Louise Redknapp has said she was ‘heavily judged’ and seen as a ‘terrible’ mum whenever she enjoyed a night out after her split from ex-husband Jamie.
The singer, 46, shares sons – Charley, 16, and Beau, 12 – with the retired footballer, 47, but says after their divorce she faced ‘accusations’ about leaving her children for a meal or holiday with pals.
In an extract from her upcoming book shared with Metro, Louise lamented parenting ‘double standards’ and reflected on how her relationship with her boys has changed.
‘I was so heavily judged’: Louise Redknapp has said she was seen as a ‘terrible’ mum whenever she enjoyed a night out after her split from ex-husband Jamie (pictured in February 2020)
Louise said: ‘When I split up with Jamie, the accusations came in thick and fast. I was so heavily judged, and it amazed me that so many people, including other women, made assumptions about what I was or wasn’t doing when it came to my kids.
‘If I go on holiday with some of my girlfriends, or even just out for a meal in the evening and I’m photographed, it feels like I’m suddenly being seen as a terrible mother.
‘I noticed real double standards: women are simply expected to be with their kids, whereas if fathers spend any time with their children, then suddenly they are ‘Super Dad’ or Dad of the Year.’
Family: The singer also slammed the ‘double standards’ of parenting in an extract from her upcoming book You’ve Got This (pictured with her two sons Charley, 16, and Beau, 12)
Frustrated Louise added that men are made out to be going above and beyond or said to be babysitting when they’re simply looking after their own children.
Making it very clear she’s not criticising her ex, who is a ‘fantastic’ father, Louise wrote that she thinks society needs to adjust its thoughts on parenting and view mums and dads as equals.
Louise also admitted that she’s probably let her sons get away with things they wouldn’t have before her divorce as she ‘doesn’t want to be the cross’ parent.
The beauty discussed the change of going from playing ‘good and bad roles’ when in a relationship to wanting to make every memory good as a single parent.
Revelations: The singer, 46, Louise recently admitted she ‘ran’ from her 21 year marriage to Jamie, who she called a ‘fantastic’ dad to their two boys (pictured together in 2016)
She added that she sometimes even worries after disciplining her children if she won’t be with them the next day.
It comes after Louise also revealed her dating app woes as she tries to find love again, three years after her split from Jamie. Jamie has since moved on with Swedish model Frida Andersson-Lourie, 37, who is a mother-of-four and lives in London.
Louise explained in another extract from her upcoming book that after speaking to one man she was ghosted, still not receiving a reply after five entire months.
And while saying that the ‘new world of dating is difficult to navigate’, Louise did add that her teenage son Charley has been giving her some advice.
According to The Sun, Louise wrote: ‘It’s been five months and no reply. I’m just sitting here wondering what was it that I said? Are bike rides that unattractive?
Coming soon: In the extract from her new book You’ve Got This, Louise also discussed wanting to make every memory good as a single parent
‘Basically, this is a way to say the new world of dating is so opaque and difficult to navigate.’.
And luckily for Louise, she’s had help from her sons in the dating world with Charley, 16, warning her off taking conversations with potential beaus onto Snapchat.
Explaining how she once told the teenager a man she was talking with wanted to swap onto the app, Charley ‘immediately was like ‘Mum, no’, as apparently dates ‘just want to share explicit photos’.
Louise also admitted that whoever she does end up having a relationship with will have to be able to deal with the ‘circus’ and all the attention she gets being famous.
It comes after her candid chat with You magazine in which she detailed her feelings about the split with Jamie, three years on.
Having rediscovered her love for herself following her stint on Strictly Come Dancing, the singer admitted: ‘I didn’t want to lose so much of the good feeling.
‘Before anyone could stop me, I just ran, as fast as the wind would take me. I never once looked behind, until maybe too late.
‘I should have paused for a minute and thought about other people and had just a bit more time to work out why I felt I couldn’t do it any more. All I know is, I wish I’d tried [to save the marriage].’
Speaking about her post-divorce return to performing, she said: ‘I don’t think I would have been in the West End or made a new album if I hadn’t maybe f**ked things up. There’s a part of you that thrives on the fight, to make you what you are.’
Louise explained that she was so tormented by her split that she contemplated ending it all by stepping out in front of a bus.
But the prospect of leaving her sons Charley, now 16, and Beau, now 12, without a mother forced her to brush aside her suicidal thoughts.
Candid: Louise recently admitted she ‘ran’ from her 21 year marriage to Jamie and had thoughts of ending her life amid the divorce’ (pictured in January)
Recalling her turmoil, she said: ‘I would be standing in Central London, watching the buses whizz past and I would wonder whether it would be easier for a bus to take me out.
‘All it would take was for me to step out at the wrong moment and it would all be over.’
Asked if suicide was a genuine possibility, she replied: ‘I think so, for a split second. I was like, ‘I would really like this all to go away.’
‘But I’ve got two little men I know need me more than anything. That’s where my selfishness stops – when it comes to them.
‘I remember looking at Selfridges and the buses and being like, ‘God, I’ve got two people that need me, and they’re the loves of my life, so…’ They’re the only thing that kept me going. Them and my mum.’
- For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
Difficult time: In her emotive interview with You magazine, Louise explained that she was so tormented by her split from Jamie that she contemplated ending it all by stepping out in front of a bus (pictured together in 2016)