‘I’m Overwhelmingly Proud’: Giovanna Fletcher On The Duchess Of Cambridge And Her New Virtual Tour

It's official: author and podcast star Giovanna Fletcher has been announced as one of the stars heading to Wales for this year's lockdown-friendly series of I'm A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here. Before she signed on, she spoke to Grazia about her 2020 so far...

At the beginning of 2020, author Giovanna Fletcher scored the guest of a lifetime for her podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Booking the future Queen of England is quite the coup, and an incredible start to Giovanna’s year. But then lockdown happened.

‘It feels like another lifetime ago to be honest,’ says Giovanna over the phone this week. ‘It's very surreal to look back at how this year started, in a palace, with royalty. And now I’ve spent six months in lockdown with my family. But quite an amazing way start the year.’ Despite the rollercoaster year, she is ‘overwhelmingly proud’ of the way Catherine has stepped up to tackle mental health in recent months.

‘They have really pushed themselves to stay connected, when they both could easily have gone “you know what? Pull up the drawbridge! We’ve got three kids. We have to homeschool too.” But she [Catherine] has carried on doing the work, carried on speaking to people in front of the camera and off. She is so invested in and dedicated to what she does: it’s not for show. It’s her passion, and I think that’s really important.’

For Giovanna, a mother of three and wife of McFly’s Tom Fletcher, lockdown provided the same peaks and troughs that many of us have faced.

‘I've been very aware and grateful for the situation that we're in,’ she explains. ‘You know, simple things like having a garden, and being able to feed the kids, being able to work from home. Knowing that puts you in a good headspace, that you're forever grateful. I think, you know, it comes with its challenges and mentally, you know, getting through ups downs, and as you digest what's going on, and the uncertainty of it all. But yeah, I think many life lessons have been made throughout knocks out in the last six or seven months. On reflection, actually, it's a very special time: we're never going to have this time in our lives, where we spent six months together, non-stop, you know?’

That said, there have been obvious drawbacks. Raising three young children, the eldest of which required homeschooling, has been no mean feat. The pandemic has also impacted Giovanna’s next project, a continuation of last year’s Happy Mum Happy Baby tour. A huge success last year, it has naturally had to go virtual.

‘We knew we wanted to continue it this year and, and create something even bigger’, she explains. ‘And obviously we were aiming to do something in person. Then Covid came along and stampeded its way through that plan. But now more than ever, when communities aren’t able to get together, when the support network isn't what it was because of everything going on, now is the time where parents need to feel like they are supported, and to feel that encouragement: to know that they're not alone, and that they are enough.’ The series of online events - all free to ‘attend’ – bring together experts and even Giovanna’s friends to offer insights. ‘I hope people come away feeling empowered, and full of knowledge, and a little bit of fire,’ she says.

Throughout our conversation, Giovanna makes it clear that parenthood is more than motherhood. She always, always mentions ‘dads’ in the same sentence as ‘mums’, and keen to express that, despite the name of the podcast, she values the input of men equally. That said, she has to confess that there are times where even she has encouraged an imbalance at home.

‘Early on, because I've breastfed all of the boys for a year each, the night feeds were all on me,’ she says. ‘After that, I was able to prod Tom and go “you’re up.” But It’s interesting, when

we're trying to dismantle stereotypes and how you fall into certain roles in the house, it's interesting how your default is to fall into those roles. I love the cooking. I love the cleaning and doing those things.’ She wonders if, for her, it’s about control. ‘I like to get organised,’ she explains. ‘I mean, I don't know if Tom would know how to use the washing machine. But it’s getting better from where it would have been. And when it comes to the boys, it’s 50/50.’

Without a physical space to inhabit, some may wonder if they can truly find solidarity at such an event. But Giovanna is passionate about the work, and is optimistic about its appeal.

‘I hope that they find a place that is judgment free and is an encouraging space that supports mums and dads through the highs and lows of parenthood,’ she says as out chat draws to a close. ‘Whether that's through laughter or tears.’

Maybe both, actually. It’s been a long six months…

To sign up to Happy Mum Happy Baby: The Virtual Meetup, please visit www.happymumhappybaby.com

To listen to Giovanna's episode of Grazia Life Advice, click here

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