I’ve made mistakes… but I don’t beat myself up, says Jacqueline Jossa as she talks Dan Osborne & reacting to trolls
The EastEnders icon also talks about body image and her hopes for her young daughters
SHE may have missed out on an NTA gong last week, but EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa still has plenty to smile about.
With her marriage to former Towie star Dan Osborne finally back on track after months of speculation and their daughters Ella and Mia settled at school once more, Jacqueline is in good spirits when she joins us for an exclusive interview – though there’s no question it’s been a trying year for the star.
Married to Dan, 34, since 2017, the couple have weathered their fair share of ups and downs but rumours reached fever pitch in March this year that the relationship was over for good, when the pair released a statement confirming they’d split.
They later appeared to put the drama behind them and enjoyed a ‘make or break’ holiday in Mexico, before taking their children, including Dan’s son Teddy, from a previous relationship, on a family holiday to Gran Canaria last month.
Clearly things are now back on track and in response, Jacqueline is quick to heap praise on her husband – especially when it comes to fatherhood.
‘MAKE OR BREAK’ HOLIDAY
“Dan is the best dad in the whole entire world, I feel like I’m so lucky” she gushes. “He’s so hands on and in their lives and he’s just absolutely amazing.”
When asked what their parenting style is, she replies, “I’m definitely a fun parent. I like to do fun things. I like to get stuck in.
“But at the same time, if they’re going to ask permission for something, they’re going to ask Dan first.
“They know it, I know it. But there isn’t really a good cop/bad cop in our house, to be honest.”
Obviously giddy over her hubby, Jacqueline is equally as doting of Ella, ten, and seven year old Mia. Motherhood is clearly everything to her.
That said, she’s refreshingly honest about the realities of being a working parent and the judgement that can come from cruel mum-shaming trolls.
“You know, it’s not easy parenting,” she says. “It’s not. And a lot of people don’t have what I have. I’ve got my mum, I’ve got my dad, it does take a village. I’m working, Dan’s working. It’s not easy.”
And in a world where seemingly every female celebrity, from Frankie Bridge to Stacey Solomon is mum shamed, has Jacqueline herself ever faced backlash over her parenting choices or the fact she’s a working mum?
“Honestly, I don’t think I have ever been mum shamed, unless I have and I forgot,” she says.
“I don’t really pay attention to negative trolls, they’re just very sad humans.
MUM SHAMING
“Maybe back in the day a negative comment would eat me up more than a positive one, and I’d probably take that in more. But honestly, now I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid.
“You have to have the confidence in yourself that you’re doing a good job. There is no such thing as mum shaming!
“You can’t shame me! It only exists in the world if that’s what you want to call it, but I don’t care what you say about me as a mum. I’m a good mum, I’m a fantastic mum.
“You crack on. It’s just an opinion. Everyone’s got one.”
I don’t really pay attention to negative trolls, they’re just very sad humans
Jac Jossa
Jacqueline, 32, concedes that no matter what, you can’t please everyone.
“Everybody mothers differently, don’t they?” she says. “Everyone does things in their own way and I think that’s a really important thing to sit with: You can’t please everyone.
“There’s always going to be someone that doesn’t like the way you did something, and that’s okay. And you’re not always right either.
“You might do something that actually makes you think: ‘I’m not gonna do that again. That didn’t really work.’”
PARENTING MISTAKES
We probe her on the mistakes she’s made with her kids.
“I mean, there’s probably absolutely loads of examples,” she laughs. “But I wouldn’t beat myself up about it. I just brush myself off and try again.
“But it’s not easy. So yeah, I don’t like it when people judge other mums. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous, because if you don’t walk in their shoes, how can you judge, you know?”
While Jacqueline is able to brush off criticism from faceless keyboard warriors, when it comes to her own situation, working long hours on EastEnders, how does she deal with the inevitable mum guilt?
I don’t care what you say about me as a mum. I’m a good mum, I’m a fantastic mum
Jac Jossa
“I don’t feel it from Mia and Ella, as in they really couldn’t care less, but they are at the age where they love it when different people pick them up, it’s more fun,” she explains.
“They call or FaceTime me if they ever miss me or need me. Sometimes I do get mum guilt, but I get that regardless. I think it’s just in us, isn’t it?
“I know a lot of dads that work, who I work with, who feel it. I suppose it just depends. I think it’s a parent thing. I don’t think it’s just a mum thing.”
Would she ever consider getting extra help, given how much she’s on set and the various businesses Dan works on too?
“I don’t do it all alone,” she insists. “I’m really privileged in the fact that I have people around me.
“But if I didn’t, I would need a nanny. To be at work with my current schedule and stuff, I would need one. And I don’t think there’s any shame in that.
“I really don’t like to see people shame others for having a nanny.
“I’m so lucky that I’ve got a husband that’s really, really, really hands on and a whole village of people, including school mums, if I needed them.”
Let’s hope he realises how lucky he is
By Jane Atkinson, Features Editor
WE’VE all heard the expression “love conquers all” — and in the case of Jacqueline Jossa and her marriage to Dan Osborne, it certainly seems to be doing just that.
Since marrying him in 2017, there have been multiple allegations of him cheating on her, money problems and even arrests.
She’s shown a maturity, courage and determination beyond her 32 years.
When many women would have run, she worked out Dan is the man she loves, the father of her kids and she wants to work at this.
She is sticking by him. Let’s hope he realises just how lucky he is.
NEW CAMPAIGN
Speaking of school mums, Jacqueline has teamed up with McDonald’s to support their latest campaign, Fun Football, in an effort to help bridge the ‘friendship gap’ through team sports, not just for the children but also parents looking to form better connections with other parents.
According to a new survey, one in four children feel left out at school, meaning September can often be a tricky time for kids and mums alike.
“As a mum, I know that it can be daunting, when you’re going back to school or even going to a new school,” Jacqueline says. “My kids have moved schools before, and that was super scary, not just for them but for us as well.
“But getting them into a club, like McDonald’s Fun Football, is a perfect way to make friends. I’ve also got some incredible mum friends now, in fact some of my closest friends I met through the school.”
Jacqueline’s clearly incredibly proud of Ella and Mia, the former who appears to have followed in her dad’s footsteps and is a keen footballer.
“They’re very different,” she explains. “My eldest is very witty and dry.
“She’s really hilarious. And then my little one is just a crazy, sassy queen. They’re both wicked.”
But does she have any reservations or worries about raising girls in particular?
DAUGHTER STRUGGLES
Jacqueline, who debuted on EastEnders when she was still a teenager, admits she started to care about her appearance once she’d become an actress, but hopes her daughters won’t ever worry about body image.
“You know, I never really had an opinion on how I looked until I got in this industry and then I’ve all of a sudden come to the other end of it, where I don’t really care anymore,” she insists.
“I hope that my daughters share that same sentiment and they won’t care.
“I could be being a bit optimistic, but I do think it’s slightly different now.
“I’ve never heard my kids even talk about the way they look, apart from maybe liking their hair.
“When I hear them talking, they’re not talking about things like that. So I’m not too worried about it.”
For more updates on McDonald’s Fun Football, follow @funfootballuk
