JUST like any working mum, Vogue Williams is well-versed in time management.
She hosts podcasts, fronts a fitness app, presents on Virgin Radio, models for numerous fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands, has her own successful tanning range – plus, she is a parent of three young children, and shares on Instagram the highs and lows of family life.
And now, there’s another deadline – to decide whether or not to try for baby number four. “I had a timer on myself [thinking]: ‘I’ll decide at the end of this summer,’ and now it’s the end of summer and I still really just don’t know,” says Vogue, 38, who is Mum to Theodore, six, Gigi, four, and two-year-old Otto with her former Made In Chelsea star husband Spencer Matthews.
“Otto’s such a dream child that I’m like: ‘My god, I’ve been so lucky.’ I still can’t make up my mind. If I said: ‘Let’s go with it,’ [Spencer] would do it straight away, but I think of the logistics, whereas he doesn’t. And he doesn’t have to carry a baby for nine months, so it’s a bit more of a decision for me. I’ll probably be still thinking about it when I’m 50!”
Maybe there isn’t such a rush, though? After all, Cameron Diaz became a mum for the second time in March at the age of 51. “No way! I would be so f**king tired having a kid at 51,” laughs Vogue. “That’s why I had my kids so close together.
” I don’t want to have a child when I’m 40, because I feel like I’m going to start getting tired. That’s when I want to be going into my granny era and chilling out!
“On weekends, we’ve got swimming, gymnastics, football, tennis, and usually two parties.
“That’s five or six things every weekend and I’m not 10 people, so how am I going to [manage another]?”
She pauses. “Perhaps I’m thinking: ‘Maybe not,’ because Spenny’s been away for so long and I’ve been on my own.”
Thankfully, Spencer, 36, is now back on daddy duty, after spending the past month completing 30 desert marathons in 30 days – that’s 786 miles, the entire length of the UK – across the Jordanian sands in extreme heat.
Vogue, who was at the finish line, is “so proud” of her husband for breaking a Guinness World Record.
But as well as missing him, she admits it’s been tough parenting solo in his absence.
“Stay-at-home mums, I absolutely salute you, because no one realises how difficult it is to do it all on your own.
“And single mums! I look at my mum who brought three of us up for four or five years on her own. I’m like: ‘How did you manage?’
“We have a nanny who helps and I’m under no illusion about how lucky I am, but I would never leave one person with three children.
“While he was gone, I realised how much Spenny does. Let’s be honest, he still does f**k all, but f**k all is still obviously something!
“I missed Spenny taking the bins out and emptying the dishwasher, because I hate doing those two things. I’m like: ‘The f**king bins again!’
Absolutely amazing body
‘No one’s happier with Spencer’s new bod than he is!’
Notwithstanding his goal of raising nearly £350k for charity, one big reward of Spencer’s evolution into an ultra-marathon runner is his new ridiculously ripped physique, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by his wife.
“He looks great. He’s in phenomenal shape,” she smiles. “Can I be honest with you? I’ve never gone out with a guy with his [new] body type and his body looks absolutely amazing, but I’d fancy him even if he didn’t have it.
“But fair play to him. No one’s happier with his bod than he is!”
Nodding to the plethora of Instagram pictures capturing a sweat-drenched and shredded Spencer running in just shorts and trainers, she laughs: “He is loving the topless shots! How he’s going to put a top back on is beyond me.
“It’ll be really difficult for him to start wearing clothes again!”
This may be no bad thing when the pair escape later this month to Italy for their first-ever child-free time away – a holiday Vogue booked after a solo visit to Rome for a friend’s wedding in July.
Your kids come first, but your relationship should, too, because if you don’t have a good relationship, your family life won’t be good. It’s important to remember each other as well.
“This is going to be the first trip where it’s got nothing to do with work and it’s only us,” says Vogue. “We have to go away on our own, just once. Italy is such a beautiful country. I just want to go, walk around, see it and…”
Enjoy a little Italian romance?
“Just a little bit, yeah! Just have a little bit of ‘us time’. When you have kids, it can be very challenging.
“Your life changes for the better, obviously, but you’re not number one [any more]. I’m not number two or three, either.
“I’m number four and sometimes five or six, after the dogs!
“Your kids come first, but your relationship should, too, because if you don’t have a good relationship, your family life won’t be good. It’s important to remember each other as well.”
‘My dad was a drinker, and I was not going to be around it forever’
It was marriage and family that Spencer prioritised when, during Vogue’s first pregnancy, he turned his back on alcohol – a decision that she says “100%” enhanced their relationship.
“Once notorious for his booze-fuelled MIC antics, Spencer later admitted that his excessive drinking was causing his potential to “slip away”.
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And Vogue who, save for the odd frozen margarita, rarely drinks, says their marriage would have “definitely” crumbled had Spencer not re-evaluated his life choices.
“My dad was a big drinker and [growing up] I had alcohol around me a lot, so I was like: ‘I’m not going to be around this forever, so if you want to keep doing it [drinking], go ahead and I’ll just go do my own thing’.
“It’s nice that he’s got to a point where he’s able to have the odd drink now. It’s very controlled, except he’s not really trying to control it – it’s just that his life is full. He has loads of work on. He doesn’t even have the time [for drinking].”
Vogue’s diary is packed, too. On top of her podcasts Spencer & Vogue, the multi-award-winning My Therapist Ghosted Me, which she co-presents with her best pal, Irish comedian Joanne McNally, she’s now launching another pod.
Never Live It Down With Vogue Williams sees her probing actors and comedians, including James Nesbitt and Lou Sanders, about their past and delving into secret passions.
“We want to know about their hidden talents, when they’ve been embarrassed and the worst holiday they’ve been on,” explains Vogue.
“I’m just really nosy. I love trawling these people’s Instagrams and going on to Wikipedia and finding out loads of things about them.”
‘I love the supernatural’;
If she was a guest on the series herself, what little-known topic of interest would she want to discuss?
“I love conspiracy theories. We know a woman who thinks we live in a sphere, and I was talking to somebody yesterday who thinks that the moon landing wasn’t real.
“I’ve also started to warm to the idea of aliens. I love the supernatural.”
Self-care is another Vogue speciality. After first battling anxiety in her 20s, she now nourishes her mind and body, mainly by exercising five days a week and “never restricting” her diet.
The first thing [to do], if anyone is feeling down or s**t – stop drinking and train. You’ll feel so good.
“People find it fascinating that I still train when I go away, but I actually really enjoy it,” she says. “It makes me feel good and it’s great for anxiety.
“The first thing [to do], if anyone is feeling down or s**t – stop drinking and train. You’ll feel so good.”
As well as mixing at-home weights sessions with workouts led by her personal trainer John Belton, which she records for her virtual training platform, Flexy, Vogue recently caught the running bug after taking on her own “30 in 30 challenge” and totting up 5km every day of Spencer’s desert marathon.
It’s no mean feat for a girl who once only had the stamina to jog for two minutes.
“You build it and build it,” explains Vogue, who does note that she has not experienced a physical transformation à la Spenny from her efforts.
“I’ve been the same weight for a long time and my body shape doesn’t ever massively change.
“I thought I’d have ‘Victoria’s Secret legs’ by now, but I don’t! I always wished I had little, super-skinny legs, but mine will never be like that – it’s just not the shape of my body.
“I have stronger legs, and I’m happy with that now.”
‘Have I had Botox? It’s nicer not to say, but I think it’s obvious…’
During our photo shoot, wearing a white Karen Millen rib-to-floor tasselled bikini, 5ft 11in Vogue looks stunningly statuesque and athletic.
It means absolutely nothing to me what someone says about my body because, do you know what? I feel really fit and really healthy. Once you get to your 30s, you just become more comfortable with yourself.
It’s impossible to fathom why, in the past, she’s been the target of trolls, specifically last summer when she was skinny-shamed after Marks & Spencer released a video of her modelling a range of its swimwear.
Such was the online vitriol directed at Vogue, the high-street brand had to leap to her defence, insisting to its 2 million followers that they “would not tolerate negative comments”.
“There are some real rotten eggs in the world,” sighs Vogue. Fortunately, she refuses to take the trolls’ venom to heart.
“It means absolutely nothing to me what someone says about my body because, do you know what? I feel really fit and really healthy. Once you get to your 30s, you just become more comfortable with yourself.”
Ask if she has ever had Botox and Vogue recalls a British telly star who, after admitting to having injectables, found it referenced in every subsequent news story about her.
Flitting between caution and her trademark honesty, she replies: “I think it’s nicer not to say, but I think it’s pretty obvious. Not today, actually. Not today!”
As someone who enjoys getting away for a sunshine holiday – this year, she and the family travelled to St Barts in the Caribbean (where Spencer’s family own the luxurious Eden Rock hotel), Spain (where Vogue’s mum Sandra and stepdad Neil live), Kenya, and Zanzibar – Vogue is meticulous about protecting her skin from the sun.
“I worry about all that stuff,” she says, as talk turns to the risk of skin cancer with exposure to the sun. “Even with a hat on and wearing factor 50, you still get pigmentation. The sun always catches. I just want to be super-healthy.
“I really love life and having a good time, and I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to be around for my kids and to be the best I can be for them.”
- Never Live It Down With Vogue Williams is available on Global Player and all podcast providers from 23rd September.
In the make-up chair with Vogue
What are your skincare heroes?
I love Medik8 C-Tetra Vitamin C Serum as I get bad pigmentation.
Any make-up bag essentials?
Brow Aid The Brow Blade is great. I always have a Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Pillow Talk on the go and a Max Factor concealer for dark circles under my eyes.
What is your top beauty tip?
Get your eyebrows done – they can frame your face really well. I’ll always have my brows done – threaded, trimmed, dyed, and a bit of waxing.
What do you splurge on?
Perfume. Currently, my signature scent is Tom Ford’s F**king Fabulous, which I hide from Spenny. I love a man’s fragrance.
Who’s your celebrity beauty icon?
Kate Bosworth’s skin looks amazing and J.Lo’s is so glowy – she looks fantastic.
- Hair: Harrison West
- Make-up: Kristina Theodoris using Trish McEvoy and Dr. Sam’s
- Styling: Kate Barbour Vogue wears: blazer, Zeynep Kartal; jewellery, Gigi’s Dressing Room; sunglasses, stylist’s own: bikini, Karenmillen.com; jewellery, Gigi’s Dressing Room
