‘I felt very ill-equipped’: Fearne Cotton says she struggled to adjust to life as a stepmother to husband Jesse Wood’s children and is still ‘working it out’
Fearne Cotton has revealed that she ‘felt very ill equipped’ becoming a stepmum to her husband Jesse’s children.
The TV presenter, 41, became a stepparent at the age of 29 after entering into a relationship with musician Jesse Wood.
Ferne spoke of entering the family setup with Jesse’s two children, Arthur, 20, and Lola, 17, from a previous relationship.
‘I felt very ill equipped’: Fearne Cotton has revealed that she ‘felt very ill equipped’ becoming a stepmum to her husband Jesse’s children (pictured with stepchildren Arthur, 20, and Lola, 17, and her children Rex, nine, and Honey, six)
Speaking on Kate Ferdinand’s Blended podcast, Fearne said: ‘I became a stepparent, or at least found myself in this family when I was 29.
‘I felt very ill-equipped, I’d gone from living a life where I was at gigs every night, usually hungover and very selfish doing what I wanted, working for Radio 1 and travelling all over the place.’
In the revealing chat with Kate, Fearne who has two children of her own addressed the stereotypes that come with being stepmum.
Fearne said: ‘I felt very ill equipped, I’d gone from living a life where I was at gigs every night, usually hungover and very selfish doing what I wanted, working for Radio 1 and travelling all over the place’
The former Radio 1 DJ said: ‘I know you (Kate) have talked about it but we need to get rid of the whole wicked step-mum thing in fairy tales and films and all the sorts of places we see the very exaggerated cliché step-mum.
‘So, I think ‘step’ has weird connotations because you think of an evil step-mum whereas dads don’t get that.
‘They’re more of a saviour who come in to save the day whereas we’re more witchy step-mums, it’s so weird. We can blame Cinderella I think, that’s who started this mess!’
Turning over the page: Fearne told listeners of Kate Ferdinand’s Blended podcast that ‘we need to get rid of the whole wicked step-mum thing’
When asked by Kate ‘what do you think makes a good stepmum?’ Fearne answered: ‘I would hate to ever come across as someone saying ‘I’ve totally smashed this one’ and tell you how to do it. I’m still working it out.
‘Ultimately, the moments I’ve felt best is when I’ve had really good one-on-one moments with my step-kids. Having one-on-one time with my stepdaughter have been some of the best moments.
‘We’d go out to dinner and when she was younger we’d do whole days shopping and that was our thing.
‘But ultimately when all four children (Arthur, Lola, Rex and Honey) are together and getting on, those are the best times. Lean into all of it. You just need to lean into the good bits to charge yourself up.’
Happy place: When asked how to be a good stepmum, Fearne divulged: I’m still working it out. Ultimately, the moments I’ve felt best is when I’ve had really good one-on-one moments with my step-kids’
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