Abbey Crouch reveals the strain of being a mum - and praises Victoria 'I don't know how she does it' Beckham!
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Model and TV stylist Abbey Crouch has spoken for the first time about how her relationship with footballer Peter Crouch was 'tested' because of the strain of having a new baby.
And in an exclusive interview with Fabulous magazine, the 26-year-old This Morning presenter spoke of her admiration for Victoria Beckham for always looking immaculate 'even with all those kids'.
She said: "Victoria Beckham always looks so polished even with all those kids and that huge empire she runs. I look like death after a flight. There are some weeks when I don't wash my hair for days! How does she do it?"
Abbey said that when she had her daughter Sophia 18 months ago, she was determined that motherhood wouldn't come at the expense of looking good.
"When I had the baby it made me want to make more of an effort because I think it's so easy as a new mum when you're tired to let yourself go," she said.
"For your own sanity it's good to make an effort, get your nails done, have a spray tan. I think it's important for yourself, and your relationship as well, to keep trying.
"Don't get me wrong, a lot of the time I look like a complete scruffbag round the house. But if you look tired and messy then you feel like that and it's easy for a new mum to get depressed."
But she admitted she wasn't prepared for just how much life would change and, desperate to appear like she was coping, hid the true extent of the struggle.
"It was a shock how hard it was because I saw my mum raising four kids on her own and she made it look so easy," she said.
"I've got a really good support team around me – my mum is there at the drop of a hat.
"It's still hard even with all that support, but you don't tell people that. I'd say the baby was sleeping through the night when of course she wasn't.
Having a baby really tests your relationship because you're exhausted all the time. There have been certain times when it's been hard when the baby's teething and screaming all night. Pete's got to go to training, I've got to go to work the next day and it's testing.
"But I think we love each other at the end of the day and we both wanted to have a little baby. I'd be lying if I said no one ever gets fed up, it's all perfect, everything's all happy. But everyone in the world has rows."
More on Parentdish:
What does 'sleeping through the night' really mean?
So what if we have some extra curves? Let's stop trying to emulate super skinny celeb mums
Celeb mums who raced to lose the baby weight
- Myleene Klass<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>two months</p> <p> We loved Myleene for keeping it real during her nine months with second baby, <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/04/01/first-pic-myleene-klass-shows-off-new-baby-hero/" target="_blank">Hero</a> (who else could pull off a <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/02/23/pregnant-myleene-klass-has-a-nose-bleed/" target="_blank">parka, skin-tight dress and nose bleed at eight months pregnant</a> – case in point piccie on the left?), but she was ready for her close-up on the red carpet just eight weeks after giving birth. Here’s her zero-waist post-baby body unveil. In a ball gown. Natch .</p>
- Beyonce<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after….</strong>two months</p> <p> Superstar <em>Beyoncé </em>glowed throughout her nine months, and despite <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/09/08/did-beyonce-fake-her-baby-bump/" target="_blank">those fake bump rumours</a>,had a pretty big tummy by the end of her pregnancy. She first emerged back on the red carpet scene two months after <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/01/08/beyonce-has-baby-girl-ivy-blue-carter-with-husband-jay-z/" target="_blank">giving birth</a>, flaunting her figure in this blue frock. The new mum was also back in action on stage after four months, showing off her slim line look in a sparkly showgirl outfit.</p>
- Peaches Geldof<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>one month</p> <p> She was a (very trendy) stick insect before pregnancy, and guess what, Peaches appears not to have put on an ounce of weight during her nine months with <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/04/21/peaches-geldof-has-given-birth-to-son/" target="_blank">baby Astala</a> either. She was out with her <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/05/16/peaches-geldof-takes-tiny-baby-astala-to-the-park/" target="_blank">super-slimness on show</a> in the park a few weeks after giving birth, and showed off her red-carpet readiness after eight weeks in this silver stunner.</p>
- Una Healy<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after… </strong>two months</p> <p> Una was spotted out and about with baby <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/03/13/saturdays-star-una-healy-gives-birth-to-first-baby-ben-foden/" target="_blank">Aoife </a>two weeks after giving birth, looking gorgeous but curvy in a <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/03/29/una-healy-debuts-baby-aoife-belle-in-the-spring-sunshine/" target="_blank">red summer dress</a>. Fast-forward another month and a half and she strutted through Heathrow in these skinny jeans and clingy vest, showing off her flat tum. Still, she does insist she’s ‘very squidgy’ underneath. Riiiight…</p>
- Danielle Lloyd<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>three months</p> <p> Compared with some famous faces, Danielle took her time losing the baby weight after her second son Harry was born. The <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/07/26/danielle-lloyd-tweets-first-picture-of-her-premature-baby-harry/" target="_blank">little boy was premature,</a> and Danielle was regularly spotted dashing in and out of hospital, with more things to worry about than her waistline. She then unveiled her slim line look at a party in October, three months after giving birth, in this sexy satin number.</p>
- Heidi Klum<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>five weeks</p> <p> Here’s Heidi with one of the biggest bumps in the world. Here she is again five weeks later. She walked the runway (in a Victoria’s Secret show no less!) just over a month after giving birth to daughter Lou. She said at the time she hoped to shed another 20lb, and guess what? She did it…</p>
- Victoria Beckham<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>nine weeks</p> <p> Despite Harper being baby number four, Posh was never going to have much baby bulge to beat. But she managed a bonkers post-baby slim down even by her standards. One minute she was hiding <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/06/29/victoria-beckhams-pregnancy/" target="_blank">The Tiniest Bump in the World under a whole heap of designer black</a>, and the next, she was papped dashing into her car in a teeny-tiny dress just two weeks after giving birth. She then went on to flaunt her figure in <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2011/09/16/victoria-beckham-steps-out-in-her-highest-post-baby-heels-to-dat/" target="_blank">countless frocks and sky-high shoes</a> as she tottered around clutching new baby Harper.</p>
- Miranda Kerr<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>three months</p> <p> She’s a model, she did extremely quickly. Pretty much enough said on the Miranda Kerr front. She posed just as she was ready-to-pop on the cover of Vogue, and 12 weeks after giving birth to baby Flynn, she hit the beach in a bikini for a photo shoot with taut EVERYTHING on show, despite Flynn weighing 10lb at birth!</p>
- Angelina Jolie<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>three months</p> <p> Despite having twins, Ange showed off her killer bod three months after giving birth, with an appearance on the red carpet in a figure-hugging black number. Her twins’ birth was surrounded in secrecy, and she was hidden away from the cameras for the three months before this big reveal. Wonder why…</p>
- Megan Fox<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny...</strong>within hours (apparently!)</p> <p> Megan ruined her chances of making any mum mates when she claimed she <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2013/01/15/megan-fox-claims-she-lost-all-her-baby-weight-hours-after-giving-birth-son-noah/" target="_blank">lost all her baby weight within hours of giving birth to son, Noah.</a> The American actress told reporters she walked out of hospital back to her pre-baby size!</p> <p> </p>
- Michelle Heaton<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>two months</p> <p> Before stepping out in this stunning red number, Michelle had kept quite a low profile on the celeb scene, covering up in loose tops when she was out and about, and not courting the press. She chose the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards to show off her post-<a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/01/12/michelle-heaton-gives-birth-to-first-baby/" target="_blank">baby</a> bod, rocking this red frock for the cameras. Of course she’s now posed in a bikini for Closer magazine (standard) despite claiming she has another half a stone to lose, which begs the question: from where?!</p>
- Amanda Holden<p> <strong>Stepped out skinny after…</strong>two weeks</p> <p> Her daughter Hollie’s <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/02/26/amanda-holden-tells-how-her-heart-stopped-beating-for-40-seconds-traumatic-birth-hollie-rose/" target="_blank">dramatic arrival</a> cut short her judging duties on Britain’s Got Talent, but Amanda wasn’t going to let a <a href="http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/02/06/amanda-holden-releases-first-pictures-of-baby-hollie-rose/" target="_blank">near-death experience</a> stop her getting back to the day job. She rocked up to more auditions two weeks after giving birth in shorts and heels!</p>
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