RTE viewers were blown away by the "amazing" transformation of a Dublin mum on The Style Counsellors last night.
Lesley Anne O'Brien, 38, from Littlepace in Clonee, has spent the last couple of years caring for her family, which includes five-year-old daughter Sienna, who has cerebral palsy. Lesley Anne sought help from fashion and beauty guru Suzanne Jackson to find her inner fashionista, and the end result wowed her family and viewers at home.
Speaking to Dublin Live, Lesley Anne described how seeing her little girl Sienna running on TV was her "proudest moment." She said: "It was such a lovely experience for me to be able to give myself time to focus on just myself. Having my family at the reveal stage was by far the best."
On the show, Lesley Anne described her busy family life with five children under the age of 12. She said: "There's a lot of running around, fighting over bathrooms, making lunches football and GAA and drama. Then you come home, make dinner and start it all over again the next day."
Meanwhile, Lesley Anne's mum Margaret described her daughter as "loving and dependable" and that she is always there for her family and friends. Lesley Anne's partner Ciaran added: "She's selfless, she does everything for everybody else. There's nobody who deserves it more than her, she's one in a million."
On the show, Lesley Anne also talking about her charity and fundraising efforts for Sienna, who has diplegia cerebral palsy. Sienna recently had major surgery to help her to walk.
Lesley Anne said: "Sienna wasn't able to walk, she couldn't sit up unaided so we decided to take Sienna to a place in America for selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). That is a very specific surgery that goes into the spinal chord and alleviates any pain that she would have ever had in her body, so we raised €120,000 for this journey to America."
Lesley Anne invited entrepreneur and beauty blogger Suzanne into her home to look at her wardrobe to come up with a plan for her fashion transformation. Lesley Anne explained that she has a communion and a confirmation this year which is why she applied for The Style Counsellors.
After the surgery, Lesley Anne said that the family were delighted to see Sienna take her first steps. She said: "We couldn't believe it, to see this child in front of us taking her first steps was just amazing."
She explained: "The majority of the time I'm just going around in tracksuits and runners, so it would be nice to dress up." Lesley Anne described Victoria Beckham as her "style icon", and Suzanne soon made her fashion dreams come through with a full hair and make-up revamp along with gorgeous outfits to suit her family's upcoming communion and confirmation.
Lesley Anne immediately loved the Tickle Me Pink gown that Suzanne chose for her from Dress & Other Stores for €199 with black accessories, including €30 shoes from Dunnes Stores, a clutch bag from Penneys (€30) and earrings from Monsoon (€24.50). For the big reveal, Lesley Anne's family were blown away to see her wearing the gorgeous pink dress at Moyvalley Hotel in Co Kildare.
Her partner Ciaran was delighted by Lesley's makeover, saying: "From the moment I saw her at the top of the stairs I just thought, 'Wow she looks amazing'."
Suzanne wrote on Twitter that she was "blown away" by Lesley Anne's transformation. She tweeted: "What did we all think of #TheStyleCounsellors last night on @RTEOne? I was blown away by Lesley Ann, such a beautiful person inside and out."
Other social media users were also pleased to see mum of five Lesley Anne's major transformation. One person wrote: "Wow she looks incredible, so lovely to see."
A second person wrote: "I have to say you did it… Lesley Anne was truly amazing."
The Style Counsellors is on RTÉ One, Tuesday, 8.30pm.
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