Strictly Come Dancing favourite Stacey Dooley has opened up about the “hardest part” of motherhood during a candid chat on the Parenting Hell podcast.
Reflecting on her early days as a mum in 2023, Stacey shared with hosts Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe that the sheer lack of sleep was the most challenging aspect.
She said: “Can I say something right? For me, the sleep deprivation was the hardest part of motherhood, I cannot begin to tell you.”
Stacey continued to reveal that her daughter’s reluctance to sleep through the night persisted well beyond the newborn phase, only seeing improvement after her first birthday.
She added: “The first year, my baby didn’t sleep for one night and I’m not exaggerating. She first slept (through) the night, when she was 14-months-old.”
When Stacey mentioned that ‘sleeping through’ meant from 10pm to 4am, Josh couldn’t hide his surprise, responding with a shocked: “F****ng hell that’s not sleeping through, Stacey!”
Despite the tough times, the 38-year-old broadcaster admits she played a role in her own sleep struggles, confessing: “I totally underestimated the lack of sleep, and it’s my own fault, I went in so unprepared, I didn’t do one antenatal class I didn’t listen to one podcast, I didn’t read any books.”
Since beginning her career in broadcasting back in 2008, Stacey is well-established as one of the most successful names in documentary making.
She has highlighted numerous significant issues through her hard-hitting documentaries such as ‘Young Sex For Sale In Japan’, ‘Stacey Dooley in the USA’ and ‘Beaten By My Boyfriend’.
Her immense contribution to television was acknowledged in 2018 when she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to broadcasting.
Stacey met her husband, Kevin Clifton, during a TV appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.
The duo fended off competition to make it all the way to the final and pick up the top prize.
And, Stacey and Kevin weren’t the only dance duo to form a romance in the sixteenth series of the show, as runners-up, Joe Sugg and Diane Buswell announced their relationship after the show.