Alexandra Burke has spoken out about her hidden health battle and how she managed to ‘completely cure herself’.
The X Factor winner, 36, was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a common condition that affects the digestive system, in 2021.
It causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time.
‘My IBS is completely cured and in a really good place. Before I didn’t have a lot of healthy habits because of being fearful of my IBS but I completely changed that. And now, as a mum of two, I’m all about my kids creating healthy habits from a young age,’ Alexandra told the Daily Star.
‘It’s all a domino effect, you need to look after yourself and I just wasn’t doing that at the time.
Alexandra Burke has spoken out about her hidden health battle and how she managed to ‘completely cure herself’
‘No wonder I had IBS because I was so fearful of anything feeling weird in my body. But now I’m living a really healthy lifestyle.’
Alexandra, who has two children with her fiancé Irish footballer Darren Randolph, previously spoke about her struggle with the condition on This Morning.
She revealed she first began to struggle in her early 20s just after she had appeared on the X Factor.
The singer admitted: ‘It got to the point where I felt out of control and it was an out of body experience,’ but added that she felt too embarrassed to speak out about it at the time even though she was in ‘agony’.
In 2021, Alexandra’s symptoms reached a new intensity while rehearsing for a tour of the show Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The singer finally sought medical help and was diagnosed with IBS.
She said: ‘The joke of it was after I had all these symptoms I would also think that it was anxiety or something else that triggered it. Anxiety played a massive part in it all.
‘I was skipping meals before shows because all of the pain would come after eating. I’d be hungry and then do a show.
‘It just was so bad and it got to the point where I thought to myself “I can’t take this anymore.”‘
The X Factor winner, 36, was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a common condition that affects the digestive system, in 2021 but can now manage it
Looking back, Alexandra admitted she’s amazed it took her so long to seek help.
‘All the signs were there — the pain, cramping and bloating which followed every meal — but I didn’t realise it was IBS,’ says Alexandra, who is talking publicly about her condition for the first time. ‘As a person in the public eye, you want to uphold this perfect image.’
But she regrets not consulting her GP sooner. ‘I didn’t want to trouble her with something I thought so many people were experiencing,’ she said.
Alexandra is currently on cloud nine as she and and footballer Darren announced their engagement last month after he popped the question.
The Strictly Come Dancing runner up shared the happy news of her engagement in September with snaps of her partner down on one knee.
Alexandra looked stunning in a green lace midi dress for the romantic proposal – with a table covered in flower petals seen behind them.
The singer captioned the snaps with ring emojis as a host of stars wished the couple congratulations.
The couple welcomed their first child in June 2022 and second in September 2023, choosing to keep their names private.
Opening up on her engagement, Alexandra added on Capital EXTRA Breakfast: ‘Don’t, it was magical! The engagement was so well thought through. Like, Darren is… I didn’t even know how romantic he could actually be until that day!
‘The post we’ve put up on Instagram – is ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong. That’s my granddad’s song, and that song played just before it happened. And I thought, ‘If he doesn’t do it now, it is never going to happen for us – this is just an anniversary!’
Alexandra is currently on cloud nine as she and and footballer Darren announced their engagement last month after he popped the question.
‘But when I walked out into that terrace and saw him with the babies, oh my god. Oh my god. I just couldn’t stop crying! I’m getting tearful now, because it’s the man of my dreams.
So, I’m just grateful. I’m so grateful. My gosh, I’ve got him, my little family, and I just couldn’t ask for more. God has really blessed me.’
