‘I’m grateful to my cheating ex – I’m a lot stronger now’
Reality star Vicky Pattison chats old loves, new beginnings and why she’s grateful to be in her thirties
Vicky Pattison has had her fair share of drama over the past few years, including the very public nasty break-up from businessman John
Noble before their wedding back in 2018.
But thankfully, these days the former Geordie Shore star seems a lot happier. Now with her new man, Ercan Ramadan, who has appeared in TOWIE, she’s more loved-up than ever. And there are exciting new projects coming up for the star, too.
We catch up with Vicky, 32, to chat about how life is different in your thirties, dealing with public heartache and being happy with how you look…
Hey Vicky! So you and Ercan seem very happy together…
Ercan definitely helped me put myself back together. He’s been a really positive influence on my life. He’s such a nice guy.
How did you meet?
It’s not very romantic. We followed each other on Instagram but we were both in relationships. Then coincidentally,
With new man Ercan
Vicky with her ex, John Noble we both broke up with our partners around the same time. Three months later, he reached out to me on social media and we started talking. We took things slowly – by my standards anyway!
How do you feel when you think back to 2018?
I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs. There was a lot of public humiliation involved in my break-up [from ex-fiancé John Noble]. I was so desperate to be loved that I forced the relationship – even when there were red flags. I wanted to be married and have all the things my friends were having. I had to put myself back together in the limelight. I mean, I’d had heartbreaks before but that was a different type of pain. But I’m grateful we split. I’m a lot stronger.
What has changed for you since turning 30?
When I hit 30, I just wanted a different life. I wasn’t so interested in downing shots and slut-dropping and kissing boys any more. It’s natural that I’m going to get excited about my new food processor or do some gardening. Honestly, I get fired up about the weirdest things now.
Do you feel more body confident now you’re older?
I was wracked with insecurities and self doubt in my twenties and all I wanted was to be skinny and be attractive to men. I thought being thin would make me happy, but of course it doesn’t. I fought against my body type, I’m naturally super curvy. I don’t know where the pressure came from. If anything, at my thinnest, I was the most miserable. At one point, I was counting how many blueberries were on my porridge. I just had a really unhealthy obsession with a number on the scales. But I’m different now. I’m about fitness and nutrition. I want to be strong and healthy and mentally well.
So you’re happy?
Yes, I’m very happy and content. There’s too much talk about your thirties being about hangovers that last three times as long, bad crow’s feet or your biological clock ticking. Sure I did feel those things turning 30. I got really nervous and really scared. But nobody warned us about this wonderful self-acceptance that I was going to experience. That’s what we should be talking about.
You spoke out on social media about your struggles while we were in lockdown. How are you feeling now?
No matter how positive or resilient you are, there are always low moments. We’re all human. I take my responsibility on Instagram very seriously. I could easily just post nice pictures of me in a bikini or me having a drink like my life was perfect every day. But what good is that doing to everybody? It’s an unrealistic standard and it makes people feel bad about themselves. Comparison is the thief
Eating well is part of Vicky’s new routine
Vicky says she was miserable at her thinnest
of joy. Lockdown was tough! I wanted to normalise the bad days, too. The response I got was always overwhelmingly nice. Don’t get me wrong, if you managed to learn Latin in lockdown or completed an amazing body transformation, then hats off to you. But for every one of those, there are 10 people who have locked themselves in the cupboard one afternoon and had a glass of wine.