CELEB
The glamour model opens up to Closer’s Neeru Sharma about her baby joy after years of heartache, defending herself against cruel trolls, and embracing her curves…
She recently revealed she was expecting her first child against all odds, after spending over £150,000 on eight rounds of IVF in her heartbreaking attempt to start a family with her husband, Oliver Mellor.
And as she cradles her baby bump on our exclusive photo shoot, Rhian Sugden tells us she’s “over the moon” to be expecting a boy. She says, “It was always my dream to have a little boy, I don’t know why but I’ve always imagined having a mini football team. Oliver never said what he wanted, but when we found out it was a boy, he had the biggest smile on his face. We’ve already decorated the nursery and chosen a few names – we like Tommy and George so far.”
ENERGETIC
The 37-year-old glamour model is expecting her first child in May and admits she’s feeling just as good on the outside too. She says, “I feel the best I’ve ever felt during pregnancy.
I couldn’t keep my eyes open during my first trimester and then all of a sudden, I had a burst of energy. I’ve never felt more emotionally stable either. My thirties have been full of stress trying to fall pregnant, and for the first time I feel present, instead of being full of worry. Some of Oliver’s friends told him their wives were a nightmare during pregnancy, but he says, ‘Rhian’s been great!’ He’s caught me crying sometimes, and I’ve had to reassure him nothing’s wrong, I’m just happy.”
Despite her overwhelming joy, Rhian has been vocal about her gruelling path to motherhood, admitting she developed depression, anxiety and an eating disorder along the way, due to stress. “During treatment, my mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer and on top of everything else it floored me,” she explains. “I was surviving on half a banana and a piece of chocolate and ended up losing 2½st. People around me kept telling me to eat, but I couldn’t – that was the problem. It was really tough for Oliver because he didn’t quite understand what was going on. My doctor warned me to stop going to the gym as I couldn’t afford to lose any more weight. I finally got help and went on antidepressants and had EMDR [eye movement therapy] and talking therapy. I’m still on medication and I’ve accepted I might be on it for life.
Doctors said the risk of coming off it might be quite harmful –I’ve got no shame about taking it.”
Just before falling pregnant, Rhian and Oliver had become ready to accept they’d never experience parenthood. “I’d dread Mother’s Day or when friends shared news about th
