Alesha Dixon had 'mental warfare' during pregnancy

Alesha Dixon struggled with “mental warfare” during her second pregnancy.

The 42-year-old star – who has Azura, six, and Anaya, 22 months, with husband Azuka Ononye – was “over the moon” with happiness when she fell pregnant again so couldn’t understand why she spent so much time isolating herself from her family because she felt so “down and sad”.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “When I was pregnant I was over the moon and happy.

“It’s supposed to be the most joyful time of your life, but I would have so many moments where I would lock myself away in a bathroom and cry. I just felt down and sad and couldn’t explain that.

“It’s very confusing. When you’re going through something tough you have to find that self-resilience and strength to work your way through something and have faith and trust in your ability to handle things and to become stronger because of these things.

“We can all relate to that mental warfare we have to go through where we have to navigate our way to a positive space in our mind to make life a little bit easier.”

The former Mis-Teeq singer’s struggles inspired her new single ‘War’ and she admitted the coronavirus pandemic made her want to return to mu.

She added: “Life is too short and unpredictable. You don’t know what’s round the corner.”

Alesha recently admitted she felt having children had made her a better person.

She said: “Being a mum has made me a better person because I’m always mindful of my behaviour.

“Obviously there is a rebellious side in me and I’m young at heart, but for the most part I’m quite sensible.

“My children keep me grounded. Everything I’m doing now is to make sure they have a great future and to protect them.”

Even though parenting can have its difficulties, Alesha forgets them all when she gets a hug from her children.

Asked the best thing about being a mum, she said: “The cuddles. Sometimes I find myself begging for a cuddle.

“There is nothing nicer than when they dive on you and they just squeeze you so tightly and you feel that love.

“You forget about the lack of sleep, the screaming and tantrums. They’re the best.”