Pregnant Ferne McCann has spoken out about her pregnancy for the first time since her ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins was arrested
Ferne McCann has opened up about her pregnancy for the first time since it was announced last month, following her now ex-boyfriend's arrest for an acid attack in London.
Arthur, who is the father of Ferne's baby, has been charged with grievous bodily harm following the attack.
Ferne, 26, has stayed silent on social media, only releasing statements through her spokesperson to confirm her pregnancy.
But she appeared in an emotional interview with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning earlier today, speaking publicly for the first time about her longed-for pregnancy.
As Phillip read out the police statement of what happened on the night that Arthur committed the attack, Ferne was seen looking very teary, glancing at the ceiling as if trying to keep her tears in.
She admitted it had been a difficult time, calling it a "stressful and surreal" situation to be in, but went on to say that she was "feeling good and positive".
Ferne said: "Because I'm pregnant, I think that has given me strength and hope to get through this."
TOWIE fans will know that Ferne has wanted a child for a while now, and she opened up about the moment she found out - which was just two weeks before the attack.
She explained that she'd missed her period and immediately rang her mum: "I think missing the period is the biggest indicator and I was really worried. I rang my mum and she said to do a test so I bought two just to be sure."
Ferne, who is just 12 weeks gone, didn't initially believe that it was happening: "I took one and it came back positive and I thought, This can't be real', I didn't believe it.
"Everyone that has had a child or is pregnant will relate to this, but until you have that first scan, you still don't believe it's happening.
"It's such a special moment. That first scan is the most amazing... It's where you bond with your baby for the very first time. And seeing it with my own eyes, I thought, 'OK, this is really happening'. So I got over the initial shock. My mum, my family got over the initial shock and I'm just so excited, I feel like this is a blessing."
The first scan is where new parents get to hear their baby's heartbeat for the very first time, and Ferne gushed over that precious moment: "It felt like a massive relief because leading up to that point you're like, 'I hope this is going to be OK, I hope everything's OK with the baby'."
"It's just a magical moment. It's hard to explain it, it's just mental being pregnant, I still can't quite believe it."
Of course, all new mums will be able to relate to the early symptoms of pregnancy – and Ferne is no exception: "I feel like I've had all of the symptoms! It started off with the nausea, crazy headaches that lead to vomiting and then morning sickness.
"I don't know why they call it morning sickness... I've been sick morning, noon, and night! I'm coming out of that stage now and I'm feeling good."
Poor Ferne has not had the easiest of pregnancies so far, and she was essentially forced into announcing the happy news much earlier than most new mums do.
Holly asked how Ferne had coped with the stress of everyone knowing much earlier than they normally would have, and she said: "I surrounded myself with family and friends and I've got such a strong support group with my mum and my friends - everyone has been so amazing.
"But that was my main concern. The reason I haven't spoken to anyone - this is the first time I'm going on record and having a chat - because when most women are pregnant they don't normally announce it or tell anyone until that three-month stage."
Ferne began to get quite emotional talking about her pregnancy, and said: "This isn't how I imagined my first pregnancy to be."
As she obviously started to think abouther situation, she began to cry as she said: "It's not about what happened. It is about this baby. I'm going to be strong, I'm going to try and keep it together... I really don't want to cry. My main concern and priority is the baby."
Ferne revealed that she was concerned that the public would judge her, saying: "I think being in the public eye was a concern for me. I thought to myself, 'Are the public going to judge me? Are they going to have an opinion, which they're entitled to?' I think that was a natural feeling to have."
Ferne started to cry again as she explained how touched she'd been by the support of the public: "I didn't need to worry. The public have been so amazing and so supportive and that is what's got me through.
"Reading through the private messages on Instagram has been so touching and so humbling. That's what I'm so grateful for because everyone's words, from single mothers to single fathers, to people that have followed my career, to people that have never even seen me on TV, everyone has been so supportive and I think that's what gets me the most when people's kindness has just been lovely."
Oh Ferne, you're making us start to well up!
Holly and Phil, both parents themselves, then asked whether she would be finding out the sex of her baby: "I'm 70% not wanting to find out, which is so unlike me! Everyone that knows me will be surprised! I'm quite an impatient person.
"I always thought, 'Oh when I'm pregnant, I'm definitely going to find out, get organised'. But now I'm in the situation I'm thinking it will be such a lovely surprise. So many of my friends that did find out said you can get organised and sort your colours out.
"But I think it's an incentive when it comes to the birth to push it out to see what you're having."
She continued: "I'm so looking forward to it. I can't wait to meet my baby. The future for me, I'm not going to say it's going to be easy, but I'm excited and I just want to be the best possible mum I can be."
Holly kindly added: "There's no doubt you'll be an incredible mum."
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Binky's sister is pregnant too and their matching bumps are SO cute!