New mum Sam still loves life in the spotlight

But ex-Towie star Sam Faiers is now cashing in on being a mum.

Posting pictures regularly on Instagram of herself and one-year-old son Paul, first appearing with her newborn in The Baby Diaries and then The Mummy Diaries on ITVBe, and now furthering her mothering career with a book, My Baby & Me, charting her pregnancy and first year of motherhood.

“My first year as a mum has been amazing,” the Essex-born 26-year-old enthuses. “You can’t describe the love you have, and all your priorities change.

“My life has totally changed since having the baby and so has work, because pretty much everything I do now is mum-related.”

While some celebrity parents go to great lengths to keep their children out of the spotlight, Faiers doesn’t share that mentality.

“Every mum has some kind of platform or social media outlet where they share their adorable pictures and I wanted to be the same.

‘‘I didn’t want to hide or keep him covered up. Obviously, when you go home you have your private family time, but in terms of posting pictures of my family and my baby, and with the TV show, it’s less stressful to allow pictures to be shared, rather than hiding.

“I like sharing my pictures and my life with people.”

She enjoyed a whirlwind romance with her property developer boyfriend Paul Knightley, who she met on a night out in a restaurant with her pal, fellow Towie star Ferne McCann. She instantly knew he was the one.

“It just felt right. I’d never had that feeling before when you first meet someone. We hit it off the minute we met, and then over that whole weekend, we were inseparable. We have so much respect for each other and we do everything together.”

Within four months of meeting him, she was pregnant, but she wasn’t worried.

“Paul’s a very hands-on dad, which is great. He’s such a natural. He’s really playful.

‘‘If I’m working, he’ll always make time for the baby. Their personalities are so similar - even at this age, I can tell!’’

Marriage is definitely on the cards, she says.

“To be honest, we would love to be married before we have another baby. It’s Paul’s call, not mine, but we always talk about marriage. Maybe Paul’s just waiting for the right moment.

‘‘I try not to talk about it too much as it feels like I’m spoiling it.”

While some might believe her whole life is being played out under the spotlight of TV shows and social media posts, Faiers insists she has a great private life away from the cameras.

“We recently had a holiday in London - it was really private. There was no paparazzi, just the three of us enjoying family time. We’ll always make time for each other away from everything.”

l My Baby & Me by Sam Faiers is published by Blink, priced £14.99.