Kate Ferdinand lifts lid on battle with mental health during first pregnancy

Kate Ferdinand has opened her heart on the impact her pregnancy has had on her mental health.

The ex-TOWIE star, 29, told how she has struggled to juggle the arrival of her first child with being step-mum to hubby Rio’s three kids.

She said: “Lockdown has been an experience.

“Obviously I was pregnant and the children didn’t know, and something I’ve struggled with is being pregnant with my first biological child and still being a mum.

“So I felt I had all these new experiences… but I was still a stepmother or mother figure to three kids.

“I struggle with my mental health. Being active helps day-to-day with my anxiety, so when I can’t do things, I struggle with it.

“I want to do everything. Rio says, ‘You need to sit down and relax’. But I feel guilty when I do.”

Former footie star Rio, 41, has Lorenz, 14, Tate, 12, and Tia, nine, from his first marriage to Rebecca, who died of cancer in 2015, at 34.

He and Kate revealed they were expecting a boy in June and she admits she “struggled” in her first trimester.

She told a Women’s Health podcast: “I’m quite emotional, I feel a bit insecure.

“I feel like not like me and I struggled with that for a while, feeling insecure with my changing body.”

Now Kate is expecting a boy with Man United legend Rio, she jokes the house will be filled with footie boots, adding: “I’m going to be at matches the rest of my life.”

Listen to the full chat on Women’s Health’s Going for Goal podcast, available now.