Ferne: “I practise spiritual healing every day”
The TOWIE star turned fitness guru reveals how she’s finally found her mojo after a tough few years
She’s made no secret of her happiness since finding love with model Jack Padgett, and Ferne McCann insists she and her new man are thriving since moving in together during the latest lockdown. After she’s spent the last few years mostly single, the pair, who have known each other for five years, started dating in October last year, and Ferne recently admitted he’s The One.
“Jack is so lovely, it’s going really well,” she beams during her Zoom call with Closer. “He’s actually in the hallway now – I’ve given him a task to build a console table that came as a flatpack. So I’ll look forward to seeing how he gets on with that!”
The loved-up pair were pictured together during a sunshine break in South Africa over Christmas, and last month looking glam as they celebrated Ferne’s pal Karl’s black-tie 30th birthday party at her home. She adds, “My best friend Karl lives with us, too. It’s a busy, happy household and I love it. We even have our own WhatsApp group called “A Girl, a Guy and a Gay!” My environment has completely changed; Sunday and I are now living with two guys! But I’m really happy right now and in a great place.”
OVERWHELMED
Meanwhile, since finding fame in TOWIE in 2013, Ferne, 30, has transitioned from a party-loving reality TV star to a fitness and wellbeing guru. These days you’re more likely to find her tucked up early, sipping a herbal tea, than enjoying a late-night Chardonnay. The star has undergone an incredible transformation since the birth of Sunday three years ago, and credits her amazing figure to healthy eating, regular workouts and, after a turbulent few years, rebuilding her self-confidence. But like so many, Ferne admits she has found it tough at times to stay positive during the pandemic, often feeling “overwhelmed” as her busy work schedule ground to a halt. “I’ve had my struggles,” she tells Closer. “I had this really busy, open house with friends coming and going all the time. Sunday and I were rarely on our own. I had lots of work on, my feet barely touching the ground, and then – boom – it all stopped.”
She adds, “There were some great positives to lockdown, but some lows, too. For a time I had total FOMO [Fear Of Missing Out]. I felt like everyone was having this really great time in lockdown and I wasn’t. I think I had too much time with my own thoughts!”
The star, who recently appeared on BBC’s Celebrity Best Home Cook, reveals she has been turning to daily meditation and mindfulness techniques in a bid improve her mindset.
“For me now it’s as important as regular exercise,” she says, as she sits crossed-legged in a cosy cardigan on the living room of her Essex home. “I’ve always been interested in mindfulness and spiritual healing, but I’ve only toyed with it until recently. When the last lockdown hit, I made a commitment to do it every day, morning or evening, depending on how Sunday has slept the night before!”
She adds, “Sticking to these small, daily rituals, whether it’s meditation, yoga, writing in a journal or using my healing crystals, has made a massive impact on my life. I find that practising something every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes, gives me clarity, really calms me down and relieves stress.”
Since leaving TOWIE in 2016, Ferne has enjoyed a successful TV career, even launching her own reality show: Ferne McCann: First Time Mum Mum. And on her
30th birthday last year, she launched Embodyment, an online health and fitness platform designed to empower women.
TUMULTUOUS TIME
But despite her success, Ferne has also endured a tumultuous few years since splitting from Sunday’s father, Arthur Collins, in the early stages of her pregnancy, after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for taking part in an acid attack at an East London nightclub in April 2017.
Ferne revealed last month that she has been in therapy for the last three years
‘Therapy has been amazing for me’