Love Island icon Shaughna Phillips has opened up about her daughter Lucia's father for the first time since he was arrested for drug offences when Shaughna was 30 weeks pregnant earlier this year.
Real estate agent Billy Webb has since been sentenced to nine years in prison, which sadly means he won't be released until his daughter is nine years old, leaving Shaughna to raise her daughter as a single mum.
The normally very raw and open winter Love Island star has remained tight-lipped about the arrest of her ex and how it will affect her daughter, until now; revealing where things stand in the latest episode of new podcast Oh, Baby with Shaughna and Holly, which she records alongside her best friend and fellow mum, Holly Connolly.
On the latest episode of the podcast, Shaughna revealed that she's well aware that her fans are keen to know the details of Billy's arrest and whether he will be involved in baby Lucia's life and believes her own podcast is the right platform to open up fully.
She bagan by telling listeners, "I feel like people that know me and people that have followed me since Love Island, they kind of deserve this. Like I said, I've shared everything, and they deserve for me to be as honest as I can with them. The only thing that's difficult is that I need to bear in mind that one day, Lucia may listen to the words that I say, may read things that I've said.
"So I've always got that in mind, and I'm always going to be respectful, and I'm always going to remember that this is Lucia's dad at the end of the day, and I'm never going to bash him because it's her dad, and I'd never want her to read anything like that. But ultimately, there's obviously things that have happened, and I need to talk about it, so what better way than to share it with you guys? This is my safe space, so please be gentle with me."
The Love Island star went on to confirm whether or not Billy is currently involved in Lucia's life as a father.
Before confirming either way, Shaughna stressed, "I want to just put it out there that you can judge me all you want, but please don't let me know, because I feel like unless you've been in this position, unless you've been in this position, you can't really have an opinion on it. Because before I was in this position, before I had a baby, if you had asked me would I ever, ever take my child into a prison, the answer would be absolutely not. Anyone that does that is crazy. And then, lo and behold, I'm now in this position. And I think the thing is, we're always going to be co-parents. And I know that me and my dad had the best relationship ever, and to me, my dad is the best person in the world. And I don't want Lucia to think differently of her father."
She confirmed, "So I take her to see him. She's not going to have any idea, and I would never, ever stop him from seeing her, ever.
Shaughna concluded, "At the end of the day, this is where Lucia's dad is. This is where my co-parent is, and we need to just need to be amenable and roll with the punches."
Shaughna gave birth to her daughter in April 2023. In a previous interview with Closer, she called motherhood “the best”, revealing that she and Lucia couldn't be closer, “She is my best friend – she doesn’t really have a say in it. I love her so much. I actually think she’s a poser and that she is made for this life. Way more than I am!”
Oh Baby! with Shaughna Phillips and Holly Connolly is available wherever you get your podcasts.