But TOWIE star Lydia, 23, has revealed Debbie is actually a super mum and has fostered around 250 children.
Over the past 22 years, Debbie and her partner Dave have provided a home for children in need – despite the fact she originally wanted to pursue a career in fashion.
Speaking to Reveal magazine, Debbie said: “It sounds crazy but I was never fond of children. In my twenties I was a fashion buyer when I got pregnant by accident with my eldest daughter, Georgia, who’s now 24.
“Just a few months later, I got pregnant again with Lydia and realised I had to find a new career.”
Using her newfound maternal skills, Debbie began fostering after a chance meeting with another foster mother.
Debbie – who is also mum to Freddie, 16, and 10-year-old Romana – confessed she worried that by fostering she was neglecting her own children.
She continued: “I’d cry with worry that I was damaging my own children. Was I being the mum they needed? How would they cope with the constant loss of seeing their new brothers and sisters leave?”
But Lydia insists growing up in such a full home had the complete opposite effect.
She said: “I was never lonely and all my friends were so jealous – our house was like being on a constant school trip, bunking up, sharing stuff, just being part of a huge fun family. I appreciated what an amazingly privileged life I had.”
And, although there are hundreds of them, Debbie and Lydia are still in regular contact with a lot of their extended family.
Debbie said: “One girl who lived with us from three to 11 is now 21, and we have lunch every week. She sent me a text saying she always thought of me as she mum, which left me sobbing my eyes out.”