Fleur East has shared her honest feelings about balancing her career and motherhood.
The radio DJ and singer, 39, who originally shot to fame as a finalist on The X Factor, welcomed daughter Nova with her husband Marcel Badiane-Robin in March 2024.
Meanwhile, Fleur is hosting the weekday Hits Radio Breakfast Show alongside co-hosts James Barr and Will Best.
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She is also co-running her own natural curly haircare brand, Kurl Kitchen, alongside her sister Keshia, which is stocked nationwide in Boots.
While she has been open in the past about feeling ‘mum guilt’, Fleur has now hit back at the double standards around parenting and said that she and Marcel share the workload.
She exclusively told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s always mum guilt and not dad guilt. That really frustrates me.I’m also frustrated by the fact that whenever I’m out doing something, people ask, “Oh, where’s your daughter?”
‘She’s with the other person who helped create her! There are two people in this.
‘Whenever my husband has her, no one’s asking him where the baby is. So I’ve just tried to ignore that, to be honest.
‘Someone once said to me that it doesn’t matter how much time you spend with your kids; it’s about the intention you have when you do spend time with them. It’s about being present.’
She continued: ‘If I only get to do bedtime four times in a week, I make sure that during that time my phone isn’t on me. I’m reading as many books as she wants, getting her into bed and getting all the cuddles in.
‘I think the more quality time you spend with them, the more they’ll remember.’
Fleur manages to balance her successful career with being a mother, but not without the help of those around her.
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