Though she’s delighted to be back in Albert Square, it seems Jacqueline Jossa is finding the long hours spent away from her two young daughters difficult to handle
Shelley Spadoni
She’s an actress on a huge soap opera, a fashionista and mum to two daughters – so it’s no wonder that Jacqueline Jossa seems to be feeling the strain.
The actress, who plays Lauren Branning in EastEnders, is back doing the all-too-familiar working parent juggle, after rejoining the cast of the popular BBC soap late last year.
The 31-year-old, who married former TOWIE regular Dan Osborne in June 2017, initially left Albert Square in 2018 to focus on her family, but returned in an explosive storyline last Christmas. But, as a source told new, Jacqueline’s frenetic lifestyle working on her clothes line, being a mum-of-two and being back on a busy soap, is catching up with her – and she’s feeling torn as she realises how quickly time passes.
“Jac is really busy at the moment juggling it all,” said the source. “She loves work and she loves being busy but nothing comes close to being a mother. As much as she loves this period of her life and it’s everything she could have hoped for, she’s finding it tough and can’t believe how fast time is passing.
“She’s not broody but being away from her girls when filming is pushing her to really treasure the moments she has with them. Jac felt she lost her way a little bit when she wasn’t acting, but she knows her kids are at a key point in their life and she doesn’t want to miss anything.”
In a recent Instagram post, Jacqueline offered an insight into that delicate balancing act between her thriving career and not missing the magical moments with her growing daughters, Ella, nine, and five-year-old Mia.
Posting a series of throwback photos of Ella and Mia as babies, she captioned them, “Time is flying by too quickly, I need it all to slow down.”
Jacqueline is well-known for being very open online about her feelings. Earlier in the year she paid tribute to her daughters in an Instagram post in which she called them “my everything”, as she acknowledged that going back to work meant she wasn’t around as much at home.
“I’ve been at work and these little girlies have started back at school. I have missed them loads,” she shared. “I love spending the whole of Christmas with them – they are truly my best mates. I love spending every day with them. I just love them so so much. I hope one day they w
