‘It took me a long time to Find my voice’
After years of feeling “not good enough”, singer and presenter Frankie Bridge reveals how she discovered self-belief
Frankie Bridge jokes she’d love to know where that elusive work/life balance is hiding. With a busy career and two young children, she has yet to find it. “People ask me how I’m doing and I can’t remember the last time I didn’t reply ‘tired’. I think anyone with kids who’s also working finds it hard to get that balance and there’s this never-ending mum guilt. Am I going to make it back for the match? Am I there enough for them? And then at the other end, worrying about whether I’ve given enough of myself to the job.”
Frankie, 33, who runs her own fitness programme with RWL, heads fashion range FW Bridge, works as a brand ambassador for Vitabiotics Perfectil and is a Loose Women regular, acknowledges she’s in the fortunate position of having ex-footballer husband Wayne, 42, at home to take some of the pressure off. They share their Surrey mansion with his parents, Wendy and Mick, who are also on hand to help with sons Parker, nine, and seven-year-old Carter.
The former Saturdays singer says, “It means we don’t have to rely on a nanny or a babysitter. We’re lucky in that everything is either me, Wayne or his mum and dad, and that’s perfect for us.”
While she might be run off her feet, she is, however, grateful to be in demand. When The Saturdays went their separate ways in 2014 after seven years, finding a new identity and going it alone was a nerve-racking prospect.
“It was daunting. I came off the last tour and went straight into Strictly, which was scary. It took me a while to find what I wanted to do and to realise that I did have a voice outside of the band.
“I’d never felt like I was very clever. I’d meet people who were really intelligent and good with words and it made me scared to speak because I haven’t got that.”
Over the years, though, she has grown in confidence and with age and experience has come the self-belief she was lacking, especially since joining the Loose Women panel in January 2021.
“I was first approached by Loose Women a year before I started, but didn’t feel I had anything to offer. I wasn’t comfortable voicing opinions, I’d never had to do it before,” she says. “But I’ve learnt to say when I don’t understand something, because there will be people watching in the same position. I can be honest about
‘I decided to take that power back and start talking’
what I think and feel without being embarrassed and that comes with confidence. I’m not confident all the time, but I know now that putting myself in uncomfortable situations generally turns out fine.”
Perhaps her biggest achievement has been her mental health advocacy. She first spoke about her depression in 2012 after a period in a psychiatric hospital and has written two books about her experiences, Open and Grow.
Putting herself forward has not been easy, but she thinks having honest conversations is important. “There have been times where [talking publicly] has affected my mental health. You take on a lot of other people’s issues and it opens up old wounds. But it’s been amazing to see how the stigma of [talking about] mental health has faded. Now we need the government to pick up the slack as people still aren’t able to get the help they need,” she says.
She was advised to remain silent on the subject of mental health in case there were repercussions for her career. But she adds, “I felt I owed it to our