'IT WOULD BE SMART FOR ME TO FREEZE MY EGGS'

FAMILY MATTERS | STRAIGHT-TALKING CHLOE MADELEY OPENS UP ON BEING A WORKING MUM, PLANNING AHEAD FOR ANOTHER BABY AND GETTING PARENTING HELP FROM ZARA AND MIKE TINDALL

- GEMMA MCCARTNEY, LISA BLAKE & ANGELA WINTLE

Six months on from welcoming her first child, Chloe Madeley is already experiencing the struggles of being a working mum. The 35-year-old went back to her job as a

personal trainer eight weeks after the arrival of her daughter Bodhi, explaining financial reasons were the catalyst for her swift return.

Chloe would have liked more time with the baby she shares with her husband of four years, the former rugby union player James Haskell, 37. But the daughter of TV stars Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan decided to cut short her maternity leave because she “needs the money”.

“James obviously makes a great income and he’s my partner and that’s fantastic, but we don’t have a joint account,” she explains.

“We’ve always had separate accounts and I think that’s a bit of a pride thing with me. Next time, if I get pregnant again, I’m absolutely not doing it. I will swallow my pride, I will jump in on James’ account and take at least six months.”

Busy Chloe is throwing herself into online Zoom workouts and client consultations “pretty much seven days a week”. Luckily, despite having a family history of postnatal depression, she hasn’t suffered any symptoms yet, but admits getting back into her career so soon after having a baby has been “quite intense”.

“With the lack of sleep and the amount of people who are relying on you… that has been a lesson!” says Chloe, who didn’t stop working until she was 39 weeks pregnant.

“I’m lucky I haven’t had any mental health issues, but during this time when you’re very susceptible to it, take your time. If you’re selfemployed it’s tough, but take your time going back to work – that was a hard lesson for me.”