“Dad would’ve been an amazing grandad… I feel him around”
Charlotte on missing Les, her baby bump, food cravings and Katie Price-style wedding plans
With just a few weeks left of her pregnancy, Charlotte Dawson reveals she’s feeling good as she poses naked for our shoot. “I’m bumpilicious at the moment,” she laughs. “I feel like a completely different person with a bump, but I’ve loved watching my body grow, it’s magical.”
The reality star – who is expecting a baby boy in January with her fiancé Matt Sarsfield – hasn’t had an easy few weeks after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
She says, “At first, I thought it was all my fault as all I do is eat bad food. I was worried people were going to say, ‘I told you so’ because I’ve been eating chips and gravy for most of my life. But it can come on with pregnancy, it’s all quite scary but now I realise how common it is.”
Charlotte, 28, now has to take a small blood sample four times a day to check her blood sugar levels and has had to adapt her diet to ensure her levels remain stable.
She says, “Needles have always freaked me out, so to be doing this is scary, and I’ve had to completely change my diet. I was only diagnosed two weeks ago and it’s already the longest I’ve ever been without a chippy or Maccies! I’ve been having things like porridge and berries, and spinach and mushroom omelettes, which seem to be keeping my blood sugar levels steady.”
HEIGHTENED EMOTIONS
Generally, gestational diabetes goes away once the baby has been born, and Charlotte admits she is looking forward to a treat meal, saying, “I can’t wait till this baby has popped out, I’ll literally be straight to McDonald’s. I’ll deserve one by then!”
Charlotte – who is the daughter of comedian Les Dawson, who sadly passed away when she was just eight months old – admits that she has felt particularly hormonal during the pregnancy, and at one point took a break from social media as cruel troll comments were upsetting her.
She says, “When you get these keyboard warriors trying to be nasty, it’s horrible. I’ve had people saying, ‘I feel sorry for your child’ or, ‘I’m sick of seeing the dancing belly pictures’, I’m just trying to have a laugh. It has got to me a lot, your emotions and hormones are heightened when you’re pregnant.”
Last week, she also posted a picture of herself looking upset on Instagram, telling her 1m fans she was “drained”, constantly crying and that some days are “so down.”
And she’s struggled with the idea that her dad won’t be around to meet her son, too. Charlotte even admitted to breaking down in tears when she had a recent scan and saw her late father’s face in the image.
DISORGANISED
“That was crazy, but I did find it comforting. I’m always thinking about my dad, he would have been the most amazing grandad and I wish he was here. It’s so sad,” she says. “I definitely feel him around, though. And the baby will have the surname Dawson like dad, so he can continue the name on.”
For now, Charlotte is preparing for the birth in just eight weeks, although she’s been told she may have to be induced early due to the fact gestational diabetes can cause babies to grow more quickly.
“I’m so disorganised and knowing me he will pop out any day and I’ll have nothing ready. I can’t even shave my foo-foo because I can’t get to it!” she laughs.
But before he arrives, Charlotte says she and Matthew will be enjoying their last festive period as just the two of them.
“Me and Matthew will spend it at home, we’ll have matching PJs and then I’ll wear my ‘chunky but funky’ hoodie,” she laughs. “We’ve decorated the house top to bottom. Next year we’ll have a baby ripping down the decorations, so we’ll enjoy them while we can!”
TEN BRIDESMAIDS
After getting engaged in September, Charlotte had planned to get married next year, but she’s postponed due to the pandemic.
She says, “I’ll have at least ten bridesmaids, so there is no way I could stick to a wedding with just 15 people. I think we’ll wait a few years now because I want a massive wedding in a castle. Katie Price, here we go again! I loved that wedding [Katie’s to Peter Andre], everyone wanted to be Katie!”
And Charlotte says she and Matthew would like more children, too. She adds, “I’ve always wanted a boy and a girl, but I like a full house so I might end up having five!”
She used to be a party girl and appeared on Celebs Go Dating when she was single, but Charlotte admits she can’t believe how different life is now.
“I’ve had a good life and a good party, haven’t I?” she says. “But things are so different now – I’m pregnant and engaged, I’m just so grown up!”
‘I might end up having five kids!’