Ex Love Islander Dani Dyer on the 'pressure' and 'loneliness' of being a single mum
Former Love Island winner Dani Dyer has opened up about life as a single mum, admitting that she felt a lot of "pressure".
To recap, the 25-year-old became a single parent last year when her ex, Sammy Kimmence, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to his involvement in a scam that stole almost £34,000 from pensioners.
Since then, Dani has started dating footballer Jarrod Bowen, but has been reflecting on the past year which saw her raising her son, Santiago, alone. "I honestly wasn't prepared for the rush of hormones," Dani told the BBC upon announcing that she's joining Tiny Happy People as an ambassador. "It was a bit hard for me at the beginning. I really did struggle."
The ex Love Islander went on: "I’ve definitely learned that I am a lot stronger than I thought I was. At the beginning, I really did doubt myself being a mum, but now I've definitely changed and grown as a person." Looking back on tough times, Dani added, "I remember sitting there thinking, 'I don't know how I'm gonna do this?' 'How am I gonna look after this baby?'"
She also recalled how pressure to breastfeed left her feeling deflated. "I always used to think, 'Why can't I breastfeed?' I really, really struggled with that. I put so much pressure on myself," the reality TV star said. "I shouldn't have compared so much. I shouldn't have looked online. I should have just enjoyed my baby bubble and just gone with it."
"I think being a mum can sometimes be really lonely, and it is important to speak out and share that," she said, pointing out that it's one of the reasons she sought support from other mothers. "You want to talk to other mums, you want to know how they're getting on and just having that positive support around you is so important," Dani emphasises. "You sometimes need to offload and go, 'You know what? I’ve been up all night. Have you got any tips? Is there anything I can do?'"
Despite the struggles she faced as a single mum, Dani is looking forward to the future she has with her son – and to the help she'll be able to give other new mums as an ambassador for Tiny Happy People. "Everything is for Santi and I feel like that's just been really, really important for me," she said. "Everything I've done is for him, he’s everything to me. He’s completed my life."
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