Myleene Klass has said she decided to "own" being a single mother after her husband Graham Quinn left her in 2012. The television presenter, who is a mother to daughters Ava, eight, and Hero, five, opened up about how she balances motherhood with her busy career in an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Stella magazine.
"I am a single mother. I provide for my girls, I feed them, I look after them. I think there are a lot of women out there in a similar position. You think it's better to be with someone – but the reality is it's not better.
Myleene Klass said she and her daughters are "completely and utterly bonded"
"You think it's a catastrophe that the relationship has ended, but it isn't at all. In the first few months, I hated those moments when the girls were in bed and I was on my own. I worried that all decisions were mine.
"It took me a while to realise that, actually, I love that. Me and my girls are a unit, we are strong, we are completely and utterly bonded."
She added: "I decided to 'own' being a single mother, to challenge the stereotype. I'm like a cockroach. Stamp on me, but you won't destroy me, I'll keep coming back. I don't know any other way to be.
The mum-of-two opened up about life as a single mother
"And if you have children and you are the one who is the breadwinner, the toothbrush, the dinner-maker, the bag-packer, you just have to keep on going."
Myleene's two daughters are from her relationship with her partner of 11 years, Graham Quinn. The pair married in a private ceremony in October 2011, but just six months into their marriage Graham walked out of the marital home on Myleene's 34th birthday.
The former Hear'Say star is now in a "happy but quite new relationship" and said she wouldn't rule out getting married again in the future.
"What I do know is that being a mother – a single mother – is the toughest, most challenging and rewarding job you can do," Myleene said. "If you can do this, you can do anything."