There seems to be a theme to our chats with Vogue Williams. Last time, she was dry-heaving with pregnancy nausea, and today, among the tinkling teacups at Claridge’s hotel, she’s queasy again. Don’t leap to any conclusions though. “I ate an oyster up in the mountains when we went skiing and I’m still sick from it,” she groans.
“So stupid! It couldn’t be further from the sea. I’m much better than I was, but I just can’t eat. And I really want toast,” she adds, eyeing the breakfast spread.
She may not be eating for two – or even one – but babies and family are very much on Vogue’s mind. We’re chatting to the model and presenter, 37, about her secrets for staying both glamorous and on top of things while looking after her three young children – Theodore, four, Gigi, two, and baby Otto, 11 months. Alas, the star reckons she often falls short on both counts – and she only has herself to blame.
“I think I felt in a rush [to have children close together] because I was like, ‘If I want four kids, I don’t want to be pregnant after 40,’” says Vogue, who shares her brood with ex-Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, 34. “So I was like, ‘I’d rather just have it all done.’ Now I’m thinking I didn’t need to be in that much of a rush.”
The consequence of their baby boom is “complete chaos, all the time”, yet it’s also the happiest time of her life. “Some people come over and they’re like, ‘This is hideous! It’s so full on!’ But we love the madness. It suits us,” she grins.
Little Otto has been the biggest source of carnage chez Vogue – partly for being “the worst sleeper of all of them”, and partly for being a bit too cute for his mum’s liking.
“I kind of wish he was more naughty because I’d be like, ‘That’s it! We’re definitely not having any more kids.’ But he’s such a sweet, smiley baby, you never know. I’d love another girl because we’ve got two boys.”
Baby number four seems unlikely to be imminent though. Firstly, Vogue will be away touring with her My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast (“I’m having a work year, a ‘me’ year,” she says) and secondly, she’s often tucked up in bed as soon as the kids are settled. “People think I’m a weirdo because I’m in bed at half seven, but to me it’s just the dream,” she says.
Life is currently very much centred around sleep, with Vogue keen to put the exhausting newborn phase behind her.
“Otto was waking up 10 times a night at first. He’s getting better now and we’ve been trying to do controlled crying. But he’s been poorly, so he’s been in our bed, and now he knows where he wants to sleep! I kind of love it because they’re only small for so long, but now we do need to bring it back to basics,” she says.
As well as policing his eviction from the marital mattress, Vogue will be doubling down on the bedtime regime she shares with Otto, in the hope of sweet dreams for both of them. She swears by Childs Farm’s new three- step SlumberTime range, which uses DreamScentz fragrance technology proven to aid sleep.
“It’s so good,” she says. “We do the bath soak, and then the massage lotion, which turns into a lovely oil. And there’s the sleep mist, which I use myself, too.
“I do a bath and bedtime regime for all the kids. I think when they know that’s the routine, they go with it. They’re not so disruptive and they’re more relaxed.”
And if she’s had a disturbed night, Vogue has a few fix-up tricks in her morning beauty arsenal.
“I’m using lots of Beauty Pie Vitamin C skincare, as it brightens my skin. Then I load on the concealer and the tan,” she says, referring to her own Bare By Vogue brand. “I tanned this morning because I needed to feel alive again, but I spilled tea all over myself on the way here. Now I look like I’ve wet my pants, and my legs are going to be patchy!”
She’s also making up for lost time with treatments that were off-limits during pregnancy. “I get Morpheus8, and lasering for post-pregnancy pigmentation. I also love tightening UltraCel facials, and a hyaluronic injection called Revive which honestly transforms your face. Listen, anything that makes you look younger, I’m in.”
Vogue has previously told us she’d “definitely” consider Botox – so have the sleepless nights persuaded her it’s time?
“I’m not at that point yet, because I’m still breastfeeding Otto – so I can’t do it yet. But I’m nearly done,” she says.
There’s one cosmetic treatment she’s definitely ruled out, though, and that’s the boob job her younger self once considered.
“Yeah, I thought I might [have surgery],” she recalls. “I’ve always had small boobs. But then, when I’m pregnant, obviously they’re huge, and then when the baby comes, they’re massive. And they just don’t suit me. I’m so glad I got to do a ‘try before you buy’!”
Does Spencer agree with her verdict on the ginormous breasts? “I don’t even think he noticed them, because they’re so wrapped up,” she claims. A likely story, we scoff. “There were maternity bras and breast pads! He wasn’t getting to look at them,” she insists, giggling.
While she might not be on her lingerie A-game right now, Vogue tells us she and her husband still find time for a few glammed up, romantic(ish) moments.
“It’s important to fit in couple time. Spenny and I are quite good at that. He doesn’t drink alcohol, so I don’t really either, and so our bill is quartered. It also means we’re embarrassingly quick: an hour to get through two courses and we’re off," she said.
Brief or not, it sounds like exactly the kind of respite Vogue needs from her madhouse, filled not just with children, but also her brother and sister, who are currently living there.
“It’s kind of wild,” she smiles. “I never get a minute’s peace. I was sitting in my bra and knickers, waiting for my tan to dry, and my sister and two of the kids walked into my room. I’m like, ‘There’s no privacy!’ But it’s nice to have family there. I just think the more the merrier.”
Vogue Williams is the celebrity ambassador for Childs Farm SlumberTime, available now at Boots
Faith Marley missing: Police 'very concerned' for girl, 15, last seen with 'unknown man'
Refugee who stayed with 'loving' Gary Lineker speaks out on living at BBC star's house
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'struck deal to pay no more rent' at Frogmore Cottage
READ MORE: Kate Ferdinand 'sobbed her heart out' after Rio and kids failed to buy her Mother's Day card
