Singer Lisa McHugh has opened up about how the pandemic opened her eyes to what is most important in life.
The 34-year-old admits that prior to the pandemic she was 'consumed' by work and would have worked 'every hour of the day' because she loves her job, but now she has a newfound appreciation for a healthy work-life balance, and she owes that to her baby son Milo.
Speaking to Belfast Live Lisa said the pandemic and having to cancel her wedding to fiancé Nathan Khan made her reassess what mattered most.
Read more: Lisa McHugh shares cute behind the scenes video of life as a mum on tour
"I think something as horrific as it was for so many people, it was tragic and some people had the worst two years ever and I’m not going to say it was easy, to be off work and to adjust to our new normal as we would have said then. It was definitely difficult to adjust with regards to my career and being stuck away from family and not being able to see people and all those things were difficult.
"Then, of course, we were due to get married and we postponed that twice and there were lots of things personally that were difficult, but whenever we did postpone the wedding we decided that life is too short and if we were lucky enough to be blessed with a family we will see what happens.
"Thankfully we were incredibly lucky and Milo kind of happened very quickly and it very much changed my perspective on life and on everything I had once thought was so important, it didn’t really matter as much anymore."
Lisa admits that when her son came along, she had to learn to balance her work and mum life, but that she wasn't willing to give up her passion for music just because she had a family.
"I would 100% hold my hands up and say I was consumed by work because I didn’t see it as work because I’m lucky enough to love what I do and it’s a passion of mine and I would work every hour of the day because I enjoy it. Then obviously when Milo came along firstly you don’t have anywhere near the same time because you’re changing nappies and feeding and sleepless night and things more than doing any work.
"But even now that I’ve been back over the last couple of months doing some work it’s been lovely to get back and to put that performance hat on again because I’ve not had that for a while, and I’ve certainly enjoyed being a mummy and as I said it has totally refocused me.
"Of course I’m going to work hard and enjoy it and I'm still going to try and achieve all my goals but I’m not going to stress because it’s just not what is the most important thing anymore, Milo comes first in every aspect.
"It's something I said from the beginning as much as I say work isn’t as important, it still is important and it is my life too and I don’t want that to stop just because I’ve started a family because you absolutely can do it, it's not impossible it’s just about juggling more balls and being a lot more organised and trying to be prepared with your time."
The Co Fermanagh resident says she loves having her son along with her when she works, where appropriate.
"Thankfully Milo is a great baby and he is very easy going and he has been up and down the road to Donegal and he’s been to Dublin, he’s been to Glasgow, he’s been in the car plenty so I wanted to get him used to being on the road and not stuck in a routine at home and not being out and about.
"I wanted him to get used to that, when it’s fair, I won’t bring him places that are not going to be fair on him but I also want to have him with me, I don’t want to miss out on memories and things that are going to happen either and try and have the best of both worlds with a balance."
Lisa has recently released her brand new single Dynamite, which was written by Irish sensations Picture This, a collaboration Lisa was delighted to get involved with.
Speaking about how it came to be, she said: "I was delighted when the boys said they had a song that they would like me to release, my manager also manages Picture This as well so I’ve met them a few times over the years and they’re lovely lads, they’re extremely talented and I’ve always been open with how talented they are with regards to their songwriting and their music.
"So through conversations with myself and my manager and my manager and the boys we knew they are writing a lot and I’m certainly not the only person that’s been lucky enough to get given a song by them, so I was delighted that they gave Brian, my manager the song for me to hear and see if I liked it and if I wanted to record it.
"As soon as I heard it, I fell in love with it, it is so well written and I very much relate to it as well and I think that’s so important when you’re releasing someone else’s song it has to be a story that you relate to otherwise you can’t tell the story as well as it should be told in the performance."
After two cancelled dates due to the pandemic, Lisa is finally counting down the days to her wedding to Nathan Khan as the couple's big day is now just 'a couple of weeks away'.
"The first time we had to cancel [the wedding] we were so disappointed and there were thousands of other people in the same situation. We could have gone ahead and got married just the two of us but you only do it once, or you hope you’re only going to do it once and it’s a day that you dream of, so whenever we knew it wasn't going to be the day we had hoped for, we decided we were just going to hold off until at time when we can do exactly what we want, and at that time we had no idea what was to come.
"We had no idea that Milo was going to be part of the plan and it’s just amazing how things just fall into place. The wedding is now just a couple of weeks away and it’s going to be extra special now to have him there and part of the day.
"I'm really excited, there’s a lot of organising and trying to reschedule everything and all that juggling was a bit of a nightmare but now that we are into the last couple of weeks we just want to enjoy the build-up and the preparations and just make the most of it," added Lisa.
With Lisa busy at a number of summer festivals and planning an album release this autumn as well as a tour, the singer says she is still making time for a Honeymoon.
"We’re going to go away for a week just the three of us go somewhere in Europe just for a change of scenery and some heat on the bones just to have a bit of chill time and then when I come back we’ll be back working and I’ll be able to fully focus on music and work and putting that hat back on again when all the wedding preparations will all be done and I’ll need something else to focus on.
"I’m doing a show on 25th June at Kalediscope festival in Dublin and we’re doing the Stendhal festival in July in Derry and we have some more in the pipeline towards August and September and hopefully a tour in the autumn.
"I have had my album that has been recorded and ready to go now for over a year and a half, we are focusing on that to be released towards the end of the summer so August/September time fingers crossed all of that will be able to happen now, and just with one thing and another it’s had to be put off quite a few times so fingers crossed we can get it over the line and get it out there into the world."
Read more: Lisa McHugh on her favourite NI place to escape and her time as an Air Hostess
Read more: NI bridal boutique helps Stacey Solomon find her dream wedding dress
To get the latest lifestyle digest straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
