Mairéad Ronan has revealed she felt guilty over leaving her children for long hours to train for Dancing with the Stars.
The RTE presenter triumphed at the final on Sunday night and, along with dance partner John Nolan, raised the coveted Glitterball trophy after two months of live shows.
When she signed up for the series Mairéad was still exclusively breastfeeding her then three month old daughter Bonnie.
She also has three older children, Dara (11) from her first marriage, and Eliza (2) and Bonnie (now seven months) with her husband Louis.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Mairéad revealed that she felt hugely guilty over leaving the children while she trained for the show.
“The guilt wast terrible, I have to be honest. I had loads of mammy guilt, especially in the last couple of weeks because I was leaving the house at 6.30am and Louis and Dara were fast asleep,” she told the publication.
“I wouldn’t get home until after 7pm. Bonnie is definitely asleep and Eliza is already in her PJs, has had her dinner and is ready to go to bed and Dara has about an hour left in him.”
Mairéad says she was thankful that her dance partner John was understanding about her situation with a new baby as his sister had also recently given birth.
And she credits her husband Louis’ support for getting her through, as well as that of her wider family.
“I coudn’t have done it if I didn’t have his love and support. If I didn’t have a brilliant child-minder who has been with me ten years. If I didn’t have two sisters and Louis’ family,” she said.
Her husband’s family even took the children away to Tipperary for a week when she needed time to learn two new dances for the show.
Mairéad recently revealed that many people had told her not to take part in the show, including her agent. However, her husband persuaded her to take part.
Read more: ‘Everyone told me I shouldn’t do it’ – Mairéad wins Glitterball trophy
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