Reality television star Charlotte Crosby has spoken candidly about the overwhelming pressure women face to quickly return to normal after giving birth, while simultaneously managing career ambitions and family life.
The Struggle of Being a Working Mother
The 36-year-old Geordie Shore personality, who welcomed her second daughter Pixi in February with fiancé Jake Ankers, 34, revealed the significant challenges facing women who want to maintain their professional success after having children. The couple are already parents to two-year-old daughter Alba.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, Charlotte explained how women in the public eye often feel compelled to prove they can still excel in their careers post-pregnancy. "I think you always feel pressure with this kind of job," she confessed. "Once you've had a child, people don't think that you can do it all. So women feel like you have a child, you've got to take a step back from work."
The television star highlighted the particular difficulty for women in the entertainment industry, where there's a genuine fear of being forgotten during maternity leave. "Especially in this industry where you may have been forgotten about," she added.
The Exhausting Reality of Juggling Career and Children
Charlotte didn't shy away from describing the physical and emotional toll of balancing work with two young children. "Work and now having two kids with that as well, it's absolutely exhausting," she revealed. "Like I've never been this exhausted in my whole entire life."
The reality star shared an amusing anecdote about her changed perspective on tiredness since becoming a mother. "When I see some people say, 'Oh I'm really tired. I've had so much work on,' I think, 'you don't know, you don't know don't even know what tired means.' I remember when I used to say that before I had kids and I want to give myself a slap around the face."
Despite the challenges, Charlotte emphasised her love for motherhood and her determination to continue working. "It's so physically demanding and I love every single second of it, so I think that's why I'm still staying," she said.
Breaking Point and Mum-Shaming Backlash
Earlier this year, Charlotte experienced a very public emotional breakdown on Instagram, where she tearfully shared her struggles with health issues while managing two young children. Speaking to her 8.7 million followers, she admitted "not everything is always perfect" as she detailed back problems and hearing issues requiring multiple medical appointments.
The situation reached breaking point when her infant daughter Pixi "threw up all over herself" just as they were leaving for appointments, forcing Charlotte to return home and clean her up while her other daughter waited in the car.
Charlotte attributed her tears to stress and the challenge of single-handedly managing childcare while her fiancé Jake, a business owner, was frequently away for work. "I'm by myself a lot because Jake is away working all the time," she explained.
The television personality has also faced criticism from mum-shamers, particularly after sharing a photo of her newborn using a side sleeping pillow, which prompted such backlash that she deleted the post. Charlotte responded to her critics with characteristic defiance, telling Daily Mail: "Everyone needs to calm down, if everyone was a little bit more calm like me, they would have chilled babies."
She also addressed judgment around breastfeeding choices, stating: "I just really don't understand why people care what other people are doing. Like, I literally would not judge anyone for their choices and how they raise their child, unless they were doing something really harmful."
Charlotte Crosby continues to navigate motherhood in the public eye with her new series Geordie Stories: Charlotte Mam of Two, streaming on Paramount+ in the UK from November 19th, which documents her life with Jake and their two young daughters.
