Many of our favourite celebrities are part of blended families and fans love seeing glimpses into their home lives. From Emily MacDonagh to Christine Lampard and Penny Lancaster, we take a look at some celebrity step-parents who share a close bond with their stepchildren. Take a look at these lovely blended family photos...
MORE: Christine Lampard's parenting guide: 7 tips the Loose Women star swears by
Penny Lancaster
Back in 2017, Penny Lancaster told HELLO! that becoming a stepmother to husband Rod Stewart’s six children was a fulfilling experience. “Being a stepmother to start with was very daunting and challenging, but it’s proved to be an honour and very rewarding,” the Loose Women panellist said.
“When I first met my husband 15 years ago, his youngest was five and the oldest was 21. So I got to see the different stages that children go through and the challenges they hold, but the rewards as well.” Rod and Penny are also parents to Aiden and Alastair.
Emily MacDonagh
Peter Andre and his wife Emily Maconagh share Amelia and Theo, but the Mysterious Girl singer is also father to Junior and Princess from his marriage to Katie Price. While they tend to keep their family life out of the public eye, Emily revealed how she felt about being a stepmother during an appearance on Lorraine back in 2017.
"I love it. They are the loveliest children. It taught me what I was doing before I had my own children. They are great," she said, adding: "I'm quite young, I guess. Maybe they see me as a big sister!"
Judging from the snippets Peter shares on social media, it's clear that the blended family enjoy spending time together - how sweet is this snap of Emily posing with Pete's eldest children at his Thriller performance?
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton shares Rex and Honey with her husband Jesse Wood, but she is also stepmum to his two teens, Arthur, 18, and Lola, 14. The radio presenter shares snippets inside their family life on social media, including their celebrations for Arthur's milestone birthday and the pretty jumper Lola made for her.
Fearne even previously revealed that being a stepmum taught her a lot about coping with family life before she had children of her own. "It doesn’t necessarily prepare you for having your own kids, but it prepares you for an element of parenthood which is about time management and learning how to keep your relationship afloat within family life," she told GoodtoKnow in 2018.
She added: "Step-parenthood was a good initiation into that because you know you’ve got lunches to make for school or school uniforms to wash, or car journeys to take them on to clubs at the weekends, and that was a real swift introduction."
Christine Lampard
Christine Lampard has often spoken about the wonderful relationship she has with her two stepdaughters, Luna and Isla, and that was clear to see when she marked Isla's 13th birthday in May with several sweet family photos.
Before welcoming her first child, daughter Patricia, with husband Frank Lampard in 2018, Christine was already well-prepared for parenthood thanks to Frank's two children. The Loose Women star said: "I have had the girls since they were four and two and they are 13 and 11 so I have been through all the toddler years, the primary and secondary school bit and teenagers are around the corner, that is preparation, although the baby years is all new to me!"
Catherine Zeta-Jones
When Catherine Zeta-Jones married Michael Douglas in 2000, she became stepmum to his son Cameron before the pair went on to have two of their own children, Carys and Dylan. The Chicago actress clearly has a close bond with all three children, as Cameron was among the first to show his support after his stepmum announcing her Casa Zeta-Jones homeware collection.
Catherine took to Instagram to share a photo of a patterned duvet cover and wrote: "The moment I fell in love with some of my first @casazetajones products!" Cameron commented: "Looks kind of like the moment I fell in love with them too."
Kate Ferdinand
Kate's husband Rio Ferdinand revealed he regularly involves his three children Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, eight, in the couple's relationship, from asking her to be his girlfriend to proposing. Speaking at a screening and Q&A for their documentary, Rio and Kate: Becoming A Stepfamily, Kate said that although she felt "judged" and "constantly compared" to their late mother Rebecca at the beginning of her and Rio's relationship, she now has a close bond with her stepchildren.
During the coronavirus crisis, she explained to her Instagram followers: "I think it's very important to take an interest in what the kids love, this is what our relationship is formed on. I paid a huge interest in their hobbies when I first met them. I made it very clear I was equally here for them and their dad. Our relationship isn't just because I love their dad, it's because I love them and want to be in their life too. I love the children so much."
Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha previously revealed how she dealt with becoming a stepmother to her husband Mark Adderley's two daughters Izzy, who was eight at the time, and Fleur, who was just three.
The Loose Women panellist, who is also mum to daughters Maddie and Kiki-Bea, revealed that Izzy thought she was a 'mad woman' when they first met! "She said 'I didn’t know we were meeting somebody.' And then this mad woman pulled up, and said 'Hello! I hear I call you Bob.' She said it was just loads of mad hair," Nadia said of Izzy's recollection.
Katherine Schwarzenegger
Chris Pratt had the sweetest thing to say about his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger's relationship with his son Jack! “My heart, my soul, my son, I feel all are so safe with her. She’s a great stepmum," Chris told E! News in February 2020.
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