It’s been less than a month since Danielle Lloyd gave birth to her long-awaited baby girl and she admits she’s already struggling to remember what life was like before her daughter entered the world.
And Danielle, 37, who is proud mum to Autumn Rose with husband Michael O’Neill, says she finds it hard to peel her eyes away from her newborn at times.
She tells Closer, “I honestly can’t believe she’s here, I feel like I’m in a baby bubble! I don’t want to wish these early months away, I just want to cherish every moment. Autumn is an actual dream and so different from the boys. She doesn’t have a dummy, she barely cries and is an angel. I definitely feel different this time around, I’m just happy and complete.”
However, with four boys – Archie, 11, Harry, 10, and George, eight, from her previous marriage to ex-footballer Jamie O’Hara, and four-year old Ronnie – plus her French bulldog, Fendi, Danielle says any peace and quiet is often short-lived.
“The boys are running round and the dog’s always barking. I’m still up at the same time every day pumping milk out like a cow while making toast for the boys! The house is manic, but I refuse to stress about anything. I’ve got a good routine, Michael’s brilliant and does the school drop-offs and the kids make their beds every morning.”
Check out: from Cheryl to Coleen Rooney - where are the 2006 WAGS now?
The UK Wags - where are they now? - slider
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1 of 9Victoria Beckham
One half of the indestructible Beckham brand, Victoria was the original Queen WAG in 2006. At the time Victoria had been married to David for seven years and had just given birth to her third boy, Cruz. She had also just launched her denim line, dvb Style and walked the catwalk for Roberto Cavalli. Over a decade later, she is a fully fledged and well respected fashion designer, with a fourth addition to her brood – the adorable Harper.
2 of 9Coleen Rooney
Coleen rose to fame as a WAG at just 20 years old. Coleen and Wayne are married and they celebrated their ten-year anniversary in 2018. However, Wayne's repeated cheating has strained the relationship over the years. They have four children together, Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass. Since 2006 Coleen has released a fitness DVD, been a style advisor for Littlewoods and even had a column with us in Closer magazine.
3 of 9Cheryl
How could we forget Cheryl as a WAG? Back then, 23-year-old Cheryl was a popstar in Girls Aloud who had just married Ashley Cole. Nowadays, Cheryl is a household name and a worldwide celebrity in her own right. After splitting from Ashley in 2010, she had a successful (well, successful-ish) solo career, was a judge on The X Factor and was the face of beauty brand L'Oreal. She married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016 but they divorced three months later. Most recently, Cheryl separated from One Direction singer, Liam Payne, who she has a baby son called Bearwith.
4 of 9Abbey Clancy
Abbey first grabbed our attention in 2006 as one of the finalists in Britain's Next Top Model. She began dating Peter Crouch that same year and the pair are now married with three kids Sophia Ruby, Liberty Rose and baby Johnny. Lingerie model Abbey went on to win Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and she returned to Britain's Next Top Model as the show's presenter. Not bad work, eh?
5 of 9Danielle Lloyd
Danielle Lloyd was dating footballer Teddy Sheringham when she gained her WAG status. At the time, her title as Miss Great Britain was a controversial matter and she was later stripped of it. Fast forward to now and Danielle has appeared on TV shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Total Wipeout, The Weakest Link and even Come Dine With Me. She has three sons, Archie, Harry and George with her now ex-husband Jamie O'Hara. Danielle gave birth to a fourth child with her husband Michael O'Neill, Ronnie, in 2017.
6 of 9Elen Rivas
Elen Rivas was engaged to Frank Lampard at the time of the 2006 World Cup, and was a permanent fixture in the WAG circle. After splitting from Frank after a seven-year relationship, she dated Peter Andre, appeared on Dancing On Ice and now looks after her two daughters Luna and Isla while working as a model. Frank has since married TV presenter Christine Bleakley and they've welcomed their daughter Patricia into the world.
7 of 9Louise Owen
Despite being married to one of the most famous footballers at the time, Louise Owen wasn't your stereotype WAG. She has always managed to keep her distance from the limelight. Her passion is rescuing race horses and she currently lives in Wales with her husband Michael and their four children, Gemma, James, Jessica and Emily.
8 of 9Carly Zucker
Now known as Carly Cole after marrying midfielder Joe Cole in Chelsea in 2009, Carly loved to party during the 2006 World Cup (we know the feeling). She then spent two weeks in the jungle during I'm A Celeb in 2009 before being the third to be booted out. Carly and Joe have had three children, Ruby, Harrison and Max together.
9 of 9Alex Curran
Former nail technician Alex Curran began dating Liverpool player Steven Gerrard in 2002. She was one of the leading figures in the 2006 WAG squad. The pair married in 2007 and they have had four children together, Lexie, Lio, Lord, Lilly-Ella. Fashion lover Alex has released a perfume, fronted a Lipsy campaign and written a weekly shopping column for a national newspaper.
And Danielle admits her sons are in awe of their new baby sister, often racing through the doors for hugs after school, though she admits Ronnie wasn’t exactly sure at first.
“When I came home from hospital, we sat in the living room, and they held her one-by-one. Harry was the cutest, he said, ‘Mummy, every time I look at her, my heart melts’ and he would well-up. Ronnie was a little jealous at the start. He did struggle, what with him being the baby for so long.
“I took her into his bedroom one night and he yelled, ‘She doesn’t belong in here!’ Now he loves her and keeps kissing her feet – in a few years they’ll be pushing toy prams together!”
Despite her longing for a baby girl, which even saw her contemplate controversial gender selection abroad, Danielle admits she feared she may never have been able to fulfill her wish at one point. In July 2020, she revealed she’d suffered a miscarriage and felt “heartbroken” as she strongly believed she was pregnant with a girl.
She recalls, “Before I got pregnant with Autumn, I had a moment where I thought it would never happen. The miscarriage was such a horrible and hard time.
“Afterwards, I was conscious of my age and that I was edging closer to 40. Then we were meant to go to Dubai and do gender selection, but the pandemic meant we couldn’t fly, and I thought, ‘This isn’t meant to be’. When I fell pregnant naturally and found out it was a girl, I was over the moon.”
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She adds, “I still get messages criticising me for wanting to do gender selection. But if I’d had to, I would have done it. You only get one life, why shouldn’t you do what makes you happy?”
Having only just given birth, Danielle could be forgiven for taking it easy over the festive period, but the mum-of-five, whose house is adorned with decorations, foliage and two giant trees, admits she’s “gone all-out” to ensure this Christmas is extra special.
She says, “This year we have so much to celebrate, so I wanted the full works! I’m doing all the cooking. I was super-organised and placed my food order back in October. We’re having turkey, beef, gammon and lamb. I’ve ordered the boys’ Christmas Eve boxes and filled them with goodies. Obviously, Elf on the Shelf is back, which is a nightmare!
“I’m not buying anything for Autumn, because she won’t know any different, but I’ve sorted her a lovely red velvet romper with matching socks for the big day.
“I’m not stressing about the boys. Michael will go to the toy shop and get a few bits. They’ll jump on our beds at 6am, itching to open their presents!”
While Danielle’s looking forward to having a “little drink” with her Christmas dinner, it’ll be the last tipple she’ll enjoy at home for now. She explains, “I stopped drinking three months before I fell pregnant, and I’ve decided not to drink in the house any more. I felt like I drank too much during lockdown and I needed to give my body a break.
“In the evenings, I’d say, ‘I need a glass of wine to chill out’ – it works for that night, but you wake up feeling awful, which causes more stress the next day. I’ll have a glass of wine if I go out for a meal, but I won’t have alcohol at home after Christmas.”
And as she confidently strikes a pose for our shoot, it’s hard to ignore her slim figure. Danielle admits she avoided “overeating” during this pregnancy to prevent her from turning to surgery later down the line. Back in 2018, she flew to Turkey to have a boob job, liposuction and a Brazilian bum lift. She’s since revealed Michael asked her not to have any more procedures.
She says, “I haven’t been strict with myself or done anything silly, but during this pregnancy I’ve not overindulged. I didn’t eat rubbish and made a conscious effort to eat the right things. It probably has been on purpose. I did the whole ‘I’m eating for two’ thing when I was carrying the boys, overate, then felt rubbish afterwards and got liposuction. I didn’t want that to happen again this time – plus Michael’s said to me, ‘No more surgery!’
“He doesn’t want me to put my life at risk and says I look good. Don’t get me wrong, if I was sitting here feeling fat, I’d be thinking about surgery.
“I did gentle exercise until I was four months pregnant and made an effort not to put too much weight on.” She laughs before adding, “Now at least I don’t need to have lipo again!”
Astonishingly, she says she’s “halfway there” to getting back her pre-pregnancy shape, adding “I’m really happy with my body. I’ve cancelled my gym membership.”
Danielle also made headlines last week when she returned to selling raunchy photos of herself on X-rated platform OnlyFans, three weeks after having Autumn. Despite abuse from trolls, she insists she has no regrets over sharing racy snaps so soon after giving birth. She says, “I’ve had messages from people saying, ‘You’ve just had a baby – it’s disgusting that you’re on OnlyFans’ but I’m confident with my body so I might as well, and it’s nothing anyone hasn’t seen before or different from what I’ve done for lads’ mags.
“I’m not back on there full-time, especially while looking after a newborn. I’m having to take a quick selfie and post it in between breastfeeding and naps,” she laughs. “But I take it seriously. It pays my bills, it helps with everything, lets me live a good life, have nice holidays and allows me to treat the kids and make sure they’re dressed nicely. It’s not hard work and it’s good money!
“I had a conversation with my mum the other day and she said, ‘But what about the boys?’ I told her that in years to come they can Google me and see me on the front cover of Playboy, so what’s the difference? I’m not ashamed and I’d prefer to take control of my image rather then paps making money from me.”
WATCH: Danielle Lloyd on the moment she realised husband Michael was The One | My First Times
The star has also had her placenta made into tablets in the hope it’ll ward off postnatal depression, a condition she’s suffered after most of her previous pregnancies. She took the tablets after Ronnie was born and said they improved her mood. She says, “My anxiety comes and goes in waves. I felt so good after taking the tablets last time and I’m hoping they will keep me on track this time, too.”
And back in October Danielle revealed her son Harry had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. While she’s relieved he finally has a diagnosis, she says she suspected he was suffering with behavioural issues since he was two years old. She explains, “I’ve known there has been something different about Harry for a long time, and I’ve had to fight hard to find out what. It’s been a long process. He’s been seen by doctors since he was around two. With five kids, I’ve been able to tell the difference. Even though he’s so loving, he’s more hyper, loud and sensitive, and says things at the wrong time.
“He’d often get upset at why he was getting told off, or why he couldn’t keep still, but now we have a diagnosis, it’s really helped him understand that he’s not different, he just needs extra help and can still thrive.”
Meanwhile, despite having said she was contemplating trying again for a sister for Autumn, Danielle now admits there’s no chance of baby number six.
“We’re complete now, she’s my last child. Any more would be too many,” she smiles. “Michael would have a breakdown, even Archie said, ‘No more, Mum!’ They wouldn’t all fit in the car and holidays would be difficult.
“I love the newborn stage and it makes me sad to think I won’t go through that again. But I always said I wanted one more before I hit 40, and I’ve got what I’ve wanted!”