Megan Gale is not only a model and one of our favourite home-grown celebrities, but she’s also a proud mum to River, five and Rosie, 21 months.
But speaking on the podcast Tales From The Fourth Trimester, the 43-year-old TV personality has admitted that following her son’s birth, she struggled with postnatal depression and was simultaneously dealing with the recent deaths of her father Alan and fiancé Shaun Hampson’s father Tom.
Just four weeks before River’s birth, Megan and Shaun were forced to say goodbye to Shaun’s father and organise the funeral.
“There’s an immense amount of grief and sadness and loss yet you’re welcoming new life at the same time which is cause for celebration and it’s such a weird gambit of emotions to navigate through,” she confessed.
WATCH: Celebrities open up about depression and anxiety. Post continues after video.
Then when River was just 14 weeks old, Megan’s father sadly passed away.
This, combined with the “blur” associated with becoming a parent, meant Megan’s mental health suffered.
“I do remember crying every day, but I don’t think it was because of dad, I feel like it was because of feeling like I was not coping, feeling like I wasn’t getting by,” she revealed.
“It’s really hard to distinguish between, am I just tired and emotional? Or is it hormones or am I a little bit depressed?”
The mum of two says her kids are “the lights and highlights of my life” and on Mother’s Day this year described motherhood as a “privilege, responsibility, joy and blessing”, all rolled into one.
Following River’s birth, the model revealed that her son’s full name paid tribute to his family.
“We finally chose a name for our little man – River Alan Thomas Hampson. Rivers is my Mums maiden name, Alan after my Dad, Thomas for Shaun’s Dad and the last name just like his Daddy’s, ❤️” she captioned a snap of her then-newborn.