Stacey Dooley issues an apology to mothers over parenting assumption

Stacey Dooley has admitted that she owes her fellow mothers an apology after previously assuming that being a parent “can’t be that hard”.

The documentary maker, 37, welcomed her daughter Minnie, who she shares with her partner Kevin Clifton, in January 2023.

In an interview with The Observer, Dooley revealed that she was “unprepared” for parenting and hadn’t realised “how vulnerable” she’d feel.

“I went into it so unprepared,” she told the paper, explaining that she’d decided not to attend antenatal classes during her pregnancy and had also turned down parenting guides offered by friends.

“You know, I used to see mums finding it tough and I’d think, ‘It can’t be that hard,’” she said.

“I really used to think that. Which is f***ing hilarious. I owe all of those women an apology.”

Dooley said that although Minnie’s birth was relatively straightforward, “the sleep deprivation knocked [her] for six”.

“I’ve never in my life been that tired,” she said, adding: “I hadn’t taken into consideration how vulnerable I’d feel.

“And you’re madly in love with this person. And it’s a love you don’t recognise.”

The Strictly Come Dancing winner previously described the experience of discovering she was pregnant as “chaotic”.

“I did a pregnancy test in Selfridges toilet and FaceTimed Kev in the back of a black cab,” she revealed in an Instagram story.

“He was filming for a gig and had a radio mic on so it was all very chaotic.”

Dooley and Clifton were paired up on the BBC dancing competition in 2018 and confirmed their relationship the following year.

In her interview with The Observer, the filmmaker described childcare in the UK as “a joke”, adding: “The cost is crippling. Which means amazing women go off and have a baby and can’t come back.”