Christine Lampard has opened up on her blended family and her childhood in Northern Ireland.
The TV presenter also spoke about her marriage, anxiety, and staying in shape in a new interview with woman&home.
The 44-year-old is married to former footballer Frank Lampard and the pair share two children - 4-year-old Patricia and Freddie, 2.
Read more: Christine Lampard sports £17.50 top from M&S on Loose Women
Frank also has two daughters from his previous marriage, 17-year-old Luna, and Isla, 16.
Newtownards woman Christine said: "Life is always busy, but we all manage somehow, don’t we? Mine is ‘two children busy’.
"Freddie has just turned two, so he’s a whirlwind. The two of them are funny and wonderful and exhausting. I think they’ve zapped every bit of energy from me, but it’s worth it. Frank and I are relatively used to doing our own thing.
"We try and prioritise each other’s and the children’s needs, but when he was still playing football, he was away at least two or three nights of the week, then training.
"Now, we do our best to go out for lunch or dinner, or have a night on the sofa when we can."
She added: "Being part of a blended family is lovely. I don’t remember life before it now.
"When I first met Isla and Luna, they were two and four – now they’re 16 and almost 18, and have just taken their GCSEs and A levels. They’ll call us and say, ‘We’re coming around tonight.’
"Or, ‘What are you doing on Saturday?’ They’ll jump on the train and come over."
Speaking about having her children, Christine continued: "My attitude towards having kids was always, ‘If it happens, it happens.’ I think because Isla and Luna were so young when I met Frank, I was never thinking, ‘I must have babies.’
"I always thought, ‘Let’s see, and if it doesn’t happen, I’ll deal with it in any way I need to'."
She later added: "My hair has started to fall out and I lost a lot after having the children, so I’ve started taking vitamins for it."
The Co Down woman opened up on suffering from anxiety.
Christine said: "I’m not positive all the time. I have flat days like everyone else, but I take the little wins, which is what my mum always taught me to do. She also used to say, ‘Your health is your wealth.’
"We didn’t go on flashy holidays abroad like my friends did, but I look back on my early childhood as such a happy time because I was brought up feeling grateful for small things.
"I suffered from bad anxiety as a result of growing up during the Troubles. My dad was a musician at a time when people were going into restaurants or bars and shooting around them.
"I couldn’t sleep until I heard Dad’s car on the stones outside. I still have that feeling at night sometimes, but now it’s children-led. Sometimes I have to talk myself down off the ledge."
And on her job, the NI woman told: "Presenting live still gives me a buzz. If I could tell my teenage self what I’m doing now, she would not believe it.
"She would be stunned that Richard Madeley says my name when he does the crossover from GMB to Lorraine. I’m really excited about presenting Lorraine again. There’s always a little bit of naughtiness in the air in the summer.
"It feels like a holiday camp before the grown-ups come back in September."
Christine also spoke to woman&home about staying in shape.
The Newtownards woman said: "I swear by walking to stay in shape. My sister lost seven stone in her late teens, purely by walking.
"I do like a gym and a class, but I can’t get motivated to go – but I can walk seven or eight kilometres with both kids in the pram and the dog by my side."
Christine is an Ambassador for the Pride of Britain Fund, a registered charity that channels the spirit of the Pride of Britain Awards to help people by supporting community groups and local charities with money for their vital work.
Christine will be presenting Lorraine this summer, weekdays from 9am on ITV1 and ITVX.
The August issue of woman&home is on sale Thursday 29th June 2023.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our Be lifestyle newsletter for all the latest showbiz, fashion, beauty, family features and more.
