Family life is chaotic and a bit rough around the edges

TV presenter and single mum-of-three Helen Skelton talks to LISA SALMON about family life and how she won't be a slave to social media

- 

HELEN Skelton makes no claims to be a 'picture-perfect' parent.

In fact, the effervescent TV presenter is very happy to admit life with her three young children - Ernie, aged 10, Louis, eight, and Elsie, three - can be “chaotic”.

“Why do we put pressure on ourselves to present this picture-perfect image to the outside world when the reality of family life is that it’s chaotic, it’s busy, a bit rough around the edges, and that’s what life is,” she says.

“Me and my friends describe it as fifth gear or no gear, and I think you just have to take the pressure off of a bit and accept that’s what it is.”

Morning Live presenter Helen, 42, who split from the children's father, retired rugby player Richie Myler, in 2022, is cheerfully self-deprecating about her parenting, pointing out that when she was asked to support a new campaign highlighting the “ludicrous expectations of parenting being pedalled on social media”, she thought it might be because her own parenting simply wasn’t “picture perfect”.

Nevertheless, she agreed to support the tongue-in-cheek initiative, in which bread makers Warburtons have launched a ‘beauty range’ of sandwiches to highlight “lunchbox guilt”, after 60% of parents surveyed said they feel pressure to make a perfect-looking lunchbox.

“This is really about shining a light on normal life and the reason 45% of people feel guilty that the lunchboxes they send their kids out without those picture-perfect, Instagrammable lunches,” explains Helen. “And I think that’s probably something most of us can relate to.