‘I Have No Idea What To Expect’: Vogue Williams On Motherhood, Spencer, And Dealing With The Trolls

So how did they decide to make the big leap into parenthood? “We were talking about it last summer, the doctor had told me that because I was on the Pill for so long, it might take a lot longer to conceive but we just got really lucky. I would love four children, both of us would, but I look at my age, and if you want four, and you want a little break in between, I’d want to really get cracking!”

The couple know they’re expecting a little boy, but I ask if she knows what to expect beyond that? “Oh he’s safe in my stomach now, it’s once he comes out that it’s trouble!” she laughs.

No, I don’t have any idea what to expect, our mothers are both great and I know we’re really going to rely on them at the start because we literally don’t know much. But I’m going to do a bump class here in London, which is like an antenatal class, and we have a baby First Aid one scheduled as well. I’m doing as much as I think you can do, but you can’t teach this. It will be all about figuring it out for ourselves.

Vogue has caught a lot of flack for training while pregnant, from people that simply don’t realise that if you were active before, you can certainly still be active during your pregnancy. “I think as soon as I got pregnant, people think you’re incapable of doing anything. But I’m not unwell, I’m just pregnant! The training I do is as much for my mind as my body, so it wasn’t a question of giving it up. But as the pregnancy has gone on, I have changed it. I can’t run and jump, and I’ve listened to my doctors and my body.

“I’m still training about five days a week, and if I feel up to it I’ll do it, if I don’t, I won’t. In the third trimester though, you do get really tired. You’re living on less sleep the closer you get, almost as if you’re preparing for the sleepless nights!”

She’s also preparing herself for mam shaming when the little guy arrives. “I plan on trying to breastfeed, and that means you need to eat more! I know it’s not easy, I want to breastfeed, so hopefully it will all work out.

Shaming happens every day online, it happens all the time. I can be skinny shamed and fat shamed in the same day! I speak out about it because it bothers me so much that people are like that. I’m not sitting at home crying, but I don’t want anyone to have to deal with that shit. The internet used to be fun, it was nice, now it’s a way for people to be abusive towards one another. I have a documentary coming out in September called Trial by Social Media, and the psychology behind it all.

Yep, you read that right. Vogue would absolutely be forgiven for resting before giving birth, but she’s incredibly busy, with three new documentaries on the horizon as well as her work on Getaways, RTE’s travel show that she filmed while pregnant.

Vogue and her ‘firstborn’, Winston

“One of the documentaries is called My Sponsored Life, all about bloggers. It was really interesting, it’s not easy at all to be an influencer! I do a little bit with ambassador roles, but it can be hard. It’s the new kind of fame, look at Kim K, still doing sponsored shoots, that’s the way the world has gone. The last doc is called Is Monogamy Dead? I spent time with a polyamorous couple, who are married 10 years but both have other partners. I also met a young Irish couple who aren’t monogamous, and have relationships with other people; it’s on the rise!”

And TV work isn’t all that Vogue has coming up. She’s just collaborated on a jewellery range with the designer Katie Mullally which is landing at the end of the summer. “I wanted it to be quite Irish, so lots of Claddagh, Irish coins, a map of Ireland, Celtic crosses. It’s gorgeous, I’m really happy about it.”

Anything else? Oh yes, perhaps the biggest task Vogue has ever undertaken professionally. She’s entering the already quite crowded false tan market with her new products under the name Bare
By Vogue Williams. It’s the first beauty product she’s turned her hand to, and she’s been working hard on it for months. She was wearing it the day of the shoot, and no kidding, every single person there asked her was it a real tan from her travels.

“It’s just amazing, I’m really chuffed with it and every time I put it on I’m like ‘yaass’!” she laughs.

I was about to shoot for another tan brand in an ambassador role when a guy I’ve known for years came to me and said have you ever thought about doing your own one? So I’ve been trying different formulas and working out what I like. I’ve always loved the colour, but I’ve been adding in ingredients to make it perfect. It’s been a long process, but I’m so happy with the results. There’ll be a light to medium, and a medium to dark. My sister Amber is so crap at tan, and she loves it, so that was the clincher for me. And I really wanted it to look real, like you’ve been away. We’ve shimmers and everything coming, all the bits and bobs.

“I just want people to try it because I know how good it is. There are lots of tans out there, not all of them are great, but everyone has one that works for them. This one is just fantastic quality.”

So is she going to have a moment to take a breath before adding ‘mam’ to her list of roles? “It’s busy, I know, the tan, the shows, the jewellery, and the baby! I’m going to take everything as it comes, definitely take some time off after he’s born and just be in the moment. I’m having the baby in the UK, but we go back and forth all the time, and I’ve really been nesting and decorating both of our apartments. I would never say that Spencer and I are famous, we’re well known but we sort of stick to ourselves. If I’m home I’m in Howth with my family and there’s a very chill vibe. In London I’m at home, or we come up to my aunt in Oxford to hang out. If we’re out and photographed, it’s at an event that we’re working at.”

And Vogue uses her profile for good. “When I spoke out about Repeal, I got abusive comments every single day. But I feel like I have a platform and a following, and I’m not just there to stand in a nice outfit, you know? If something is important, I will speak out, and I was absolutely delighted when
the referendum passed, crying and everything. People thought I was vocal but if anything, being pregnant brought it all home for me.”

And that’s why we love Vogue. She’s smart, she works hard, is true to herself, never courts controversy and handles the crap that comes her way with aplomb. If that doesn’t make her a dream cover girl, I don’t know what does.

This interview initially appeared in the August issue of STELLAR magazine. The September issue, featuring Pippa O’Connor, is out now.