Beauty edit:
Glossy pout
Chanelle Hayes,
32, split from ex Matthew Bates just three months into her pregnancy in 2010 – and relations soured after she had Blakeley, now nine, as the couple argued over custody, even becoming embroiled in a public row.
She says, “It was really difficult and bitter between me and Blakeley’s dad. I wish it hadn’t been and I hope that the way we were hasn’t impacted him.”
Seven years later, she had son Frankie with Ryan Oates, but was left devastated when they split three months after she gave birth.
However, Chanelle was determined not to let history repeat itself.
“I didn’t want it to be the same with Frankie, so Ryan and I signed up to a co-parenting course,” she explains. “It’s to help parents who have separated co-parent in the best way possible. It really helped, because we listened to children whose parents had separated and they spoke about how it made them feel.
“It was heartbreaking to see the effect that bitter splits had on the kids, because often you don’t even realise and you’re too wrapped up in your own feelings. I think it really did help us be better parents.”
Chanelle added that she and Ryan now have a good relationship and co-parent Frankie well. When offering advice to other parents who have separated, she says you have to try to put your own emotions to one side.
She says, “You just need to focus on the kids. Seeing the impact of parents fighting on children while on the course really made us take a step back and think. Now we just get on with it – I think me and
Ryan will be good friends forever.
“I do get that every situation is different, and it’s not always easy. I’ve just learned you have to put negative feelings aside and remember you are both parents.”