It’s just five months since she gave birth to her gorgeous daughter, Isla, and while Chloe Goodman looks happy and confident as she poses in lingerie for Closer, she admits that seeing pictures of other new mums snapping back into shape on social media hasn’t helped her confidence.
But the Celebrity Big Brother star, who shares Isla with her footballer fiancé Grant Hall, says that although she’s still a stone heavier than her pre-pregnancy size, being a mum has given her a newfound respect for her body.
She says, “My boobs are an F-cup now that I’m breastfeeding, and they’re heavy. Grant and I have a running joke, where we say I’ll need scaffolding instead of bras soon! And my belly is like the dough you see them rolling out at Pizza Express!
“I didn’t have abs before pregnancy, but it’s crazy how soft your stomach goes – my body has completely changed. Instagram doesn’t help; I’ve seen so many new mums who look better than they did before they had children, and I think, ‘How come that hasn’t happened to me?’ But I’ve got my beautiful baby girl and a partner who loves me, no matter what I look like.”
Chloe, 27, put on 4st during her pregnancy due to the fact she wasn’t able to exercise at all as her pregnancy was high risk, and admits to crying the first time she looked in the mirror after giving birth in May. She also reveals she has compared herself to her sister Lauryn, 29, who gave birth to her first baby with Manchester City star Kyle Walker just two weeks before Chloe.
“My sister looks incredible after having a baby, and then there is dumpy old me over here,” she laughs. “You do compare. I’ve got friends who looked amazing straight after having their babies. So many people said to me, ‘You’ll lose weight when you breastfeed’, but it hasn’t happened for me.”
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Despite this, Chloe says she has Grant to thank for making her feel so happy in her skin. “It’s about getting to the point where you accept yourself as you are,” she says. “I felt the most insecure and vulnerable when Isla was first born, but Grant was amazing and definitely helped me feel confident again. I’m really happy and I’m not in any rush to go back to how I was before. At the moment I’m enjoying Isla and taking in these special moments and I’ll shape up when I’m ready.”
The couple haven’t had it plain sailing as new parents. Shortly after Isla’s arrival, Grant moved to Middlesbrough football club. Chloe now splits her time between Brighton, where their family home and her business, Opiah Cosmetics, is, and Middlesbrough, so she, Grant and Isla can spend time as a family. But how has their relationship changed now they’re parents?
“We have to book in sex, let’s put it that way!” Chloe laughs. “Grant is my best friend and I didn’t think I could have any more respect for him than I already had, but when you have a child together you have a completely different love for your partner. Being a dad comes so naturally to Grant – he’s a good person and I hope Isla gets a lot of her traits from him, as he makes me a better person, too.”
Not only is Chloe refreshingly honest when it comes to her post-baby body, but she’s also happy to chat about how being a new mum isn’t all cute cuddles.
“I don’t even remember brushing my hair for the first two weeks,” she laughs. “At the beginning, it’s hard – you don’t sleep and I had anxiety over breastfeeding and whether she was getting enough milk. I found the first few months relentless – I was feeding constantly and barely had time to shower. But we’re through that stage now and things are much better. We have our little routine, and that routine is that she’s the boss and I follow!”
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Chloe can’t hide her happiness as she snuggles up to Isla, especially as she had a long journey to motherhood. She tragically suffered a miscarriage at the age of 23, with her then-fiancé.
Two years later, she experienced more emotional upheaval when doctors discovered she had high-grade abnormal cells following a routine smear, which could have led to cervical cancer if left untreated. Following a biopsy, she had an operation in July 2018 to remove more than half of her cervix, which doctors warned put her at higher risk of miscarriage, or having a premature birth.
When she was pregnant with Isla, Chloe had a cervical stitch in her second trimester to help strengthen the cervix and prolong her pregnancy. And she says their plans for another baby rely heavily on an upcoming medical appointment.
Chloe explains, “If doctors say the abnormal cells have grown back at my next check-up, Grant and I will have a chat and look to pop out another baby before having my cervix out completely. I’m at risk of cervical cancer and I’d rather get rid of my cervix when I’ve finished having children. We are positive about it, though, and can’t wait to have another baby when the time is right. Two was always our magic number anyway!”
Chloe wears white mesh & scallop lace lingerie set by I Saw It First.
Get the best celeb interviews in Closer magazine each week.