Martine McCutcheon is often inundated with compliments and comments from her fans, saying how fabulous she looks and asking what her secret is. But in an exclusive interview with HELLO!, the actress has explained why she is no longer talking publicly about her figure and her weight.
"Because you know what? I think because it's the only thing that makes a headline," she told HELLO! "That makes me sad - I think that we are slowly getting better but women are so much more than that. Slowly women are being braver and not standing for being defined by it."
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Martine also revealed that she was inspired by Holly Willoughby, who has never publicly spoken in detail about her journey, despite fan concerns and comments that she was losing too much weight.
Martine McCutcheon stars on our Christmas Digital Cover
"Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I remember when Holly Willoughby said, 'You know, there's so much more to me than my weight,' and I couldn't agree more," said Martine.
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The Love Actually star continued: "I have worked so hard to be successful in my industry and I'm proud of what I've achieved in my career, and I'm so proud that I was able to become a mother and that hopefully I've stayed a grounded, good person. Those are the things that matter to me.
"I'm so proud that I was able to become a mother and that hopefully I've stayed a grounded, good person," said Martine
"It took me a long time for me to become a mother with a lot of obstacles. My body went through a lot of changes as a result. Women's bodies are complex and sensitive.
"And I think it's quite a delicate subject, and I think it's something that with all the things I've done in my career, if I talk about it, that's the thing that makes the headlines. So that's why I just don't bother anymore because I just think it's a bit demeaning."
Martine has guest-edited our Christmas Digital Issue
Martine, who has guest-edited our Christmas Digital Issue, shares a six-year-old son Rafferty with her husband Jack McManus. Speaking about her miracle child and "letting the ghost go" of trying for another baby, she said: "I feel so blessed that with my condition and with Lyme disease, that I could even have one child. He wasn't conceived through IVF. And it was a natural birth. It was when I didn't know I had Lyme disease, and he's literally a miracle.
"Every expert I've spoken to since has said to me, 'We don't know how you had him.' So I'm very, very lucky because I know a lot of my friends who want children but can't. And I have to count my blessings. I really do."
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