Em Smyth went into the Pandemic with no children and is living and breathing the Rush Hour, as less than two years later she has two kids under two and a half. Em is keen to address the misinformation that seems to be rife around adoption, talking Steph through the adoption process (top tip: don’t joke about worrying your kid will become a serial killer when you’re being vetted to become adoptive parents). 

Steph and Em discuss mother’s guilt, which Em says can feel even more intense when you’ve adopted as the parent can feel they need to do even more to make life ‘good’ for their child. Em talks with Steph about wishing people didn’t do a head tilt and say ‘aren’t you doing a wonderful thing, you must be a really special person’. She says it’s not a romantic concept or a moral manoeuvre – she is their parent, this was her route to becoming a mum (and sometimes they’re hard work, like all children).

Steph and Em also talk about feeling isolated and incapable in those early months, heightened by doing it in a pandemic, how different holidays feel, and feeling like she lost her sense of style when she became a mum. As a plus-size model, Em has gone on a journey with her body, and also talks with Steph about aiming for body neutrality.

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Find Em on Instagram

For more information on adoption, go to Adoption UK or contact your local authority.

Find Steph on Instagram

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