I FEEL SO UGLY NEXT TO HOT PAL

Dear Coleen

I’m a teenage girl and I can’t look in a mirror these days without bursting into floods of tears because I feel so ugly.

To make matters worse, I have a good friend who is so much hotter than I am and everyone constantly compliments her.

How can I stop focusing on what other people think? I hope you can help me and don’t think this is a silly problem.

Coleen says

I don’t think you’re silly and I think it’s a common issue among teenage girls.

It’s also human nature to want what you haven’t got. I’ve just been on holiday with my 17-year-old daughter Ciara and seven of her mates and they constantly compared themselves to each other. One day, Ciara looked around the pool and said, “I feel really selfconscious with this lot.” I looked over at her with her long slim legs and figure and said, “Are you mad? Try being me! I feel like the fat girl on Love Island surrounded by you lot.”

Look, what I can tell you with the benefit of experience is that the fastest route to unhappiness in life is to compare yourself to other people in anything – looks, job, relationships, house, whatever. It’s pointless – you have to make the best of your life. Keep reminding yourself of how lovely you are. And if you need an extra boost – ask your mum and your friends. They’ll have plenty to say.

I’ve said it many times, but the greatest quality is confidence in yourself, being comfortable in your own skin and enjoying life. It’s not about trying to look “perfect”, it’s about the whole package and who you are.

Going back to Love Island (sorry!), look at the two who won it – the funniest, most real and therefore most attractive. They were surrounded by people with six-packs and surgically enhanced bodies, but people loved them because they were real. The bottom line is, if you’re not nice, no one is interested.