FERNE McCann has said she “nearly lost everything” in the wake of her relationship with convict Arthur Collins.
Speaking at The Sun’s International Women’s Day event, the former Towie star – who split with Collins after he was arrested in 2017 over an acid attack in a London club – said the trauma taught her how to overcome barriers.
“Something that I’ve learned recently is that problems which are going to throw you off course are inevitable,” she said.
“I have had to take the light with the shade, and the highs with the lows, in my personal life or in my professional career.
“I’ve been in situations where I thought I’d lost it all – career, everything – through actions I had absolutely nothing to do with.
“But I feel that if you’ve got a vision, and you can work hard, you can overcome those barriers.”
Ferne announced her pregnancy two days after Collins’ arrest, in 2017, saying she would raise her baby alone.
She admits she was “scared and stressed” when she found out she was expecting – but is now proud to be a single mum.
“I wasn’t overly maternal and when I found myself pregnant, it definitely was a surprise,” she revealed.
“It’s a massive blessing, but at the time it was really quite stressful for me because of the things that were going on in my personal life.
“I was really scared about motherhood, if I’m honest and I was immediately labelled as a single mother.
“I had to come to terms with the fact that I was going to be doing it alone and that was very scary to me. But now my daughter is nearly five and I feel proud that I’m flying the flag for single mothers.
“It’s a label that I totally live and breathe and I absolutely love being a single parent.”
Ferne was joined by The Chase’s Anne Hegerty and Loose Women star Charlene White for the International Women’s Day Event, chaired by former BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin.
The panel event, at The Sun’s London HQ, was watched by an audience of 100 teenagers from the Girls Network and Greig City Academy.
Speaking on the IWD theme of ‘breaking bias’, Ferne – who is now dating jeweller Lorri Haines – says her single mum status meant people assumed she would have to sacrifice her TV work.
“I felt like the bias was that you can’t have a flourishing career whilst being a single parent and from the moment I found out that I was pregnant, right until now, I have continued to strive and have a thriving career.
“People tell you that you can’t have it all but I feel that you absolutely can make it work.”
The reality star went on to land her own show, Ferne McCann: First Time Mum, on ITVBe and she says she has learned to pat herself on the back for “small wins” every day.
“Every single day, I’m a juggling act and the majority of the time, I drop a ball,” she says.
“I might spread myself too thin and drop multiple balls throughout the day, but I am super proud of the fact that I’m managing.
“If I get to the end of the day, and I’ve completed five tasks out of ten, then I’m doing OK. It’s the small wins.”
