Time to drop the mask

Tired of presenting herself as neat, tidy and capable, Caro Giles has decided things are about to get real...

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I want to talk about feeling ugly.

Not ugly on the outside: we all know about ugly on the outside, how it is the white noise against which all women live, the way we are sold potions and lotions to make us look younger, and how that has now extended to our daughters. I know that my 14 year-old, with the skin of an angel, has more skincare products than I do scattered across her dressing table.

And it was only yesterday that I saw a post on Instagram showing headlines from a few years ago commenting on the thighs and stomachs of female celebrities, ostensibly demonstrating how times have changed, but the shadow of objectification and the running commentary on women's bodies still lingers all around.

So I do understand that physical appearances are frequently judged as attractive or ugly, and I hate that.

But I want to talk about ugly feelings, and how we try to make our personalities more palatable.

Divorce is hard when you have children, even when it is the best choice you could have made for your family.

But amongst the wreckage that was the end of my marriage, and the aftermath that rumbles on, I am determined that my children will learn from my mistakes.