Ferne McCann has said she is concentrating on raising her baby daughter after going through “the most difficult chapter” of her life.
The former The Only Way Is Essex star welcomed daughter Sunday in November but her pregnancy was overshadowed by the attention around her ex-boyfriend – the baby’s father Arthur Collins – and his involvement in a nightclub acid attack.
Collins was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury at London’s Wood Green Crown Court had convicted him of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm.
McCann, 27, told The Sun’s Fabulous magazine that life “hasn’t been easy” since the incident in April.
“It’s been the most difficult chapter of my life to date and the hardest thing I hope I’ll ever have to face,” she said.
“It was all completely out of my control. The only thing I can control now is how I raise my daughter.
“At times [during the pregnancy], yes, I did feel … not exactly robbed, but there were moments on my own when I’d think: ‘Why did this happen?’
“I was – and I still am, to be honest – dwelling on that.”
McCann said impending motherhood was “a light at the end of the tunnel” during her tough year.
“I’m so grateful for Sunday and I actually feel blessed that I was pregnant because that was my focus,” she said.
“If I hadn’t had that, it would have been a completely different story.”
The star said although she does think about how she will tell her daughter about the attack, it is not her focus right now.
“What is important now is to enjoy her, learn how to be a mum and concentrate on Sunday, rather than dwelling on how I’m going to broach this in the future,” she said.
McCann is hopeful that “in 2018 it’s all going to be OK”.
“I’ve got Sunday and we can enjoy the year together,” she said.