Danielle Lloyd opens up about planning baby number four and why she’ll never go under the knife again

FLICKING through pictures from our shoot, there is one thing Danielle Lloyd is quite insistent about.

“Can you edit out my tattoo, please?” she asks, pointing to a small area across her rib cage.

It’s barely visible thanks to six painful sessions of laser removal, but on closer inspection the reason behind her request becomes crystal-clear: the tattoo spells out the first name of her ex-husband Jamie O’Hara.

The former Fulham footballer, 29, blew her perfect world apart when he allegedly slept with two women behind her back just two years after they said their vows and 11 months after she gave birth to their third son George.

But if anyone is proof that time is a great healer, it’s Danielle.

Two years after Jamie sat her down to tell her a national newspaper was about to reveal he had cheated on her and even had sex in the marital bed, Danielle is not only engaged, she is also planning baby number four.

The man who picked her up and put her back together after her marriage so publicly collapsed is electrician Michael O’Neill, 30.

They got together last September after being introduced by mutual friends and he quickly moved into her West Midlands home, restoring her confidence and acting as stepdad to her three young sons with Jamie – Archie, six, Harry, five, and George, who turns three this month.

It’s all rather a U-turn from the last time we met Danielle.

At that point, her divorce had just come through and she wasn’t sure she’d ever contemplate marriage again, never mind another baby.

So what’s changed?

“I know – it’s crazy!” she laughs while shaking her head.

“I’m in a much happier place. You never know what’s going to happen in life. I’m now a strong person and so happy with Michael. He’s an amazing man and we’re getting on with life.

“We’re not going to rush into getting married and we’ll take our time. We both love each other and when the time’s right, then we’ll do it.”

It was Danielle who pushed Michael to commit because she wanted to be sure – for the sake of her sons – that he was in it for the long haul.

“Maybe it did seem quick to everyone else, but to me, when I met Michael, we had a lot of fun.

“I needed commitment and security from him and wanted to be sure he was serious. Not just for me, but for the boys as well.

“I didn’t want them becoming attached to someone who would be gone the next minute. They’ve had enough grief in their life with losing people.”

Who can blame her for wanting that declaration of commitment?

Before Jamie, Danielle dated a string of unsuitable men.

And her first relationship post-marriage-split – with property salesman Tom Jimson – ended with him trying to sell a sex tape of her for £150,000.

So it would be understandable if she had some major trust issues.

When asked, Danielle insists this isn’t the case.

“You’ve got to trust each other, otherwise your relationship is not going to go anywhere,” she says.

“If you give off the vibe that you’re insecure and have no self-respect, then that’s what you draw towards you.

“Negativity attracts negativity. When I was negative, the kids could see it and it wasn’t a good home to be in. Now my life has totally turned around, and I’m happy and positive.”

However, any wedding plans seem to have taken a back seat to having a fourth baby.

She confesses that she hopes to be pregnant by early next year – and she wants a girl to balance out her testosterone-filled household.

But you can’t help getting the feeling that, despite their engagement, Danielle isn’t that keen on having an actual wedding.

“Well…” she pauses and looks at the floor.

“Marriage is really just a little bit of paper. I think as long as you’re happy… I’ve learnt from the past that you can stand there and say your vows, but you don’t mean them.

“Michael’s parents aren’t married, and they’ve been together for 30 years and couldn’t be happier. There’s no rush. But I know that when I do get married again, it’ll be an amazing time and I’ll be happy. And it will be for good!”

Danielle and Jamie were granted a quickie divorce in December 2014 on the grounds of his adultery.

She can’t discuss this today, but it’s obvious from what she doesn’t say that the situation with Jamie – who has moved to London and is now dating underwear model Elizabeth-Jayne Tierney – is still extremely strained.

While Danielle is her normal chatty, open self throughout most of the interview, mention Jamie and she is instantly uneasy.

It’s clear she doesn’t want to fan the flames of an already fraught situation.

So, what exactly are relations like now?

“Um…” Danielle trails off.

After a 30-second pause and some PR reassurance, she continues.

“What’s the word? ‘Testing!’” she laughs.

“That part of my life is gone. He is irrelevant to my life now and I want to keep it that way.

“My life is with Michael and my children and, you know, his is with his girlfriend. And that’s it. At the moment everything is through lawyers,”
she says quietly, before pausing to reflect.

“It’s sad. But it is what it is.”

Things between the pair came to a head in April when Jamie, who is not currently signed to a football club, offloaded on Twitter.

In a string of furious tweets, he accused Danielle of “refusing” him access to their sons and said she had “no morals” and “no class”.

Danielle chooses her words carefully.

“I don’t want to antagonise the situation because it came out of nowhere,” she says.

“I would just say it’s really erratic behaviour, and I don’t agree with anything he said. I also don’t agree with what he did [publicly].

“I want my children to be protected as much as possible. My kids are my life and they, for me, are what matters. I don’t think they understand very much, because I shield them from everything.

“So to them, life is great and it’s important to keep it that way. If they ask about Daddy, I’m like: ‘Oh, Daddy’s doing this,’ or ‘Daddy’s playing football.’ They know that Daddy lives in one house and Mummy lives in the other. Going to their dad’s is like a day trip and they love it – otherwise they’re stuck at home with me!

“I would never, ever be negative to my children about their dad because they have to make their own decisions in life and they can do that when they’re older. I want them to have a relationship with their dad. I think it’s important,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the relationship between new beau Michael and Jamie is far from cordial.

Danielle was forced to call police in June after the pair got into a furious row at her home.

Jamie reportedly suffered cuts to his forehead and Michael was kept in police custody for 24 hours.

With Michael still on police bail, it’s a topic that is off limits for legal reasons.

But it’s fair to say the two are highly unlikely to ever be BFFs.

“Michael has always tried to be civil and he’s been very accommodating,” says Danielle.

“He has emailed Jamie and bitten his tongue a lot. He’s tried his hardest to be respectful to Jamie and the situation, but obviously everything else is legal stuff.

“I think we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible, but things haven’t always gone that way.”

Michael has been far more successful at building bridges with Danielle’s sons after meeting them two months into the relationship.

Her face lights up when she talks about how he had adapted to the sometimes challenging role of “step-daddy Michael”.

“Taking on someone else’s children is a massive thing,” she says.

“And it’s not just one, it’s three of them, and they are crazy! But he’s taken to it like a duck to water and is the best dad he possibly could be.

“There have been times where he’s really found it difficult, but now we are Michael’s family. I’ve found myself a very good man.”

Danielle recently came under fire after posting pictures on Instagram of Michael with her sons, including a snap of him lying fast asleep in bed cuddling Archie.

The Twittersphere was quick to criticise her for being “insensitive” to Jamie, with one user writing: “Must be hard for the kids’ dad to see this. No need to post it on Instagram.”

Today she makes her thoughts abundantly clear.

“When the baby [George] is sick in the middle of the night, who has to get up? Me and Michael. Who is the person who took them to school today because I was at work? Michael. Who’s the person who is going to pick them up tonight? Michael.

“People should look at that and think: ‘I’ve got so much respect for that man because he’s taken on somebody else’s children and is changing the nappies.’

“Michael has developed an amazing relationship with the boys and I’m lucky to have found someone who wants that. And why can’t I show it off? Why can’t I show that my kids have now got an amazing relationship with a man they want to be brought up by in a stable home? That’s all you can ask for.

“If they looked at Jamie’s side, they would see him with his new daughter [Elizabeth-Jayne’s little girl from a previous relationship]. But they pick on me.”

It’s a stronger, tougher and wiser Danielle who has emerged from the ashes of the drama-filled past two years.

In the wake of the painful split she was put on sleeping tablets and antidepressants and lost over a stone.

“I was in a really, really dark place. My whole world came crashing down and I felt humiliated and embarrassed,” she recalls.

But Danielle has always had an amazing ability to bounce back.

She is currently busy getting her career on track.

There are two TV shows in the pipeline – TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress and Channel 5’s Celebrity Botched Up Bodies – as well as a high-end clothing line with Prodigal Fox.

She also hopes to release a no-holds-barred autobiography.

The sparkle has retuned to her eyes and she laughs her way through our photo shoot despite the sweltering heat.

She has regained the curves she lost and rarely needs to Skype the therapist she used during the dark times.

It seems her new-found happiness even extends to her breasts.

Danielle underwent her seventh operation this year, taking her to a D cup.

She went from a B cup to an E cup during her 20s, and was eventually left with AA cups in 2012 when a blood clot developed and doctors were forced to remove both implants. But she’s ruled out ever going back under the knife.

“The tissue in my left breast was too weak to hold the implant, so I needed two more revisions this year,” she explains.

“I’ve had enough surgery to last me a lifetime. I definitely don’t think I would want to go through any more. I can’t do it to my boys either. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, but I’m so happy and glad it’s over and we’ve finally got there.”

The relief is written all over her face.

It may have taken a while, but finally Danielle has fixed herself, mentally and physically.

Danielle’s clothing range is available later this month at Prodigalfox.com.