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KATE Ferdinand has revealed she cried every day for a year when she first moved in with husband Rio.

The former Towie star married the retired footballer last year after they fell in love two years after his wife Rebecca died of cancer.

 Kate opened up about the tough time she faced when she moved in with Rio
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Kate opened up about the tough time she faced when she moved in with RioCredit: Getty - Contributor

She told magazine: "I cried every single day for a year when I first moved in with Rio.

"It was an incredibly difficult time because his mum Janice passed away [of cancer in 2017] just two years after they had lost Rebecca.

"My heart was breaking for them. All I wanted to do was try to fix him, make the kids happy and be as kind and supportive as I could. I gave up my job. I wanted to do everything right. But I didn’t know how to cook.

"I kept getting things wrong, like forgetting to put a gym kit in a school bag or missing an email from one of the kids’ teachers.

 Kate Ferdinand breaks down in tears during the emotional new documentary
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Kate Ferdinand breaks down in tears during the emotional new documentary

"And I would get into a total state because I felt I was messing up in front of so many people who didn’t want me there. I wasn’t a mum. I wasn’t really used to being around kids, but I knew I would do anything for them.

"I lost myself. I felt as though I was acting all the time, trying to smile and learn to cook and be this perfect woman. I tried to talk to Rio but it sounded like I was moaning when he had much bigger problems to deal with. So I’d go to our bedroom and cry."

In the first look trailer for the documentary Kate breaks down in tears.

The pair have made an intimate documentary called Rio and Kate: Becoming a Stepfamily.

 Kate and Rio Ferdinand's documentary about becoming a step family will air later this month
Kate and Rio Ferdinand's documentary about becoming a step family will air later this monthCredit: BBC

The BBC programme will follow Kate as she integrates into the family and becomes step-mum to Rio's three children Lorenz, Tate and Tia after after he tragically lost his wife, Rebecca Ferdinand, to breast cancer in 2015.

In the months leading up to their wedding, the documentary, new fiancee Kate, 27, takes on the role of ‘mum’ to three grieving children.

And with the memory of Rebecca still very much present, a set of unique, emotionally complicated challenges emerge.

Sobbing, she says: "I just want the children to be happy."

 The documentary will show the months leading up to their wedding last year
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The documentary will show the months leading up to their wedding last year
 The family on holiday
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The family on holiday
 Rio with Kate and his three children
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Rio with Kate and his three children

Elsewhere in the film Rio explains: "There ain't no manual that tells you how to become a step-mum."

And Kate adds: "It's hard for us so I just can't imagine how hard it is for the kids."

But it appears there will be light at the end of the tunnel as the documentary also shows Kate and Rio's wedding day.

"You feel you've been dealt a terrible hand but your luck can change," Rio says.

The couple tied the knot last year with Kate taking on the role of mother to Rio's three children.

 The couple on their wedding day last year
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The couple on their wedding day last year

Posting on Instagram about the show last month, Kate wrote: "This is a hugely important and personal project for @rioferdy5 and I. For the last year we have been filming a new @bbcone documentary ‘Rio and Kate: Becoming a Step Family’

"We have been on such a journey and we really hope the film will help other step families and those experiencing the journey of grief 🙏🏻 coming soon ❤️."

The documentary will air on Monday 10 February at 9pm on BBC One and follows on from the former Manchester United player's previous BBC documentary, Being Mum and Dad, when he bravely opened about life as a single parent after his wife's passing.

 Kate has taken on the role of step-mum to Rio's three children
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Kate has taken on the role of step-mum to Rio's three childrenCredit: Instagram

The documentary, which aired in March 2017, left viewers in floods of tears as he spoke about his struggle to raise his children alone.

At the time Rio was hailed a “warrior”, “brave” and “a brilliant dad” by celebrities and TV fans alike as they watched him break down in tears talking about his late wife.

This new show will now document his journey since he met and married Kate, who is now step-mum to his kids.

His late wife Rebecca passed away after a battle with breast cancer on May 2, 2015, aged just 34.

 Rio got his wife's approval to date Kate
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Rio got his wife's approval to date KateCredit: Instagram

Before her death, Rebecca had tried to talk to her husband about life after she was gone - but struggling to cope with her illness, he dismissed the conversation.

Instead, she left a message with her best friend Lisa, giving Rio her blessing to love again as she didn't want him to be “alone and miserable”.

Writing in his autobiography, Rio said: “Rebecca told Lisa something in the final weeks of her life.

“Months later Lisa told me what it was . . . ‘It kills me to think of Rio with a new partner, Lisa, you know it does. Of course it does.

“'But you know what kills me even more? Thinking of him alone and lonely.

"'If I don’t make it, Lisa, I don’t want Rio to be miserable. I want him to be happy’.”

 Rio broke down in tears in his last, award-winning documentary
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Rio broke down in tears in his last, award-winning documentaryCredit: BBC
 The former footballer's brood adore Kate
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The former footballer's brood adore Kate

The couple had been dating for several years before they married in 2009, three years after they gave birth to their first son.

Though she had been fighting the disease for a short time, Rio and Rebecca remained private about her ill health so it came as a huge shock when her death was announced.

Meanwhile, last month Kate revealed how hurt she felt after her husband Rio's kids told her she wasn't their mum in a heated argument.

She opened up about the struggles she's faced with being a new parent to his three children.

 Kate and Rio often work on their toned bodies together
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Kate and Rio often work on their toned bodies togetherCredit: Instagram
 Rio tragically lost his wife, Rebecca Ferdinand, to breast cancer in 2015
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Rio tragically lost his wife, Rebecca Ferdinand, to breast cancer in 2015Credit: Rex Features

The former Towie star revealed all about the realities of becoming a step-mum to her husband's kids.

Speaking to the , Kate explained how a huge argument with Tate, 11, Lorenz, 13, and Tia Ferdinand, 8, had upset her.

"You don't know," one of Rio's children told her, "because you're not a mum."

"The minute they said it, there was a gasp," she said, adding: "They've never said it again."

 They are very active on social media
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They are very active on social mediaCredit: Refer to Caption
 The children were sure to include Kate on their Mother's Day card
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The children were sure to include Kate on their Mother's Day cardCredit: Instagram

She added: "But I'm not their mum. But I act like a mum and I see them as my children."

The reality star revealed that she struggled with taking on the role of a mum as she moved into her husband's home and found cooking family meals for them all particularly challenging.

"Simple things like I forgot to cut their toenails. I was so busy trying to do everything perfectly and someone pointed out they needed their toenails cut.

"Or cooking. I couldn't cook very well when I met Rio and the kids. I would burn everything.

"I would go, 'Is it nice?' and they would say, 'Not really.'"

After the initial struggle of adjusting to Kate's new role in the family home, counselling helped her feel a lot more at ease - and she realised that she just needed to be herself.

The star revealed that her step-children still talk about their mum every day and have a room of photos dedicated to her.

Emotional Rio Ferdinand in trailer for BBC show 'Being Mum and Dad'
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