Nadia Sawalha and her husband Mark Adderley have opened up about their blended family on a new podcast, and revealed how Nadia dealt with becoming a stepmother to Mark's two daughters Izzy, who was eight at the time, and Fleur, who was just three. The Loose Women panellist, who is now also mum to daughters Maddie, 16, and Kiki-Bea, nine, revealed that, at times, struggles with access – especially as Izzy and Fleur have different mothers – was a challenge, but that she has a wonderful relationship with both girls.
Nadia Sawalha with husband Mark Adderley and daughters Maddie and Kiki-Bea
The TV presenter also admitted that she felt that she would be "a bit naff" in comparison to Mark's two daughters. She said: "Even their names were the names of rock star children. Izzy and Fleur. They were just trendy names. I felt 'I am a bit naff. I am this plump, D-list, daytime presenter'. That's what I thought." Nadia added that Izzy, now 23, recently recalled her first memories of meeting her. "She said 'I didn’t know we were meeting somebody. And then you pulled up and then this mad woman pulled up, and said 'Hello! I hear I call you Bob.' She said it was just loads of mad hair. And we took her to McDonalds. And we sang. And she said, that broke the ice as she wanted to learn the song."
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Wanting to impress the then-eight-year-old Izzy, Nadia had gone out of her way to buy baking ingredients for when they returned home. However, she revealed that Izzy had told her that she didn’t want to eat cakes, as she "didn’t want to get fat". Nadia recalled: "This child, she was one of those ones who put you to shame. And I couldn’t help thinking 'Oh I bet that's what her mum is like.' And there I was, as plump as plump can be, thinking her mum must be really skinny."
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The couple – who often release new podcasts about their family life on their social media channel, Nadia Sawalha and Family - also opened up about the stress of having a new relationship with so many other factors and people involved, revealing that they had made the podcast after being asked by a number of people about their life as a blended family.
Nadia said: "The horror of the negotiations bled into our relationship. I never got to know Izzy's mum. You were both still at loggerheads with each other. I just thought these two have to stop this anger. It was very weary. I felt all we were doing was talking about access. It really affects your relationship. Somebody else's storm comes into your storm. A lot of people find that too much."