Jennifer Ellison has shared a red bikini photo after previously opening up about her weight loss and renewed confidence.
The 43-year-old Brookside star posted the picture on Instagram on Sunday (Oct 11). She struck a flexing pose in the two-piece.
Earlier this year, Jennifer told the Daily Mail that motherhood had pushed her own needs down the list. She described hurtful comments about her changing body, including abuse during pregnancy.
Jennifer said she had stopped looking after herself and felt she had lost her sense of identity.
“Being a mum turned my world upside down. Everything revolved around the boys. I came last in the pecking order,” she admitted.
Jennifer Ellison credits Celebrity SAS with renewed confidence
Jennifer took part in Celebrity SAS in 2022, having reached 14 stone before the programme. She linked her earlier weight gain to what she described as a sugar addiction.
She later lost around three stone and credited the experience with improving her confidence and relationship with exercise.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she recalled seeing the challenge as a route back onto television. She had signed up knowing she would face difficult situations.
But Jennifer also described a more personal benefit from taking part.
“I started to love myself again,” she said.
Jennifer Ellison on motherhood and scrutiny of her appearance
Jennifer shares three sons — Bobby, 16, Harry, 13, and Crarlie, 12 — with husband Robbie Tickle. Before motherhood, she had posed for lads’ magazines and become known as a pin-up.
In a separate interview with the Daily Mirror, she described how that image shaped scrutiny of her body. She said people had become accustomed to seeing her looking slim in bikinis before her weight changed.
She said an audition ended with a call explaining she hadn’t got the job because of her size.
“I cried and cried,” she admitted.
Jennifer said the experience made her decide to do something about her weight. But returning to exercise after giving birth wasn’t straightforward.
She recalled a 92-hour labour followed by an emergency caesarean. She was also breastfeeding, which limited how long she could spend away from her baby.
At that stage, she said her priority was time with her son rather than how she looked. She explained she didn’t want to leave him with a nanny simply to get back to the gym.
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