Kate Ferdinand says she feels ‘alone’ on Mother’s Day due to stepchildren’s ‘deep loss’

Kate Ferdinand said last Mother’s Day was her “hardest” to date, as she felt she could not celebrate welcoming her son Cree as Tate, 13, Lorenz, 15, and Tia, 10, mourned the loss of their mother Rebecca Ellison

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Kate Ferdinand discusses why she ‘struggles’ with Mother’s Day

Kate Ferdinand has described how she feels “alone and guilty” on Mother’s Day while struggling to celebrate as her stepchildren have suffered “such a deep loss”.

The former TOWIE star, 30, described her first mother’s day last year as the “hardest to date” when she, while wanting to mark the inviting son Cree, 15 months, with her husband Rio Ferdinand, 43, felt she could not , because Tate, 13, Lorenz, 15, and Tia, 10, are mourning the loss of their mother Rebecca Ellison.

Rebecca tragically died at the age of 34 in May 2015 after a brief battle with breast cancer, and the family has made it a tradition to visit her grave on the day of the tribute.

In the first episode of her Blended podcast, Kate said: “For most people, Mother’s Day is usually a day where we celebrate the women who shaped us.

“But unfortunately that’s just not the case for everyone. For me personally, Mother’s Day is a day I struggle with.

“I am lucky to have three amazing stepchildren and my biological son Cree, but unfortunately my stepchildren lost their mother at a young age and also my husband has lost his mother.”

Rio’s mother Janice died in 2017 at the age of 58 after battling cancer, leaving the former footballer heartbroken.

Kate said she “really, really struggled” with the festive day, even before she became a biological parent due to the family’s tragic loss, and “somehow I thought it would be easier when I had Cree, but in fact, last year was probably the toughest Mother’s Day to date “.

“It’s a strange feeling, the world is celebrating this day, and there is a really big loss in my house, but it was also my first mother’s day – a day in another life that I would really look forward to, but here is I am surrounded by my family “, the reality star continued.

“How can I have the audacity to celebrate myself when my whole family has had such a deep loss?

“I felt really alone and quite isolated. I did not know anyone in a similar situation or went through the same kind of thing as me.”

Back in 2020, the family documented Mother’s Day in their BBC documentary Kate And Rio: Becoming A Stepfamily.

She told the camera: “It’s Mother’s Day weekend. The children are writing cards for their mother and their nanny.

“We laminate them so that when they are in the cemetery, they can last longer instead of getting wet and damaged.

“I always write a message from myself because, after all, I look after and raise her children with Rio.”

Later in the documentary, Kate joined Tate, Lorenz and Tia as they visited their mother’s last resting place and hugged them while mourning.

Now Kate has launched her own podcast documenting her experiences of being a mixed family in the hopes that it will help others who are going through similar situations and the “unique set of challenges” it entails.