Billie Faiers has defended her decision to buy her eight-year-old daughter a horse. The former The Only Way is Essex star revealed over the weekend that Nelly had become the proud owner of her own horse saying that she and her husband Greg Shepherd had "made our little ladies dreams come true."
She shared a string of snaps of the schoolgirl beaming alongside her new four-legged friend after finding a love for horse riding, which has featured in the family's ITVBe reality show, The Family Diaries.
"Welcome to the Shepherd family Bambi… Today we made our little ladies dreams come true," Billie penned alongside the sweet snaps. "Horse riding has become one of the biggest parts of Nelly’s life, she has learnt so much over the past few years and become more confident, and most importantly made the most wonderful friends.
"She loves every part of it! Including mucking out in the freezing cold. I am so proud of her. Watching her fulfil her passion is just the best! We can’t wait to watch Nelly and beautiful Bambi make the best memories together."
Sister and fellow reality star Samantha was quick to comment on the post, writing: " Beautiful Nelly and Bambi." While mum Suzie Wells replied: "Nelly and Bambi. What a wonderful day." Former The Apprentice and Celebrity Big Brother star Luiza Zissman also commented: "Omg so special," as model Abbey Clancy simply added: "Gorgeous," with a red heart.
Fans were also quick to gush over the sweet snaps but others criticised Billie and Greg's decision to gift their daughter the animal. But Billie revealed she'd bought the horse on her podcast with her sister Sam, 32, saying she'd been thinking about it for a while but had planned to wait until Nelly's 10th birthday.
"We always thought for Nelly's 10th birthday we would consider getting her a horse," she explained. "So there's a horse at the stables we're at, basically, the little girl has outgrown the pony. She's too big for the pony now. The horse is called Bambi, and it's so lovely, it's just a really lovely pony.
"Although the timing is a little bit off because we were going to do maybe do it next year for her birthday, we just thought: 'You know what, we could spend a year trying to find the right horse for Nelly'". The reality TV star then said the family gave the horse to Nelly on Saturday and that the moment was filmed for her and Greg's TV show.
"She's [Nelly's] going like she normally would to spend the day there and then because we're both going and mum's gonna come as well and we're filming, we kind of need to," Billie said. "We don't really film at the stables anymore because it's her little thing so she might be a little bit like: 'Why have you all come' so we've got to be quite clever about how you do it.
"So we're just going to say, 'Oh, we're just gonna see what you do, we aren't gonna watch you ride' we're gonna play it down. And then they're going to pull up with the horse lorry and then reveal that this horse is going to be for her."
Meanwhile, others were quick to comment on Billie's post over the horse's name, pointing out it is the same moniker Molly-Mae Hague has chosen for her newborn daughter, and her first child with her boyfriend Tommy Fury. @mywe.dding123 said: "Molly mae will be delighted u named a horse after her baby." @kerensamichelle wrote: "Poor molly mae."
As another fan commented: "What a gorgeous horse. My dog is called bambi," a fellow follower replied: "Molly Mae has called her baby Bambi I’m guessing that’s where the name is from. But Suzie, who fans will know for appearing on TOWIE alongside her daughters as well as their subsequent TV shows, was quick to address the name. She said: "Bambi is his name and has been his name for years what a wonderful name."
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