Paloma Faith has revealed that she ‘did a whole tour’ while suffering from postnatal depression following the birth of her daughter.
The Only Love Can Hurt Like This hitmaker, 39, who has a three-year-old daughter with her partner Leyman Lahcine, 33, opened up about her struggle with mental health while on tour.
After jumping back on the road to entertain her fans shortly after the birth of her daughter in December 2016, Paloma now believes she should have done things differently.
She told The Guardian: ‘I just thought that I was never going to be happy again and I made amends with that, and then I just pushed myself and it was punishing.
Paloma Faith seen taking her baby for a leisurely stroll near Notting Hill in January 2017
‘I did a whole tour with it, and I was just devastated. I was miserable, I didn’t enjoy it. I toured arenas and I shouldn’t have, or I should have done it differently.’
The proud mum has revealed how she would be looking after her baby all day, before putting her daughter to bed at 7pm and then getting ready for that night’s performance.
She added: ‘I would have two hours to get ready, do my vocal warm-up, and then be on stage by 9pm. I’d finish around 11pm, and then I’d dismantle myself from pop star to pyjamas and, at midnight, I’d go to sleep, and then wake up and do the whole thing again.’
Although Paloma blamed herself for allowing the ‘self-imposed’ situation to continue, she also said she wished that someone else had stepped in and said, ‘”This is absolutely ridiculous and here’s a way to change that”.’
Singer Paloma Faith performs live on stage at The O2 Arena on March 14, 2018 in London
Although Paloma hired nannies for a while, it wasn’t the right solution for her, and eventually she decided to give up work before her partner insisted he should pause his career because she was the higher earner in their relationship.
She said: ‘My relationship with my own father was really irregular and I see how lucky my child is to be with her dad a lot.
‘I think it’s really good for her to spend time with a very sensitive, kind man, and that will be her benchmark and mould her expectations of men in a way that I didn’t have. I think I had really low expectations.’
Paloma Faith, 39, has a three-year-old daughter with her partner French artist Leyman Lahcine, 33 (pictured together)
Paloma became pregnant with her daughter after IVF and delivered her via an emergency caesarean section in which she lost a lot of blood – she spent a week in hospital recovering.
Following this experience she returned home and said she ‘lost touch’ due to lack of sleep, leading her to believe she was not the mother she had ‘envisioned’.
Paloma also admitted she felt ‘depleted and depressed’ while at home with her daughter – whose name she has not disclosed.
Speaking about life as a working mum, the singer and actress said: ‘I have so much respect for the women who stay at home, I just don’t know how they do it. Because, it’s harder. It’s harder than going to work.’
On the importance of having space away from your child, Paloma told the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast in June: ‘I think it took a year before I felt like my baby and I could be two people. I felt like I gave myself away for a year and I didn’t enjoy giving myself away.’
Source: Daily Mail
