letting loose
Loose Women legend risks wrath of mum-shamers as she reveals VERY controversial parenting decision
She's prepared to face her critics head-on
SAIRA Khan has admitted to making a rather controversial parenting decision that could provoke the wrath of mum-shamers.
The former Loose Women star, 54, is a proud mum to two children, Zac, 16, and 13-year-old Amara, who she shares with husband Steve Hyde.
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Saira explained how she decided to take a four-week sabbatical in Bali during her son's GCSEs.
Although some of her friends reacted negatively, she felt it was essential for her mental and physical well-being.
She wrote in the : "Zac wasn't remotely concerned. 'It's fine mum,' he told me. 'It's not like you can sit the exams for me is it?'
"If anything he was relieved not to have me on his case. I was stunned by his maturity, and Amara's too. They and Steve could see how ground down I was, how much I needed this.
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"Alas, I couldn't say the same for others, who were aghast at the thought I was 'abandoning' my son during exam period. 'I honestly couldn't live with myself,' one friend told me.
"I'll admit it gave me pause, until I realised that very few people would think to say the same to Steve.
"Golf holidays, lengthy stag dos (some second time round), extended periods away for business – no one bats an eyelid when a man goes away without his family, but when a woman does, suddenly she's abandoning her loved ones and heading for divorce."
The trip was exactly what she needed, as she returned feeling "a world away from the woman" who had left.
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Saira continued: "I can honestly say that taking time to press the reset button has transformed my outlook.
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"It's why I'd recommend that all women take a break away from their husband and children and tell anyone who calls them selfish for doing so exactly where they can go."
Saira and her husband Steve said "I do" on December 17, 2004.
The lovebirds had their son through IVF in 2008.
Three years later, following a miscarriage and several difficulties in trying to conceive a second child, the pair decided to adopt.
After a nine-month-long process, they travelled to the Edhi Foundation Orphanage, in Pakistan, where they adopted their daughter, Amara, when she was four days old.
Saira told Loose Women in 2018: "She was tiny. All I remember is when they put her in my arms - she was mine. I looked into her huge eyes and they were staring back at me."
She explained that, in Pakistan, unwanted babies are frequently left in cradles at the sides of roads, bus stops and shopping centres.
Saira added: "We know nothing. But I always say, to whoever is out there, thank you for bringing Amara and putting her in that cradle."
Regular Loose Women panellists
Katie Piper - Former Strictly Come Dancing star, activist, model and author
Sunetra Sarker - Also a former Strictly Come Dancing star, and known for acting in Casualty
Kaye Adams - Scottish journalist and one of the original Loose Women
Christine Lampard - ITV presenter
Ruth Langsford - Presented Loose Women on and off since 1999
Jane Moore - Former columnist for The Sun
Coleen Nolan - Became known for her family girl band called The Nolans and went on to compete on Celeb Big Brother
Nadia Sawalha - Former EastEnders star and Celebrity MasterChef winner
Stacey Solomon - Known for her reality show Sort Your Life Out and winning series 10 of I'm a Celeb
Janet Street-Porter - A journalist and president of the Ramblers' Association
Brenda Edwards - Came fourth on the X Factor and went on to become a pop star and act in hit musicals such as Hairspray
Charlene White - Lead presenter at ITV News London
Kelly Bryan - Former EastEnders star and was in a girl group called Eternal alongside her sisters. Currently part of the cast of Hollyoaks
Frankie Bridge - Participated in Strictly Come Dancing and came third place on I'm A Celeb in 2021
Judi Love - A stand up comedian and radio presenter, who has also made a variety of TV appearances in shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity MasterChef, and Taskmaster
Linda Robson - Played iconic character Tracey Stubbs in Birds of a Feather
Denise Welch - A soap queen, she starred in Coronation Street, Waterloo Road and Hollyoaks. Also the mother of Matty Healy, the lead singer of pop rock group the 1975.
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