Kate Ferdinand admits struggling with 'body hang-ups' over her figure

has been back behind the microphone recently, sharing more of the highs and lows of her life as an unofficial ambassador of stepparenting. Six years after marrying former England captain , the former reality star is now a doting stepmum to three teenagers – Lorenz, 18, Tate, 16, and 14-year-old Tia – and also the biological mum of a four-year-old and a 21-month-old.

Kate happily admits that life in has never been so hectic, especially since the arrival of her and Rio’s children, son Cree and his little sister Shae. “It’s so fast-paced,” she laughs. “Going through so many different phases at the same time is quite unique I think. You have Shae at nursery and wanting to go to soft play, and the big boys wanting to go clubbing!"

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“But I love it," she continues. "I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s so nice to see the big kids with their younger siblings and how they influence them. Cree and Shae are like two teenagers now because they’ve basically got another three almost-adults influencing them. We’re all just learning on the job, really.”

Kate, 33, has become a respected voice on the topic of blended and stepfamilies since she . At the time, he was a single father-of-three, following the death of his wife Rebecca Ellison, to breast cancer aged 34, a year earlier.

Now that Lorenz, Tate and Tia are all teenagers, Kate says it’s a case of recognising that their needs are evolving and different from their younger siblings – and making sure there are plenty of family conversations around the kitchen table.

“The big kids are very mature now. They’ve really grown up so we discuss everything. Social media for example, is a worry, maybe more so for Tia in terms of what’s being pushed out about body image – the boys are a bit more relaxed about that.

“Management of the children is probably the hardest thing. They’re going through so many different phases at the same time. We want to be there for the big kids and experience things with them, but then the little ones want to go to soft play. It’s trying to be there for each of them.”

With five kids, 46-year-old Rio’s busy punditry career and Kate’s podcast, charity work and various collaborations, there’s also the small question of when this husband and wife actually get to spend any one-to-one time with each other. Not often, Kate admits, but for now, it’s about quality over quantity.

“It’s very busy, so it’s about the small moments. It doesn’t always have to be a London date night, it might just be a walk in the park, or chatting on the way back from the school run. It’s about finding time within the madness, it doesn’t always have to be a huge event.”

Kate and Rio first shared their experience of embarking on a relationship and step-parenting after loss in their 2020 documentary, . In it, Rio’s dad Julian praised Kate for coping with her introduction to the family and the reception she got from Rio’s inner circle, saying, “If she wasn’t strong-minded, she’d have walked away.”

On her Blended podcast, her “real passion project”, Kate has tackled everything from the complexities of Mother’s Day and dealing with imposter syndrome to grief and, more recently, the dynamics of step-parenting when you don’t have biological children. Kate was a stepmum but not a biological mum for the first few years of her relationship with Rio, but that changed with the arrival of Cree in December 2020.

Now that she’s a few more years – and another baby – into their blended dynamic, Kate has been reflecting on the early days. “Tia is 13 now – and I would have been a very young mum if I had given birth to her – so now I think that maybe when I first met her, I wasn’t aware of the impact I would have on her.

“When you give birth to children and you watch their brains grow, see them start crawling and standing up, you go through a process of learning how they take in information and how and what they’re learning. I didn’t really go through that with my stepchildren. It might sound silly, but I’m only seeing now that I have my own young kids, how much they’re soaking in from me and how much they’re aware of.”

One thing she’s more aware of than ever, especially when it comes to the teenagers, is what messages she’s sending about her body and health. Kate has always been very much into health and fitness and the results are patently obvious – but she admits that her motivations haven’t always been as healthy as they are today.

A decade ago, it was about losing weight and trying to “look as slim as I could”, but her mindset today is very different. “Now I work out because I like the way it makes me feel,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, I like to have a strong body and look good as well, but it’s much more about my mind and how I feel, and having time to myself.

“I’m a mum in my thirties. My body’s changed since having babies. My relationship with my body and myself in general has evolved. I feel differently depending on what time of the month it is, or what’s going on in my life. And I’m okay with that. I don’t want to pretend that I’m confident 24/7, because I’m absolutely not.”

Having Cree and Shae, who turns two in July, also changed Kate’s relationship with her body and it has been a real process for her to find her inner confidence again.

“I’m pretty proud of my body because it birthed my children and I feel strong, but I don’t always feel confident or love the way I look. I’d be lying if I said I did. You might not think it from some of the photos out there but I’m not the most confident person in the . It’s about learning to be okay with not always feeling your best, and still loving yourself even in those moments."

She adds, “I’m honest with all my kids. I never want to paint a perfect picture which isn’t real. It’s about me finding the line of loving myself and showing the children that no matter what we look like, it’s about having a great relationship with yourself. And balancing that with being honest and admitting that sometimes you don’t feel great, or sometimes people are going to say nasty things about you and make you self-conscious.”

Keen to spread her health and wellbeing message beyond the Ferdinand house, Kate recently launched her latest fitness edit with high-street label F&F, which features the brand’s first tennis-inspired outfits, as well as a selection of inclusive-sized gym leggings, shorts and T-shirts.

As well as hoping to see the clothes being worn by all shapes and sizes – and she welcomes the feedback from other mums on the sidelines at Cree’s football matches, she laughs – Kate’s also proud that all her children see her working hard at something she loves.

“It’s really important for Tia and the boys to see that Mummy goes to work. I can work, I can be a stepmum, I can be a mum, I’m not going to have it all locked down perfectly, but it’s a good example to set!”

Kate Ferdinand’s latest spring collection is available to shop in the majority of larger Tesco stores in sizes 6-22

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