Kate Ferdinand has been candid about her hardships in the lead up to Mother’s Day, which takes place this Sunday.
Former The Only Way is Essex actress, who is married to former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, has started her very first podcast, dubbed Blended, which will be available on iTunes and other podcast platforms. The event is a part of Kate’s new passion project, in which she is working to establish a network for blended families after becoming a member of one herself through her marriage to football commentator Rio Ferdinand.
Rio, 43, and Kate, 30, are the parents of Cree, a one-year-old kid. Besides that, she is the stepmother to his three elder children — Lorenz (15), Tate (13), and 10-year-old Tia – whom he had with his late wife Rebecca Ellison, who passed away in 2015 from breast cancer.
Kate, who has been married to Rio since 2019, has been candid about her experiences as a stepmother and as a first-time mother to Cree, her biological son, in the past year. Rio and Kate: Becoming a Stepfamily, an intimate and powerful documentary produced by the BBC, will be released in 2020 by the couple.
Kate shared on Instagram the following about her latest project, which she is undertaking as a mother to her and Rio’s children: “&…. It’s finally here. I host a podcast called @blended, which is all about the highs and lows of blended life. I found it to be everything I needed and wanted when I decided to become a stepparent. We discuss topics such as life after loss, grief, love, divorce, step parenting, adoption, fostering, and other similar topics.”
She went on to explain, using a minute-long clip from the podcast, what she meant by: “This week is a little different; we begin with a Mother’s Day special, which includes the voices of women and young adults who find Mother’s Day difficult to celebrate.
“This episode was both emotionally draining and eye-opening for me at the same time. This is intended to assist anyone who is feeling lost and alone in the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day. Thank you to all of my beautiful, powerful, and open guests; you are all incredible. Also, thank you to @juliasamuelmbe for your wisdom and guidance.” “I hope it will be of assistance,” she concluded her blog post.
Kate was heard stating the following in a segment of the podcast: “Mother’s Day is traditionally seen as a day in which we honour the mothers who have influenced our lives. However, this is not always the case, and it is especially true for certain people. Mother’s Day is a holiday that I personally find difficult to celebrate.
“I am blessed to have three wonderful stepchildren as well as my biological son Cree, but regrettably, my stepchildren lost their mother when they were very young, and my husband also lost his mother at an early age.
“I’ve always battled with Mother’s Day, even before I became a biological mother; I assumed it would be better after I became a mother to Cree, but last year was perhaps the most difficult Mother’s Day I’ve ever experienced.”
She went on to say: “It’s an odd sensation to be celebrating Mother’s Day when there is such a great loss in my family, but it was also my first Mother’s Day – a day that I would have looked forward to in another life, but instead I am surrounded by my family.
“So how can I have the guts to celebrate my own birthday when everyone in my family has suffered such a profound loss? To be completely honest with you, I find it really difficult to maintain a healthy balance between those feelings.”
Kate said, “I felt very alone and alienated since I didn’t know anyone else who was in a comparable circumstance or going through the same type of thing as me.”
Rochelle Humes was one of the first of Kate’s famous friends to express their support for the actress. She made the following observation: “This is desperately needed!! Thank you very much, Kate.”
The This Morning host also posted a screenshot of the article to her own Instagram Story, where she wrote: “In celebration of today’s debut of her @blended podcast, the brilliant @xkateferdinand… Kate, I’m overjoyed and thrilled that you’re taking this step. This will provide light and comfort to a large number of individuals…”
“Thank you for using your platform and your voice in such a constructive way,” the mother of three further expressed gratitude. And Kate’s admirers and followers were quick to express their opinions as well.