The Duchess of Cambridge recently admitted that motherhood can be "lonely" and revealed that at times, since having her children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, she has felt "isolated". Kate has also spoken about those first few days of motherhood and how having a child is a "life-changing moment".
"Having a child, particularly your first child, is such a life-changing moment," said Kate to Prince William in a video promoting their Heads Together campaign back in April. "Nothing can really prepare you for that."
Kate's feelings echo those of most new mums, and one in particular, Michelle Kennedy, decided to create a new app, Peanut, aimed to unite mums who have similar interests.
"I suppose what I felt most prominently, which isn't particularly comfortable for a 30 something woman to admit, is that I was lonely," she reveals. "I had lots of friends, I was successful professionally, and yet, when I was at home, I felt lonely."
Peanut's algorithm is quite simple, Michelle explains: "You create an account through Facebook, tell us the age and gender of you child (or whether you’re expecting - Peanut!), and then you're in. You can start meeting other mamas around you. The more you use the app, the more intelligent it becomes about the type of mamas you want to meet.
"You swipe up to wave, and swipe down to say maybe later. We highlight everything you have in common with the other mama before you message, and when you match," she explains.
The whole experience has been very rewarding for the mum of one, who believed that having public figures such as Kate and Chrissy Teigen speaking honestly about motherhood is the way forward. "I think the more women with public profiles from Kate, to Chrissy Teigen to Gwyneth Paltrow, who use their platform to reassure women that this happens to everyone, the better. We have to keep having these conversations until it becomes the norm. Until women stop feeling inhibited to say how they really feel.
"I think the older I've become, the more evident it becomes that women need women, we want to hang out with women who are on our wavelength. If Peanut can facilitate that, then every single connection is rewarding," she says.
And the new app, which is free to download, has already changed lives since its launch earlier this year.
"SO MANY!" she tells HELLO! "We have the most amazing users who message us when they've had a great meet up, or to thank us for Peanut. I've had stories of women starting businesses together having met on Peanut, started meets ups, and I've even had a message from a user's husband to thank us (cool husband)."
Michelle's work isn't done yet, the app is constantly being updated to accommodate requests made by users and next month they are launching an android version, which Michelle says she is "really excited about".
"We have more exciting developments to come. We have tens of thousands of women using Peanut across the UK, and in particular in London, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow. We're also available across the US, with users in New York, Dallas, LA to name but a few!"
So, what are you waiting for?
