Loose Women panelist Denise Welch has revealed how she likes to be involved firmly in the lives of her two famous sons who she shares with actor Tim Healy
TV star Denise Welch has confessed she sees herself as a “helicopter parent” due to her eagerness to be in her sons’ lives. The Loose Women panelist, 66, confessed she likes to be involved in every aspect of her kids’ lives – she is mum to The 1975 star Matty and actor Louis.
The term helicopter parent was coined for someone he can be seen as overly protective and controlling of their offspring. It was named as such due to parents wanting to relentlessly hover over their kids’ lives in a bid to micro-manage scenarios. However, former Coronation Street star Denise sees nothing wrong with her wanting to be involved in the lives of her kids, with whom she shares with actor and ex-husband, Tim Healy.
Despite the label, Denise confessed she is going to continue with her antics, even after being branded a “Poundland Kris Jenner” by her boys.
Speaking to the i Paper, Denise said: ” ‘The radar is on full alert at all times and I insert myself into any aspect of their lives I can squeeze into. Totally uninvited, I swoop in with military precision to offer advice and solutions to problems they don’t have.”
She added: “I also feel the need to talk to them every day and if they don’t respond immediately to my calls or texts, I wish I could have an all-points bulletin or BOLO [an alert system used by police departments] out on them in minutes. Yes, I watch too much American television.”
She mocked herself in her column, she as her ‘helicopter parent pilot’s license’ due to her consistent hovering over son Matty and Louis’ lives.
The Geordie star admitted she hasn’t always been as hands on, questioning when things took a turn. Denise went on: “I ask myself why I became a later-life helicopter mum.
“I think it’s because I didn’t need constant assurance when they were little that I was the most important person in their lives and now they’re grown, I do.”
Denise has always been open about her relationship with her family. Recently, she revealed she had “lost the ability” to love her first son Matty due to her battle with postnatal depression. Her revelation came after he and his band were announced as one of this year’s Glastonbury headliners.
Speaking to the Loose Women podcast, Denise said she was “the typical blooming mum” during pregnancy who was not anxious about having a baby. However, she explained her mental health took a turn.
She confessed that while she “immediately” bonded with Matty after a difficult 42-hour labour, she lost control of her emotions just five days into being a mother. “I was going through the emotions of smiling, and I went to bed that night and I had the first panic attack I’d ever had in my entire life, from nowhere,” she said.
“It wasn’t because I was anxious, it was from nowhere. When I got up from maybe a two-hour sleep, I had gone to bed with full breastfeeding boobs, and I woke up with Spaniel’s ears.
“All of my milk had gone, the whole lactation process had stopped and the depression set in.”
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