Fleur East has been flooded with messages as she shared a look at her first glamourous magazine cover since becoming a first-time mum as she also told how having her daughter helped heal her broken heart.
The radio and TV presenter and her husband Marcel Robin announced at Easter earlier this year that they had welcomed their first child, a baby girl, into the world.
They shared the first pictures of themselves with their little girl, which Fleur confirmed they’d named their daughter Nova and that she made her entrance “via squat position into the arms of my husband and I on our living room floor”.
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Fleur has since been sharing snipped of life as a new mum as well as heading back to work on the likes of Hits Radio Breakfast and Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two.
But away from social media, the star has told how in reality, her journey to this point has been far from easy. “The first couple of weeks were the most shocking,” she told Fabulous magazine.
“It was hard to adjust to because it was just like: ‘Wow it’s my baby. She’s crying, I don’t know what I’m doing.’ I remember thinking: ‘What has happened to me?’ It was motherhood happening to me. When I saw my doctor after giving birth, I said: ‘Will I ever feel normal again?'”
Now, if Fleur ever questions herself, she’s lucky that her It Takes Two co-presenter Janette Manrara, who is mum to Lyra, 14 months old, is always on hand to offer advice.
“We’re constantly swapping stories and sharing tips,” Fleur revealed. “And because Lyra is older, Janette’s further along in the journey than me, so I’m always asking: ‘OK, what was it like when you first took her to nursery?’ or: ‘What was this like?’ It’s nice to have someone you work alongside who knows what you’re going through.”
But since becoming a parent herself, Fleur’s mind is often drawn back to her dad Malcolm, who died in 2020. “It makes me think of Dad all the time. I spoke to someone this week who had just lost their father,” she told the publication.
“They said to me: ‘I just can’t think about having a child now, because of the potential of putting them through the pain of losing a parent.’ But it’s brought me closer to my parents. Becoming a mum has given me a new perspective and I appreciate them even more.
“I’m excited to tell Nova about my dad and show her who he was. I have so many videos of him and I’m sure there’ll be parts of her personality I’ll recognise him in. I feel like, through her, I’ve healed a bit with grieving Dad, because she was born the week after the anniversary of his death. That time was always a bit sad, but now we get to celebrate Nova in that month. I think it happened at the right time.”
Meanwhile, Fleur was flooded with comments from her Strictly pals when she took to Instagram with a glipse at her magazine cover. Alongside the first-look she shared: “The most glam I’ve felt since being a Mama! My @fabulousmag cover is OUT NOW! Online and in store (link in stories) I talk all about life as a Mum and how my whole world has changed.”
Strictly 2023 star Angela Scanlon said: “Love this.” Professional dancer Vito Coppola replied: “Oh wowwwwww. Come on partneeeeeer.” This Morning’s Dr Zoe Williams replied: “So beautiful inside and out my friend.” Hits Radio co-star James Barr added: “you are SIZZLING.”
