WOMEN DON'T LIKE ME BECAUSE I'M PRETTY

Maxine Booth, 50, is fighting a constant battle for acceptance, just for being herself

Standing in the school playground, I keep my eyes focused on the classroom door, waiting to collect my son. ‘There she is – the footballer’s wife!’ I hear another mum snigger. They’d given me that nickname as I always look glamorous, my hair and make-up immaculate, even for the school run. I smile politely and pull my dark glasses down over my eyes. I don’t care what they think. It has taken me years to become this resilient though, and to realise that often, women just dislike me.

I haven’t always been singled out for my looks. At primary school, I was outgoing and popular, and had lots of friends, but when I started secondary school, people’s perceptions of me began to change.

With two older sisters, I loved getting dressed up and playing with make-up, and while other girls my age felt awkward about their pre-teen bodies and wanting to look pretty, I didn’t have the same insecurities. I felt happy and confident with who I was.

‘She thinks she’s something special,’ girls whispered behind my back. Suddenly, my friends began to distance themselves from me and I found myself being isolated. I couldn’t understand it – I hadn’t changed as a person, I was still the same confident, friendly girl I’d always been. ‘They’re just jealous of how pretty you are,’ my mum told me.

BLENDING IN

Eventually, aged 14, I moved to a new school and, in order to fit in, tried to hold back some of my personality.