Her daughter Annabella may only be 18 months old, but TV and radio presenter Mollie King has already had discussions with her retired England cricketer fiance Stuart Broad about the measures they’ll take to protect her from negative aspects of social media.
“It’s a really tricky one, and Stuart and I have a lot of conversations about this already, which is wild, she’s only 18 months,” says the Radio 1 presenter and former Strictly star, who has a million followers on Instagram.
“But as parents, it’s the sort of thing that you just start talking about. The only thing that we can do as parents is to have that open relationship with her.
“When she’s a teenager, I can’t be constantly monitoring or seeing what she’s seeing on her phone, things that are being sent around, but what I can do hopefully is to create an environment where she feels like she can come and talk to me and Stuart about anything.
“That’s definitely the environment that I grew up in. A lot of my friends would be surprised at just how open a relationship I have with my parents in terms of talking to them about anything, any worries, anything I didn’t understand, maybe things that people were talking about at school. I want Annabella to know that she can always come to us and it’s a safe place, there isn’t going to be any judgment.”
Limiting TV is another bridge they will have to cross, she agrees.
“We are not the type of parents who think she can never have the TV on, because there are things that she’s learning from watching TV, but she’s a real outdoorsy type at the moment and not that interested in TV. She’s more interested in being in the garden. She’s not reached the age where she’s reaching for the remote.”
King, 37, admits that juggling home life with motherhood is hard at times.
“I’m that person who wants to give everything 100%. My daughter is my main priority, but I love my career, especially at Radio 1 at the moment. I’m starting a new show in January and want to be able to give that my all as well, but it is a juggle and something I’m trying to strategise the best way to do it.”
Earlier this year, she managed to squeeze in a 500km cycle from London to Hull via Manchester for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day, raising more than £1.3 million in donations.
Broad is around a lot of the time to look after Annabella and their wider family helps out with the childcare, but she admits: “Sleeping has become much less of a priority. Just spending time with my daughter and fitting in as much work as I can around that is how it’s going.”
The Radio 1 weekend show Matt And Mollie, which she currently hosts with Matt Edmondson, is being moved to weekdays from July 1 and she also presents Future Pop on the same station, which centres on promoting artists at the start of their career.
King admits that when she’s working she misses her daughter and is more choosy about what she takes on, finding it easier to streamline her schedule.
“I only want to work with people and brands that I really believe in. Having Annabella has made it a lot easier to decide whether I want to do things or not, which has been healthy for me because I used to be someone who thought, ‘Should I have done this or should I have done that?’”
She makes sure she spends plenty of time with her family and their toy poodle, Alfie, 14, who was around long before Annabella came along.
King recalls her apprehension as to how the dog would react when they first brought their newborn home.
“I’m sure in those first few days he probably thought, ‘She’s outstayed her welcome’, but he just adores her and he’s been able to get used to little children because I have five nephews who are very active.”
Last year Alfie had an eye removed because there was pressure building up behind it, and King was concerned that the dog might be jumpy, especially on his blind side.
“But he is so good with her and so patient,” says King, who recently collaborated with smart security company Ring on its limited edition ‘Treataways’ – a takeaway-inspired meals delivery service for dogs.
King says she dreams of having a bigger family and that she definitely wants to get married at some point.
“I’m a romantic at heart and we got engaged during Covid. We went to see a few venues which we loved, but it was that time when wedding guests wouldn’t be able to get up from their tables and people wouldn’t be able to mingle and dance.
“Being such a music lover, I see our wedding as being something where people are up dancing and there’s a live band. I want it to just be a celebration, rather than too formal. We had to put the wedding on hold because of Covid, but starting a family was our priority. But, my goodness, I would love to get down the aisle.
“It’s always been my dream (to have a bigger family),” she continues. “I’m one of three with two older sisters and they are my heroes, so I would love for Annabella to have a little brother or sister. It’s just about whether we’re lucky enough to be able to do that.”
As for TV work, having done Strictly, she says she’d like to have a go at Celebrity Bake Off.
“I am a useless cook and I feel I would learn so much. Thank God Stuart is really good, but I’d throw myself into it massively. When I watch it, the contestants seem like they are having a really good time.”
Mollie King partnered with Ring to launch the limited edition Treataways service in June. To learn more about the Ring Indoor Camera to check on your pet while you’re out, visit ring.com.
