She was a teenage mum, has battled her way through two very public divorces, from actors Jack Ryder and Jamie Lomas, and had to cope with the tragic death of her premature son Archie in 2009, but Kym Marsh has always dug deep and found the inner strength to bounce back. She's now happily engaged to personal trainer Dan Hooper, 31.
Here, the 38-year-old Coronation Street star shares what she’s learnt from dealing with life’s toughest challenges..
Kym Marsh on coping with divorce, loss and stress
1 of 7LOOK FOR THE GOOD STUFF IN LIFE
“After I lost my son Archie I had to look for the positives and focus on who still needed me. Being a mum makes you a stronger person because you have other people relying on you. If I'd fallen to pieces, what would my kids have done?I get my positive outlook from my dad. He had a cardiac arrest when he was just 49 and his attitude to life is to live for today. I try to get everyone in my family to think positively because I believe you get back what you put out there. It can be hard when you feel so low, but you have to look for the good stuff.”
2 of 7NEVER HAVE REGRETS
“When it comes to the journey of life I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, so I don’t have regrets. Whatever you did at that time was the right thing for you at that point and something else always comes from it.I auditioned for Popstars at the old Granada Studios and ended up back there at Corrie – that journey brought me to where I was meant to be.”
3 of 7DON’T DWELL ON THE PAST
“You can’t move on to the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one. The more you go over things from the past and get weighed down by negative feelings,the less able you are to move forward.”
4 of 7PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE
“All of us have something to deal with in life and the way I get perspective on my situation is to remind myself that there is always someone worse off than me. And be kind to other people going through stuff– if I hadn’t had help with things that have happened in my life, where would I be? Some people aren’t fortunate to have family and friends supporting them.”
5 of 7LEAN ON YOUR LOVED ONES
“Your nearest and dearest are there to help you, so lean on them when things get tough. After I lost Archie there was a time when I was shutting people out and what I should of done was let them support me. When I did, I was able to get myself through it. Surround yourself with the people who love you.”
6 of 7NEVER GIVE UP
“There will always be times in your life when things are hard or you feel down, but there’s only one way to go unless you’re prepared to sink into oblivion. I’ve always been a swimmer instead of a sinker. For instance, I was 24 before I got a career break and I’d had a lot of knockbacks before that. By then I already had two children – David when I was 18 and Emily when I was 21. Some people would see kids as a restriction, but my children were very much the opposite – a reason for me to continue to drive forward.”
7 of 7FIND WAYS TO BUST STRESS
“Working out has made a massive difference to my life – it gives me all those feelgood endorphins I used to get from eating chocolate without putting on weight! It’s a big stress buster. It’s important to find an outlet for stress – something that’s just for you.”