‘Holly Willoughby fainted’, Nicole Appleton on why she kept pregnancy secret

USUALLY, when people find out they are expecting a baby, they can’t wait to share the news with their friends.

But Nicole Appleton kept her pregnancy a secret from her best friends, colleagues and even her fellow All Saints.

8

8

8

She hid her bump with baggy clothes, even continuing her regular PT sessions, before giving birth to daughter Skipper in March 2020 with husband Stephen Haines – and surprising everyone with their happy news.

“No one knew,” she smiles.

“I obviously told my family [including fellow All Saint and sister, Natalie, 50] and my trainer.

“That was it.

“Not my friends or the rest of the band or my management – no one.” 

Nicole didn’t intend to hide it for the whole nine months, originally planning to announce it when she felt it was safe to. 

“When I got pregnant at 45, my doctor told me to keep it quiet, as miscarriage was common at my age,” she explains.

“At four months, my doctor said that everything was fine, but to wait a couple more months to be on the safe side.

“My friends all have the same doctor as me and she suggested I see how long I could go without telling them. And it became this big secret!”

She adds: “I’d FaceTime my friends, but they would only see me from the neck up.

“Natalie had the burden of keeping the secret with me, and was out one night with [All Saints] Mel [Blatt] and Shaz [Lewis] and they were saying: ‘Get Nic out. Where is she?’

“It got to January and I thought: ‘I’ve only got two months to go – can I do this?’

“There were a couple of times when I nearly told people because I couldn’t take it any more.

“I was still posting pictures on Instagram and went to the gym until two weeks before she was born.

“I was paranoid, so I used to meet my trainer in the dark at 6am, as I was scared of running into anyone with my big belly.”

Once baby Skipper arrived, she revealed the truth to her mates, including Holly Willoughby, Emma Bunton and Christine Lampard.

“I got home from the hospital and FaceTimed all of them. I said: ‘Guys, I’ve got news. I’m pregnant.’

“I wanted to enjoy that moment and they were all like: ‘Aww, amazing.’ Then I said: ‘I have something else to say… I’ve had her!’ and I showed them Skipper.

“They all froze.

“I think Holly fainted! She was at the This Morning studios and she literally fell to the ground.

“They all burst into tears and couldn’t believe it.

“Then I FaceTimed Mel, Shaz and Nat and they looked and said: ‘Is that a doll?’ 

“Then I had to prove I did actually have her. Someone said: ‘You just got that baby!’ [implying she used a surrogate].

“And I said: ‘No I didn’t.’ I showed them all the pictures through the pregnancy.

“Everything was completely natural.”

Nicole, who has 22-year-old son Gene with ex-husband Liam Gallagher, felt that not announcing her pregnancy meant she didn’t have to deal with any unwanted attention.

She says: “It made it more exciting, and I didn’t have those pictures that I had when I was pregnant with Gene.

“It was nice to have that sort of privacy.”

Despite having her son at 26, Nicole didn’t notice any huge differences having her daughter two decades later.

“The main things are exactly the same, except I’ve had a boy and a girl,” she says.

“I thought when you have a baby when you’re older, you’ll feel like the only one, but it’s so common.

“When I take her to preschool, lot of mums are my age.

“Gene and I have sort of grown up together – he’s been on that journey with me.

“So I feel a bit wiser, but Skipper has the same sort of upbringing as Gene did, so it’s not that different.”

Nicole’s social media is full of snaps of her with her son and she lights up when she talks about him.

“He might be 22 but he’s still my baby and still lives with me,” she admits.

“I still do his washing, and he cooks me dinner sometimes.

“He is the best big brother in the world.

“But he’s talking about moving out and I’m like: ‘No, don’t go please.’

“I love seeing him every day and if he does move out, it will break my heart as I won’t see him with Skipper every day.

“He’s so protective over her.

“The love that those two have… I feel very lucky.”

And of course with a mum who is an All Saint and a dad who was the frontman of Oasis, it’s no surprise Gene wants to follow in their footsteps. 

“A lot of my friends who aren’t in the music industry have kids who tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps. It’s natural,” she explains.

“But the fact is, he’s really good at it.

“Gene can sing better than his dad!

“I can’t wait for the world to hear him.

“He’s got his own band, though he won’t tell me what they’re called.

“He’s very private about what he’s doing, but he’s been rehearsing non-stop and says: ‘Mum, once everything is ready, you’re going to know everything.’

“He also plays drums for his dad’s band, so he tours everywhere with him.

“I did say: ‘Gene, when you start with your band, it’s not going to be in the same venues as the ones your dad plays!’”

While Gene loves being on the road with Liam, Nicole admits he’s less keen on watching her perform her hits. 

“He hated it when I performed Bootie Call.

“He came to watch us when we were supporting Take That in 2017, so he was about 16.

“We do this gyrating move and he was going: ‘Ugh, do you have to do that?’ And I was like: ‘Yes! It’s art. It’s what we do.”

Luckily Gene doesn’t have to worry about his mum bumping and grinding on stage, as All Saints are currently taking a break.

“It’s been quite nice because it’s 24/7 when you are touring,” Nicole says.

“Apart from Covid, we did a solid eight years.

“Sometimes it’s nice to step back a bit.

“Obviously, I had a child.

“Mel was doing Celebrity MasterChef and now Celebrity Race Across The World.

“My sister did The Masked Singer.

“It’s an opportunity for us all to do our own things.

“We’re super-proud of each other and get really excited about our new adventures.

“It’s been really nice to be able to find ourselves again.”

8

8

And was she instantly able to guess that it was Natalie in the fawn costume when she took part in the ITV show earlier this year?

“She was very much sworn to secrecy,” Nicole says.

“She didn’t actually tell me she was doing it, but I guessed when she kept saying I had to watch it and she was saying: ‘Get Gene to watch, too.’ As soon as I saw it, I said: ‘That’s you!’ 

“He’s really close to Nat and when he found out, it was such a surprise.

“He put his hands on his head and he said: ‘No way! That’s my dad’s favourite show as well!’

“So his dad watched it, too. It was hilarious.

“I was just flattered that people thought it was me, but I would never do it in a million years.

“I felt sick even watching her do it.

“Nat did I’m A Celeb! too and I would never, ever do that either, nor Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which I’m watching at the minute.”

Rather than doing reality TV shows, Nicole is stepping out of her comfort zone and presenting a show on Magic Radio at the weekends. 

“I’ve listened to Magic for years.

“I love the banter and the songs.

“I got asked to guest present with Ronan [Keating] and I was so nervous.

“I’ve done that for the past year, but now I have an official staff pass, which feels like a privilege, because for the past 12 months I’ve had to ask someone [to let me out and in again] if I need the loo!

“I wear my staff pass around my neck because I’m so proud of it!

“I get to talk about the songs I play, and nine times out of 10, I’ll have stories about them.”

Of course, Nicole will have her girl gang tuning in to support her.

She is part of one of the coolest group of friends there is, comprising Holly Willoughby, Emma Bunton, Christine Lampard and music exec Shiarra Bell.

Even Alison Hammond recently said that she wanted to be in the gang.

“They’re my world,” Nicole says.

“They’re my everything.

“There are six of us a lot of the time, but it extends.

“It’s Christine, myself, Holly, my friend Shiarra who works for Universal Music, Emma Bunton, our friend [PR guru] Niki de Metz, there’s Myleene Klass, Tamzin Outhwaite, Kate Thornton… and there are others. I’d hate to forget anyone.

“Covid really tested us, because we’re used to seeing each other all the time.

“The support and the love that we have for each other is unreal.”

Nicole says that they plan their girlie catch-ups, which have included trips to festivals, boozy dinners and even a ride on the Belmond British Pullman luxury train, in a very active WhatsApp group.

“Our WhatsApp group names change depending on what we are doing.

“If we are going away, it could be The Portugal Ones.

“The main one is My Girls.

“Someone will post: ‘Guys, have you seen this is happening?’ And then everyone is, like: ‘I’m in.’ We all make time for each other.”

When Holly had a difficult time with recent work issues, the girls rallied round to look after her.

“Oh my god, 100%. That’s what we are there for.

“I’ve known Emma since I was 10 – we went to Sylvia Young Theatre School together.

“Shiarra is everyone’s favourite – she’s the rock and makes everything happen.

“She was our PA at the beginning of All Saints.” 

They help each other career-wise, too.

Nicole was recently on pal Kate Thornton’s podcast and admitted she wished she could go back and tell her 20-year-old self to enjoy her body more.

“I think your brain is so different in your 20s.

“You just feel so insecure.

“You beat yourself up all the time.

“I remember size zero and it made me feel I wasn’t thin enough, even though my bones and my boobs would never let me be that small.

“Now I don’t care if anything falls out or wobbles.

“It’s a confidence thing.

“I just wish I’d had that brain when I was 20.”

And she’s trying to instil that confidence in her daughter, too.

“I’m not going to talk about my body in front of Skipper, ever. Or her body.

“I’m going to let her be her and be happy.

“My mum never did that to me, either – I think it’s because of my career [that it was so forced on me], and obviously now Skipper is going to be faced with social media and all that stuff – that terrifies me, but she’ll never get that pressure at home.”

Sound advice.

Now, how do we join that girl gang? 

•  Listen to Nicole on Magic Radio, 4-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays.

8

8

8