Single mum gets over tragic stillbirth by splashing £7K in a YEAR on entering her two-year-old daughter into 40 beauty pageants
Mollie Mae has been competing in full make-up and £300 dresses since she was 11 months old
A PROUD mum has spent £7000 in a bid to make her two-year-old into the UK’s top-performing pageant star for her age group – after suffering a stillbirth which left her obese and housebound.
Single mum Jodie Nind entered daughter Mollie Mae into her first contest at 11 months and in the past year, since she turned one, she has competed in 40 glitzy pageants – which see children dolled up in jewelled dresses and full make-up.
Mollie, now two. has never left without a crown or title but Jodie admits she often “goes without” to fund the hobby.
The mum-of-two, from High Wycombe, said: “I am so proud of Mollie Mae’s achievements.
“She has taken to glitz pageants like a duck to water and I am thrilled she has done so well.
“As a mum I know one thing for certain – no one can make a one or two-year-old do something they don’t want to do so that’s why I know my daughter’s happy.
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“Forget the Terrible Twos, this year will be the Tiara Two’s after last year’s string of wins.
Mollie’s success has helped Jodie get over a tragedy that left her battling with comfort eating and agoraphobia.
She said: “I have found a community of amazing people and my children have so many new friends and so do I.
“Years earlier I fell pregnant with a little girl I called Macey. She was my first child and I was over the moon about becoming a mum.
“At 28 weeks gone something went terribly wrong and Macey was stillborn.
“I didn’t want to leave the house and I was hit by anxiety. No one knew what to say and many friends lost touch so I felt even more isolated.”
The mum-of-two admits she sought comfort in food.
“I’d eat and eat and for a while my pain would subside but over time because I never went out I ended up a size 22 and the bigger I got the more isolated I became.
“When I finally fell pregnant again I was thrilled but at the same time absolutely terrified I’d lose the baby. My joy when Tyler arrived safely was overwhelming.”
But Jodie admits she still felt a hole in her life.
“Something was missing and then I fell pregnant again and, when Mollie was born, I knew the little girl I cradled in my arms was what I had needed.
“Mollie’s middle name is Nevaeh which is HEAVEN spelt backwards. My way of paying tribute to Macey and ensuring she was always in our lives.”
Jodie vowed to turn her life around and said: “I didn’t want my two kids to pick up on my agoraphobic tendencies and shyness.
“I wanted them to be happy and outgoing. So I made a decision and that is how we ended up doing pageants.”
The 36-year-old believes any criticism of glitz pageants is misplaced and says the thousands she’s splashed out on clothes, hair and make-up is money well spent.
She said: “I didn’t realise how much I’d actually spent until we added it up. £7000 may sound a lot but that’s over 12 months and includes entry fees to pageants which can be between £40-150, dresses costing up to £300, props for her routines and travel costs.
“I save, I go without and her Nan helps out so she can have the best and enjoy herself. “It’s her hobby and no one would question me if it was horse-riding or gymnastics or swimming.
“Mollie Mae has won so many crowns and titles in glitz pageants I don’t have enough space to store them all.”
Jodie said: “Mollie also has won countless Best Personality and Most Confident titles in her age group.
“I am extremely proud of these wins because it shows the judges can see that she is absolutely enjoying herself.”
There are two major types of pageants in the UK – natural or glitz.
In glitz, Mollie has to wear diamanté encrusted cupcake dresses with makeup including eye shadow, mascara, lipstick and blusher, although doesn’t use tan because she has eczema.
In the Beauty Section the little girl learned to correctly walk, complete turns, blow kisses and strike poses - all before her second birthday.
“I commissioned Mollie’s cupcake dresses from a specialist designer in the UK or I have paid £300 to import some from the USA.
“To be the best you have to have the best dresses but at the end of the day it’s Mollie Mae’s personality that shines through,” said Jodie.
In another round, children complete a routine wearing an outfit of their choice.
Mollie Mae has a cut off top and skirt for a sailor routine and will wear another skirt and midriff top as a cat for her next show.
“Mollie Mae dances along to the songs, performs the routine using props and strikes necessary poses,” explained Jodie.
Jodie knows some people are likely to criticise her for entering her daughter so young.
“I get people will try and tell me this is wrong and that it’s cruel but they don’t understand that the glitz pageant scene is like a community.
“There are strict rules as to who can watch a pageant and my daughter is safer on stage in her glitter dresses and crop tops than she is playing on a beach.
“My little girl loves the limelight and is a real little diva and the reality is any parent will tell you that you cannot make one or two year old perform on cue.
“Mollie Mae does this because she loves it and I refuse to be criticised for giving my child a hobby she enjoys.
“If someone says I am sexualising her then they must be looking at her as if she is sexual and to look at a child like that is plain wrong.”
Jodie admits her mum Jackie was horrified at first.
“Like many people she told me not to do it because the kids wore skimpy outfits and were adult heads on children’s bodies.
“However, I stood firm and now my mum couldn’t be prouder. Other people though do criticise and as a single mum even tell me I shouldn't waste my money.
“I tell them it’s my money and I go without so Mollie can have the best. Before Mollie I’d have manicure and pedicures, my hair done monthly and new clothes. Now I do my hair at home.
“If Mollie told me she didn’t want to do pageants I’d stop tomorrow. I am sure people will be shocked at how a one and two-year-old has been dressed but I don’t care - they can jog on.
“I know she loves pageants and it shows in the way she is so eager to get on stage and perform plus security at the pageants is very strict.”
How The Money is Spent
Glitz dress - £1000
Make up – £50
Props – £400
Travel and food (£80 for petrol and food to 40 pageants) - £3200
Entry to 40 pageants (entry per child between £40-£150 average at 60) – 2400
Outfits of choice - £300
TOTAL - £7350
Jodie says she’s not a “pushy pageant mum” and she thought she’d never enter her daughter in pageants.
“Mollie Mae is proof pageants are for all kids. She isn’t your typical thin pageant child.
“She’s adorable and a little chubby and I wouldn’t have her any other way. Children of all shapes and sizes compete and my daughter’s learning to express herself from an early age and accept all types of children.
“Not only that, we also raise large amounts of money for charity.”
According to Jodie, the money Mollie raises is far more than many detractors would ever give out of their own pockets.
She says: “Before you criticise pageants educate yourself as to what they about, the ethics the kids are taught and the charity work we do.”
Mollie has now been chosen as one of the glitz pageant Supreme Starz of the UK and is the UK’s youngest child to be given such a role
Pageant guru Hayley Kinnaird explains: "I chose Mollie-Mae as my Ambassador because even though she was pretty new to pageants, she is a little star on stage. Her happy smile and funny personality and character makes everyone smile and laugh.”
Another mum recently revealed she spent £28, 000 on her five-year-old daughter's beauty contests.
