The Sunday Times Magazine • 25unprepared for how she felt afterwards.
“Oh my gosh, I was an emotional wreck.”
The combination of the operation and the
hormones coursing through her body
meant she kept bursting into tears.
Cree’s early arrival before Christmas also
caught her off guard. “I try to prepare for
everything. I’m a control freak. And it was
completely out of my hands. And I
struggled with that.” She had wanted
everything to be perfect for the holiday.
“I thought by the time Christmas Eve
comes, we’ll all be in our matching PJs ready
for the big day, everything will be in place,
and because of the C-section I couldn’t
even walk up and down the stairs.”
Among the many inspirational quotes
Kate has posted on her Blended Instagram
account is “Try not to expect too much
of yourself ”. I get the impression that
internalising that advice is still a work in
progress. Several times during the
interview she admits to being anxious,
fearing the worst and overthinking things.
I ask whether her anxiety stems back to
her days on Towie. It’s not uncommon for
the stars of reality TV shows to suffer
mental health problems because of the
intense public scrutiny about how they look
and behave. Looking at Kate’s Instagram
account I spot one or two very bitchy
comments posted by other women. No
matter how thick-skinned you are, that
must hurt. Was there much mental health
support for the cast of Towie?
“Yes, there was support. But I’ve always
had anxiety, even prior to being on TV.
So I’ve always had therapy. It’s something
that I just use as a tool throughout my life.”
Apart from her podcast, Kate is in the
process of making a website, an open forum
where step-parents can chat, a bit like
Mumsnet. “For the first time in a really
long time I’m doing something I feel
passionate about,” she says. She’s been busy
building her brand — signing influencer
deals with a number of clothing companies,
opening a shop locally and publishing a
book on fitness in 2019.
She looks glowing and impeccably
groomed in all her photographs on
Instagram — apart from one, I note, which
she posted ten days after Cree was born.
What made her share it? “I remember
flicking through Instagram and seeing
someone, who had just had a baby, in their
leather trousers, and I’m looking down,
thinking, how are you doing that?” In
response she posted a candid picture of
herself in a pair of big black knickers and no
make-up, revealing her bruised body. It was
a brave thing to do, particularly since the
photo then got picked up by the tabloids.
She says she has got better at giving
herself breaks from social media — and
from always trying to look perfect on
Instagram for her 1.4 million followers.
“It’s important to share reality. I used to
always put on my best outfit to go onThey’re very good, the children, they strip
their beds every week and do certain jobs to
get their pocket money.”
Shortly before I leave, the nanny brings in
baby Cree. With blonde curly hair and huge
eyes, he looks like a little cupid. He has just
woken up from his nap and is rubbing his
eyes as he reaches out for his mum. The
older kids are not yet back from school.
When I ask what they’re like with him, her
eyes fill with tears. “Amazing... Sorry, I’m
gonna cry... because it’s just, you know,
everything that you’re worried about, it’s
like, just exactly how I wished for it.”
One of the best bits of advice she
received from another step-parent was to
be patient as things get better further down
the line. “I think it takes four to seven years.
We’re just getting past the four-year mark
now, and I do feel more settled” nKate Ferdinand’s Blended podcast is on
Apple, Spotify and other platforms“I’d have this anxiety
that if I don’t look
my best when I’m out
and about people
think, bloody hell,
she doesn’t look like
her Instagram”
Instagram. And then I’d have this anxiety
that if I don’t look my best when I’m
out and about, people think, bloody
hell, she doesn’t look like her Instagram.”
Why does she set such high standards for
herself? “It’s about being in control and I’m
just one of those very organised people.”
The second lockdown provided a natural
break for Kate because she had an excuse
not to have visitors; she could stay in her
pyjamas and not feel the pressure to look
good. Thankfully Rio and the children had
acquired some domestic skills during the
first lockdown. “I had Rio cleaning the
toilets,” she says, chuckling. “And the kids.
I taught them how to bleach their toilets
and everything. It was an eye-opener!From top: Kate and Rio at
their wedding in Turkey,
2019; the image Kate shared
ten days after Cree was bornDAN KENNEDY, @XKATEFERDINAND / INSTAGRAM