Sam Faiers and Billie Shepherd
Sam Faiers and Billie Shepherd share their tips on motherhood and why they’re not perfect parents
This October will mark a decade in television for Essex sisters Sam Faiers and Billie Shepherd. They’ve come a long way since their TOWIE days – both run successful clothing businesses and they’re currently appearing in the seventh series of The Mummy Diaries.
Billie, who’s mum to Nelly, five, and Arthur, three, with husband Greg, is preparing to move house, while Sam, 29, who has Paul, four, and Rosie, two, with partner Paul Knightley, has been dealing with the stress of her primary school applications. And the siblings still have so much to show us
– in fact, they still want to be on our screens in another decade!
Here, Sam and Billie share their parenting advice, the pain of mum guilt and their plans to film The Grandma Diaries…
Hi ladies. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given on motherhood?
Sam: I always think a good piece of advice is, no matter how many books you read or how many people tell you how to do something, you should always just trust your own instincts, as you know your baby better than anyone else. It’s a feeling from inside. If someone’s telling you what you should be doing, always trust your gut.
Before you were both mums, what was the main thing you underestimated about being parents?
Billie: The tiredness and juggling everything.
Sam: The emotional rollercoaster.
You have the happiest moments of your life, but at the same time you cry about so many things. Milestones, like when Nelly was going to school for Billie. Also mum guilt. It’s really emotional and it doesn’t get easier. It gets harder as they get older.
What do you think makes The Mummy Diaries so popular?
Billie: I think it’s the fact that we keep it real and give everything. We don’t gloss over things. When the kids have tantrums and meltdowns, we show it. Sam: It’s the highs and lows. Mums and dads can relate to what we do. We’re not perfect. Although we live sometimes glamorous lifestyles, we’re very normal in terms of how we parent and how the family household is.
You’ve both been on TV for almost 10 years. Where do you see yourselves in another 10 years?
Sam: I’ll be turning 40! I’ll be in my prime. I think 40 will be a good time.
Billie: I hope to have more time on my hands, but still be working. I always want to work. I will never, ever not work. It gives you something to get up for. I get mentally stimulated by work. So I’ll still be working, but I’d also like to be on a yacht in the South of France!
Casting your mind back 10 years, if someone had told you where you’d be in your lives now, what would the biggest surprise be?
Sam: It would be the fact that I had my own show that was going to last for so long. It’s seven series and we’ve been doing it for four and a half years. Lots of people get their own show, but the fact that we’re so far on, it’s incredible. We put a lot of hard work into it, but we’re so grateful that it keeps going. So it will be the teenager diaries and the grandma diaries!
Sam & Billie:the Mummy Diaries is on the ITV Hub