Binky Felstead reveals she ‘freaked out' over horrifying post-baby health issue & was swamped with hundreds of messages
The mum-of-three, 35, recently revealed that she had been diagnosed with gum disease which was destroying her bone and needed urgent attention.
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She bravely shared the health issue with her Instagram followers and was inundated with hundreds of messages from mums suffering with the same condition.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Binky says: "I actually put the gum thing online because I had no idea what it was and if it was common.
"I was really worried about it and I actually only learnt through social media. By the way, hundreds of messages I got from other parents, other women, saying they've got the same.
"I think the old wives tale is that you lose a tooth per child. I don't know, I'm freaking out, I'm going to have a tooth in ten years."
Mum to daughter India, eight, from her past relationship with Josh 'JP' Patterson and sons Wolfie, three, and Wilder, one, with husband Max Darnton, Binky uses her platform to give an honest account of motherhood – warts and all.
She continues: "Anyway, there's lots of not so glamorous things that happen after giving birth and having children.
"I mean, I've started having to do my greys. I think it's all fun and games, and obviously the good outweighs the bad.
"I think it's really important to talk about those things on social media. It calmed me down knowing how common this was and I've got some really great recommendations.
"I'm hoping I can do the same with other people. Like my son's sesame allergy, helping to get these things desensitised and kind of being open and honest and talking about things like having cancerous cells, getting a smear test.
"I'm using my platform for helping and educating in any small way I can."
Binky feels her family is now complete, though admits she would like to add one more child to her brood.
Eight years on from leaving Made In Chelsea, she says she finally feels like she has her "s**t together".
"I feel like I've had child after child, and I've kind of been in the woods slightly, feeling a little bit kind of out of it," she admits. "And now I feel like I'm kind of getting my my Mojo back."
Though as happy as she is, Binky isn't immune from the challenges that face mums and dads up and down the country.
She's teamed up with Heinz to promote its new Mr. Men Little Miss pasta sauce in a bid to make mealtimes that little bit easier and tastier.
The release of the smooth Bolognese sauce, which contains 100 percent natural ingredients and three vegetables, comes after new research found over a third of parents struggle getting their children to eat veg.
Binky says: "I think all meal times are pretty stressful, and I've gone down the route of kind of creating beautiful masterpieces that have taken me hours to make, and I put them in front of my children, and there's vegetables in there. There's everything you could think of that's like going to shove goodness in them, and of course they roll their eyes, push their plate away, and they can go completely silent on me.
"So I have to take myself off into a different room, just to kind of calm down and just kind of breathe after being completely
shot down by my children.
"I've just realised that if there's any easy,
nutritious, yummy thing out there like this amazing sauce Bolognese sauce. It's a bit of a no brainer, really."
Adding to the fun for kids is the inclusion of new character Mr. Ridiculously Good on the label.
Away from family life, Binky has been filming the second run of Beyond Chelsea, the Made In Chelsea spin-off following the lives of original stars Binky, Lucy Watson and Rosie Fortescue.
Binky pitched the idea to telly bosses last year after being constantly asked what the cast members were up to now and is delighted with how it's been received.
And she's also launching her first kidswear range with Marks & Spencer which she calls a "pinch me" moment.
She says: "I mean, I've had my first bra fitted at Marks and Spencers. I've grown up with Marks and Spencers. So that was a really cool career highlight."
The new pasta sauce will be available nationwide in Tesco from 23rd July and other retailers from the end of July, with an RRP of £3.00 and an introductory offer of £1.75.
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