nearly took a
pair of white jeans off
last week because I
could see my cellulite
through them but I
stopped and reminded
myself, it doesn’t
matter. I’ve just
owned it!What reaction did
you receive?
After I posted that
film, I was cringing.
I felt embarrassed
and tearful. It was
only when other
people contacted
me saying things like:
‘Oh my God, now
I’m going to wear a
sarong for the first
time this summer,’
that I realised I did
the right thing. I
wouldn’t have got
this far without my
daughters – if it
wasn’t for them
I’d be in a very
dark place. When
I posted, I was just
practising what I
preach. When they
felt upset about
their looks, I’d say:
‘It’s not what you are
on the outside, it’swhat’s inside that counts.’ But there
I was doubting myself. I always tell
them that if they’re confident they
can get away with anything.Stacey Solomon recently posted
about her cellulite too, did that
encourage you?
Stacey’s had a huge impact on my
body confidence because when
I’m down she looks at me and says:
‘I don’t know what you’re talking
about!’ So, in the last few years
we’ve massively improved with our
confidence. As women, we’ve been
pigeonholed for our looks for too
long. We want to be smart, funny,
sassy and brave. What difference
does it make if we have cellulite or
our boobs are saggy?How are you finding doing a
podcast with Mark?
Whenever we do one, we are very
weird with each other for days after.
We talk about really intense stuff.
We’re constantly excavating andgy
A
fi
I
a
o
p
mh t’ i id th t t’BtthhNadia
was
praised
for her
videoNadia with
her husband
Mark and their
daughters