Natasha Hamilton has revealed she was too ‘frightened’ to speak up about her post-partum depression while she was in Atomic Kitten.
The pop star, 43, struggled with post-partum depression after the birth of her first son Josh in 2002.
The singer only had six weeks off work after the birth and found herself struggling when she went back on tour soon after.
Natasha described herself as being on a ‘downward spiral’ and felt she didn’t want to be in the band anymore.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: ‘I started getting really insecure and thinking, “Do I look fat? Am I sweating too much?” I’m too out of breath, my ankles hurt, my knees hurt, my hips hurt, my boobs hurt, everything hurts.
‘But I never told anyone. I couldn’t say a word to anyone because I was just frightened.
Natasha Hamilton has revealed she was too ‘frightened’ to speak up about her post-partum depression while she was in Atomic Kitten (pictured in 2024)
Natasha became pregnant with her son Josh when she was 19 and kept it a secret at first from Atomic Kitten’s management
‘My mental health detiorated and I just couldn’t cope. I had crippling anxiety. I ended up going back home and thinking I don’t know how to function in the real world.’
Natasha became pregnant with Josh when she was 19 and kept it a secret at first from Atomic Kitten’s management.
She eventually came clean after getting in trouble for falling asleep in the recording studio and later fainted in a shop.
By the time Josh was 18 months old, Natasha decided she couldn’t be in the band any longer.
This led to the group’s hiatus in 2004 as the other members, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost, decided they didn’t want to continue without her.
Natasha welcomed her daughter Kitty with husband Charles Gay in August 2023.
She is also mother to Harry, 20, Alfie, 14, and Ella, 10, from previous relationships.
The singer recently opened up about her struggles with body confidence since the birth of her fifth child in a candid social media post.
The singer only had six weeks off work after the birth and found herself struggling when she went back on tour soon after
Natasha Hamilton looked incredible in a green bikini as she opened up about her struggles with body confidence following the birth of her fifth child in a candid social media post
Taking to Instagram, the pop star showed off her figure in a green bikini as she posed with a cocktail in her hand during a trip to Ibiza.
Opening up about self acceptance, she penned: ‘If you’ve followed me for a while, your kids are probably grown up now… so you might not remember that wild transition from having a baby to trying to feel like yourself again.
‘Honestly? I’ve felt like I’ve been in a dark hole for years. Lost, exhausted, and searching for the woman I used to be.
‘This year forced me to slow down and ask myself what I really want. And the answer was simple: to be happy. But when you’re a stress-head, a worrier, and a recovering control freak, happiness can feel just out of reach.
‘Therapy helps. So does talking honestly about the tough bits.
‘After my fifth baby, my body was worn out. An emergency op after Kitty’s birth shook me to my core. I smiled through it all, but I didn’t feel like me. I didn’t feel strong or sexy. I felt like a stranger in my own skin.’
She continued: ‘Shooting “Edge of Us” should’ve felt empowering, but I was swollen, self-conscious, and trying too hard to fake confidence. It broke something in me and started a slow journey back to wholeness.
‘It’s not about body shape. It’s about belonging. About acceptance.
‘At my husband’s event in Ibiza, surrounded by bikini babes half my age, I kept my cover-up on the whole time.
‘And you know what? That’s okay. I wasn’t quite ready then. But I’m getting there.’
‘Every day, I practice loving who I am. Not just Mama Bear. But Hot Mama too,’ Natasha added.
