She found fame and fortune in her twenties amid the party-loving TOWIE set – but after becoming a mum and reinventing herself as a fitness guru, Ferne McCann insists she’s finally found true happiness at 30.
Ferne, who hit the milestone last month, has undergone an incredible transformation since the birth of her daughter Sunday in 2017. She puts her amazing figure and inner confidence down to clean eating, regular workouts and, after a tough few years, finally learning to love herself.
“I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life,” she beams. “My old lifestyle left me bloated, lethargic and demotivated. Now I feel strong, super lean and have a real sense of strength. Back then I didn’t have anywhere near as much self-love as I do now. It’s amazing!”
The star, who is set to appear in the sixth series of her reality show, First Time Mum, later this year, reveals her lifestyle of boozy weekends, junk food and lack of discipline during her TOWIE years took its toll.
She says, “I was stuck in a vicious cycle in a lifestyle that didn’t make me feel good. I was going out with friends at the weekend, then feeling crap at the start of the week. I would then set unrealistic goals to get in shape – like wanting to train every single day, twice a day, which is just crazy! I would then feel disappointed when I couldn’t stick to it – and order a big takeaway.”
She adds, “I got to a point where I didn’t want to feel like that any more. I made the decision to set clear, realistic goals with training and overhaul my diet – and then I fell pregnant with Sunday.”
Since then she’s fully embraced her new lifestyle, with her own fitness DVD and, on her 30th birthday, launched Embodyment – an online health and fitness platform – to help other women feel empowered and regain their confidence with a range of recipes, workouts and expert tips.
Take a look at the TOWIE couples we completely forgot about
11 TOWIE couples you completely forgot about
1 of 11Mark Wright and Sam Faiers
Mark and Sam's on/off relationship goes all the way back to when she was 16 and they met on MySpace (aw, those were the days). They briefly dated during their time on TOWIE but were never able to give things a proper go before he quit the show in 2011.
2 of 11Kirk Norcross and Amy Childs
Kirk and Amy's flirtationship was one of the main storylines during the first season of TOWIE and they eventually briefly dated before splitting in 2011. In a 2013 appearance on This Morning, Kirk admitted, "I will still love Amy until the day I die - she is literally like the girl version of me. When it didn't work out, it broke my heart really... and it wasn't her fault, it was both of our fault."
3 of 11Gemma Collins and Charlie King
Gemma and Charlie briefly dated in 2012 but split after she grew concerned about his friendship with Bobby Norris. Two years later, Charlie came out as gay during an appearance on This Morning. He's still friends with Gemma and even admitted in 2017 that he would consider being the GC's sperm donor if she asked.What a turn of events that would be.
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4 of 11Lauren Goodger and Tom Pearce
Remember the days when Joey Essex's BFF Tom Pearce romanced basically every woman within a 10 mile radius of Brentwood? Lauren Goodger became one his many conquests following her split from Mark Wright but they hit the rocks when she caught wind of him bragging about their rendezvous.
5 of 11Mario Falcone and Chloe Sims
It's fair to say Chloe Sims has been unlucky in love over the years but things looked up for her when she began dating close pal Mario (fun fact: Mario's sister is queen of the jungle Giovanna Fletcher). Things moved quickly for the pair and she even admitted she loved him - causing friction with BFF Lauren Pope who'd previously dated Mario - but he wasn't ready to settle down and called things off.
6 of 11Harry Derbidge and Bobby Norris
After three years away from the TOWIE scene, OG cast member Harry Derbidge returned as Bobby Norris' boyfriend (in some very skimpy swimwear) during the cast's then annual jaunt to Marbs.Their relationship ended in tears though when Harry confessed to sleeping with his ex while on holiday in Tenerife.
7 of 11Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh
They've now found love with soap star other halves Jacqueline Jossa and Ryan Thomas but before that, Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh were an item.They began dating in 2013 but called it quits amid claims he knew about his ex Megan Tomlin being pregnant before getting with Lucy.
8 of 11Charlie Sims and Ferne McCann
Ferne McCann's on/off relationship with Chloe Sims' brother Charlie provided LOTS of dramz on TOWIE over the years, with rumours she cheated on him cropping up more than once.Eventually Charlie publicly quit the show AND dumped Ferne at the same time in a series of tweets in 2014. Awks...
9 of 11Dan Edgar and Kate Wright
Before she wed footballer Rio and became Mrs Ferdinand, Kate Wright joined TOWIE as the ex of Dan Edgar, who reportedly dumped her to star in the show.She took him back after his romances with Lauren Pope and Jess Wright but it wasn't to be and they eventually split for good.
10 of 11Shelby Tribble and Tom McDonnell
Tom McDonnell joined TOWIE alongside a whole host of newbies including Harry Lee and Chloe Brockett in 2019 and soon caught the eye of Shelby Tribble following her split from Sam Mucklow.Sam soon came back on the scene though and Shelby dumped Tom to reunite with her ex. Sam and Shelby later quit the show together and now have a child together.
11 of 11James Argent and Jasmin Walia
In between his long-running relationships with Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins, James Argent was set up on a blind date with Jasmin Walia and they appeared to hit it off. Things seemed to move too quickly for his liking though, causing him to run from her house after being introduced to her parents. Oh, Arg...
“I want to help other women be the best version of themselves,” says Ferne, who split from Sunday’s father, Arthur Collins, during her pregnancy after he was jailed for orchestrating an acid attack in a London nightclub.
“If you can fill your body with good food and get moving, it can have a huge impact on everything else in your life – from work to relationships. It’s about how it makes you feel more than how it makes you look.”
Ferne certainly practises what she preaches, working out for an hour five times a week and sticking to a healthy, balanced diet as much as possible.
“I’ll drop Sunday to nursery in the morning then have a workout,” she says. “Because of lockdown I wasn’t using my personal trainer, so I’ve been doing home workouts instead.”
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She adds, “I absolutely love cooking – breakfast could be a shake or a boiled egg with tabasco sauce, for lunch I’ll have a chicken salad, and dinner is typically a healthy salmon stir-fry. I also graze between meals on carrot sticks and houmous, or rice cakes and avocado. But I’m a chocoholic and still need some chocolate every day!”
And the star is keen not to repeat the past. She adds, “I don’t drink as much as when I was in my twenties – with juggling being a mum and work, I couldn’t deal with the hangovers! But I still love the odd glass of wine – my ultimate cheat night is a takeaway wood-fired pizza, a bar of chocolate and a bottle of sauvignon. Heaven!”
Watch: Ferne McCann teases TOWIE 10 year reunion
After recently admitting she spent much of her twenties constantly comparing herself to other women, Ferne is finally happy in her own skin.
She adds, “I’m absolutely not at my smallest – but I’ve never felt better. I’m probably most proud of my waist and like to show it off in crop-tops and high-waisted jeans!”
She adds, “Before Sunday, I was never big, but I was never ripped either. Back then, I didn’t feel as body confident. But it’s more than that – it’s self-love. That’s not an easy journey. I’ve had a baby and I’ve turned 30 – I have a whole new-found respect for my body and what it can do.”
And while she recently told Closer that dating wasn’t a priority after splitting from her City trader boyfriend back in March, she admits her confidence has turned heads.
“Three people recently told me I looked ‘very sexy’,” she laughs. “One of them was a guy! I take it more as a compliment when it’s from a girl, but it’s still nice when it’s someone from the opposite sex.”
Sign up to Ferne’s new health and wellbeing platform, Embodyment.
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