Alex Higgins: Booze, fights, kidnap, sex and gambling My stormy life with Hurricane

SHE was the little girl watched by a nation as she shared snooker legend Alex Higgins's greatest triumph.

And today his beloved daughter spills the whole, awostonishing truth about what it was like to be swept along by the Hurricane.

Lauren Higgins was just two when millions saw her hugged by her weeping dad after he won the World Championships in 1982.

Last week Lauren, now a beautiful young woman, took centre stage again to tell him: "I love you, dad"... at his funeral.

Now, in a sensational interview, Lauren reveals her heartbreak that his final words to her were tragically: "F*** off!"

And she tells how how he:

• HURLED TVs through windows in front of his terrified kids during booze-fuelled fights with their mum

• POSTED envelopes stuffed with cash through the letterbox to try and win his family back

• THREATENED to have his children kidnapped following his divorce and

• TRIED to marry her off to a billionaire Dubai sheikh.

Lauren, 29, says: "People called him wild, unpredictable and off-the- wall, but to me, he was just my dad. 

"And, contrary to what people think, he has always been there for me. Always, in his own unique way.

"My earliest memory of him is round about the time of the famous World Championships photo.

"I can remember him hitting upon this idea of using me in a trick shot.

"He laid me on the snooker table, placed a piece of chalk in my mouth and a snooker ball on top - and was just about to take the shot when my furious mum walked in!
"From the moment I was born, he was just so proud. When I lost my first two teeth, he had them dipped in gold and wore them around his neck. So it's hardly surprising when he won the World Championships that he wanted me sharing his moment.

"But my mum says it started his decline from then on. She even told a friend, 'This is the moment that all the trouble is going to start.' "

Sure enough, Alex's relationship with wife Lynn hit the rocks - and Lauren and brother Jordan saw it all.

Dad's fights with mum were legendary

Lauren says: "My dad's fights with mum were legendary. There were loads of rows. The worst? Too many to pick from. When he drank, he couldn't rein himself in and that's what fuelled his temper problem.

"Dad would throw whatever he could through windows in drunken rages - the TV, silverware, even Jordan's skateboard once.

"Police were regular visitors. We became quite friendly with them - I can remember playing with their badges."

Alex and Lynn divorced in 1985 - but little changed.

Lauren says: "In the beginning, he was generous because he was hell-bent on getting mum back - so he used to bung envelopes through the door packed with thousands of pounds. But when he realised she wasn't coming back, it turned nasty again.

"I remember once, my mum was having a dinner party, Dad kicking the front door off its hinges in another drunken rage.

"There were times when I had to be watched at school because he said he was going to have us kidnapped.

"He would have us followed to school so often that we were waving hello at the private investigator."

He was going to have us kidnapped

Lauren says she craved a normal relationship with her father and cherished time spent out of the limelight. Like the "normal" time Alex treated his kids to a Chinese takeaway, rather than take them to a restaurant and face all the attention.

"My dad never did anything by halves. He ordered one of EVERYTHING on the menu! There was so much food that we had to move the table out the way and set all the cartons out on the floor! Sometimes though he would do normal things like turn up out of the blue to watch me in a school play.

"But there were too many times when he would disappoint us too - when he'd arrange to do things with us and not turn up."

As Lauren grew up, Alex became extremely protective of his "little girl". He hated all her boyfriends and was so rude to them that Lauren's current boyfriend NEVER met her dad.

Alex even decided to take matters into his own hands and chose his daughter's partner. Lauren says: "Not so long ago, Dad rang my mum and told her: 'I want Lauren to come to Dubai with me because I want to get her a husband - in Dubai, they're not just millionaires, they're billionaires.' He was absolutely serious."
As he became increasingly frail, the once-dashing romeo poignantly confided to his daughter that he feared he would never find love again.

"He told me, 'I can't eat and I can't talk a lot and I'm never going to get a woman.' He used to say it all the time: 'No one's here to cuddle me.

CUE-TE: Lauren snookers dad

I know he was a womaniser when he was younger - but I think he always really preferred gambling to women.

"I think I am a better person because my dad didn't squander his millions on me. Everything I've done I've worked for and got for myself.

"Still it is annoying and a terrible waste of money. I do find it embarrassing that he blew £4million gambling. But he loved it. And I'm happy he did what made him happy."

In recent months Alex became more demanding of Lauren who is busy as a human resources executive.
"Once I was going to work and he was staying at the Travel Inn in Manchester and he rang me saying, 'I need to see you, It's really important.'
So I rushed there and he said I needed to get him a pot of tea because there was no room service. That was why he called."

Then recently Alex called her expecting her to drop everything at the last minute to be by his side at a benefit in his name. Lauren couldn't make it and Alex was furious.

He shouted: "F*** off!" at her and Lauren slammed the phone down. She said: "I thought, 'You can't speak to me like that.' I was angry. You see, in many ways I'm a lot like him."

Her dad rang a week later to apologise but Lauren was busy - and still annoyed - and didn't take the call. Alex was found dead in his sheltered accommodation in Belfast on July 24 before they had a chance to make up.

I never got the chance to say goodbye

She recalled: "Auntie Anne found him and rang my mum straight away. When I heard her coming up the stairs, I just had a terrible feeling. I said: 'Is my dad dead?' She just said: 'Yes' and I burst into tears. I was devastated I never got the chance to say goodbye."

Incredibly Lauren is convinced neither the throat cancer he fought for 12 years nor drink caused Alex's death at 61. "I believe he beat cancer - when we got the coroner's report, there was no mention of him having it.

"And also despite everyone going on about him being an alcoholic, the coroner did a report on his liver and it was in a GOOD news condition."

On the morning of Alex's funeral, in Belfast, Lauren spent a quiet half hour alone with her father's coffin.

She says: "Rather than saying I'm sorry, I told him all the things I had wished I had said. He knew that I loved him. I told him that all the time on the phone.

"But I told him I loved him one last time."

Model Emily Ratajkowski poses topless in latest sexy social media snap

EMILY Ratajkowski has posed topless in her latest Instagram snap. The sexy star, 27, stares seductively at the camera as she covers her breast with her left hand.

Emily posted this sexy snap to her photo Instagram page

Instagram

The model also made sure her fans got a good look at her wedding ring. She captioned the pic: “Tan bb”. And her followers – of which she has almost 19 million – seemed to be impressed with the picture, leaving dozens of flattering comments under the post. One wrote: “Absolute stunning and beautiful”.

Emily has been enjoying some downtime with her husband

Another said: “Out of all the flowers on Instagram, you are the most beautiful flower to post on Instagram,and brighten anybodys day”. A third quipped: “I can’t even, I’m so in love with he”. Emily was recently seen enjoying a holiday with husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.

She has revealed she has finally got a real engagement ring four months after her secret wedding.

Emily is famous for showing off her fabulous figure on social media

She previously admitted she didn’t say yes to marrying husband until he made her a paperclip ring. The star held up her hand to display her new jewellery and posted the shot on Instagram. The sizeable rock sits next to her simple gold wedding band. The couple tied the knot at New York City Hall in February after just three months of dating.

Emily recently revealed she’s only just got an engagement ring

Instagram

Celebriny pictures 

The Fabulous girls' guide to football

Can't imagine anything better than spending 90 minutes ogling fit men in shorts? Then you'll be raring to go when the World Cup kicks off on June 11!

But even if you think the only bit worth watching is the players swapping shirts at the end, you'll discover there's actually plenty in South Africa to keep you interested over the next few weeks. Follow our girls' guide to the World Cup and who knows, you may end up loving the beautiful game!

The offside rule

We all have our own tricks for working out on a first date whether a man could be the father of our future children (kind to his mum, nice hands, pays for dinner). Well, guess what? Men have their own form of natural selection - and it's called the offside rule. Girls, if you can master this, he'll think you're a goddess.

Forget football for a minute. Instead, imagine the Harvey Nicks shoe department during the sales - that's the equivalent of the pitch.

There's one last pair of Christian Louboutin Prive slingbacks with 80 per cent off - that's the goal. But in front of you, a gang of other girls are in the way of the fabulous footwear. They're the opposing team. Behind you is your best friend holding your credit card - that's the ball. If you start running towards the shoes (the goal) and your mate throws the card (the ball) to you after you've managed to barge past the last two shoppers, you're offside and lose the shoes. Simples!

Soccer speak

The universal language of lads can seem rather alien to the uninitiated (and we suspect they probably prefer it that way).

Master the offside rule and he'll think you're a goddess

Here are a few key phrases to help you make sense of what the commentators are babbling on about:

'Holding up the ball' - we're not talking tight boxers here, but a player's ability to keep the ball and not lose it in a tackle (tackle is not what you think either!).

'Nutmeg' - not the spice, but a move where one player kicks the ball between the legs of an opposing player.

'Tricky Brazilian' - this isn't a painful grooming procedure, it's a skilful player from South America.

Once you've mastered the basics, really impress the lads by throwing the following into your chat: "Let's hope Capello's insistence on a rigid 4-4-2 structure instead of a diamond formation doesn't limit our central attacking options. I'd have gone with the 4-5-1." (This means how the manager, Fabio Capello, has decided to play the team, with so many at the front, in the middle and at the back of the pitch.)

Gaining a home advantage

Even if you don't like football, initiating a soccer date or suggesting you snuggle up on the sofa to watch the game will net you a few brownie points. If you want your man out of the house, suggest he goes to the pub because the atmosphere is better. He'll think you're a saint - and you can watch Cougar Town without having to wrestle for the remote.

How will Tevez wear his hair?

And after his chosen team wins a match, let him come home to find you wearing nothing more than his England shirt! This is the perfect moment to drop hints about those Jimmy Choos you've had your eye on

Football fashion

Even the most hardened fashionista will find some inspiration during the tournament. Hair is always a major talking point (they'd never admit it, but most players plan their World Cup style as carefully as they plan their match tactics). Accessorising will be big this year, especially with the Latin sides like Spain and Italy favouring long locks tied back with thin Alice bands. And as for England, who'll have the best barnet now Becks isn't in the squad? Whoever emerges victorious is likely to spark a copycat frenzy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that John Terry's semi-mullet doesn't find its way on to the high street.

World cup etiquette

The best place to watch a game is usually the pub. Don't worry about squeezing into a tight dress and skyscraper heels because the chances are, if England score, you'll get covered in beer. And remember when chanting for Frank Lampard and Co. that the correct pronunciation is IN-GER-LUND.

The correct pronunciation is IN-GER-LUND

No matter who your faves are, be aware that there are some teams it is acceptable to support and some you can't. It's fine to cheer for South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland, but frowned on to support Germany or Argentina (unless you're German or Argentinian). They are the ENEMY.

Your drink must be beer; your food anything that doesn't require cutlery - forget the low-carb diet for a few weeks.

WAGs

It looks like it could be a disappointing tournament for WAG spotters. Capello doesn't want them there, Cheryl has dumped Ashley, Posh might not be going, and Carly Cole has just given birth so she'll be at home. It will also be winter in South Africa (which is not known for its retail opportunities), so the likes of Coleen Rooney, Abbey Clancy and new super-WAG Christine Bleakley may only appear briefly if England get through to the late stages of the tournament.

Dealing with loss

Although I'm confident England will do well, they have been knocked out before the final in every World Cup since 1966. But even if you've invested time and effort in following the tournament and your chosen team does get sent home, it needn't be a tragedy. The great thing about being a woman is you can switch allegiances to another hot team. I, though, will be drowning my sorrows!

This article has 3 comments

i totally understand the rules to football, been brought up with football all my life... i do think you give a great explanation to the offside rule for the women who dont, but want to understand it your fella will love you for being a beer drinkin footy mad lass granted you may become a bit of a threat to his ego if your too intrested so dont throw it all at him at once lol

By kelly.. Posted June 10 2010 at 11:02 AM.

Wow!! What an amazing insight into the world of football. I don't mind the game and I am thrilled my boyfriend feels the same. However, after reading Charlotte's article I have learned more from her in 5 minutes than any bloke could ever teach me.
The explination of the off side rule will be with me forever and her soccer speak was genius. Fabulous your mag is THE only one I now read as I figure if it's not in Fabolous then it isn't worth knowing anyway.....Thanks for the bringing us the best mag ever Mwah x

By Emma Sands.. Posted June 5 2010 at 10:15 AM.

Charlotte Jackson is so fit

‘Mum made me anorexic’

As a teen Natasha Bodley abused slimming pills that her mum gave her. Now 28, she talks about the eating disorder that nearly killed her

Both Natasha and her mum have eating disorders

By Alice Wright & Gail Shortland, 18/04/2012

Immaculate blonde hair, perfectly manicured nails and enviably slim. My mum always looked groomed, but I knew what her secret was. Mum barely ate, and she had a deadly addiction to slimming pills. An addiction that I would inherit, and that would leave me sectioned in a psychiatric hospital battling the doctors who could save my life.

Natasha at an underweight 6st 7lb

Growing up, I thought my mum was so glamorous. She looked like Princess Diana. But she suffered from terrible mood swings. I know now that she had bi-polar disorder. My dad had left us when I was one, so it was just the two of us. I spent a lot of time with my nan while Mum tried various medications to keep her condition under control.

The one thing that was constant, though, was Mum's obsession with her appearance. She'd spend hours getting her outfits right, doing her make-up. Aged 12 I was already worried I was fat, even though I was 5ft 5in and weighed around 7st 7lb.

'You're perfect as you are,' Mum insisted. I didn't believe her. The irony? Mum didn't believe my compliments either. Convinced she was overweight, I knew she gorged on laxatives and slimming pills to keep her size-6 figure.

She hardly ate, so I stopped eating too. Mum tried to make me, but I was determined not to and she wasn't strong enough to fight my tantrums. I lost a bit of weight, but not enough.

As I'd grown up, I'd learned how to get what I wanted - exploiting Mum's guilt for not always being there. So when I decided I wanted to take laxatives, like she did, I knew just how to get my own way.

One night I kept on and on about my weight, which by then was only 7st. 'I'm fat,' I spat, over and over. I ground Mum down until she delved into her handbag and handed me two smooth laxative tablets.

Gulping them back, I felt like I'd won - that we were sharing a secret world. I ended up on the toilet with an awful stomach ache, but I felt cleansed.

From that moment on, whenever I could I'd take laxatives from Mum's bedroom. Consumed by her depression, she didn't exactly try to hide them.

I slimmed down quickly, but no one thought that there was anything wrong. By 15, I was 5ft 7in, a size 4 and surviving on a diet of just lettuce leaves and lemon juice and taking two laxatives a day.

Natasha was taking 120 laxatives a day

That's when I discovered Mum took prescription slimming pills too - I found them in her make-up bag. I told her I wanted some. At first she refused. I accused her of being a bad mum for leaving me with Nan so much, saying that was why I was unhappy - guilt made her weak, so she took me to a private doctor.

I think she hoped I'd be refused slimming pills - I was just a teenager. But I kicked up a huge fuss in the doctor's surgery and we were paying him, so eventually he gave in to my demands and prescribed me slimming pills.

Mum never tried to stop me taking them - how could she? She wouldn't give them up herself.

Leaving school, I enrolled on a performing arts course. But I skipped lessons to concentrate on being thin. A couple of friends tried to talk to me about what I was going through but I was so wrapped up in my illness I didn't listen to them.

Supplementing meagre meals of lettuce and tuna with between 80 and 120 laxatives a day, my weight plummeted. By the time I was 20, I weighed just 5st 7lb. I was smaller than a size 0 and was dangerously underweight. Looking back, I was so sick - my hair was lank, my eyes dull. I barely left the house. Meanwhile, Mum's depression was being better controlled by new medication and she was thinking more clearly. She tried to help me, but I refused to listen.

As much as Mum's eating disorder consumed her, she'd never let her weight get dangerously low. I'd gone further than she ever had. She persuaded me to go into an eating disorder clinic by threatening to get me sectioned if I didn't.

I was furious, and decided to use my time in the clinic to become more cunning about losing weight. I tried sewing weights into my dressing gown to make me heavier when I was being weighed and I became an expert at hiding food from the staff. Meanwhile, my body desperately craved diet pills and laxatives - without them I felt anxious, sick and faint.

Despite my intentions not to eat, being monitored by strict staff meant that after nine months, I weighed 7st and the doctors discharged me. Mum was pleased. But I felt disgusted with myself for gaining weight. Back home I punished my body with a harsh food routine, eating only microwaved mushrooms.

I knew Mum was still taking diet pills and laxatives to stay skinny. So, when she tried to talk to me, I ignored her.

Eventually, it got to the point where I was barely functioning. My body was going into shutdown and I spent my days just sitting listlessly in my room.

I can't remember the last few weeks before I was sectioned. I just know that I was skin and bone and couldn't even walk. Mum couldn't cope - she didn't know what to do. So she followed through on her previous threat and called my community psychiatric nurse to have me sectioned. As I was carried out of my room, I was too weak to physically fight. But I could still hurt Mum.

'How could you?' I screamed. 'It's your fault I'm like this.'

Mum winced, but stood her ground. I was taken into a psychiatric unit, weighing just 5st. Diagnosed with anorexia, doctors told me I could only go home once I'd reached 7st.

At night, I'd phone Mum, begging for her to come and collect me. When she visited, I pleaded with her. But this time she was stronger. 'You need to get better,' she'd insist.

Initially, I was tube-fed by nurses. Then I was gradually moved on to solid foods and watched while I ate in my room. Eating in the dining room was a privilege you had to earn, but eventually I learned to eat more normally and not view food as my enemy.

Natasha and Sonia have now rebuilt their relationship

After seven months, Mum came in for a meeting. I'd made it to just over 7st. 'I can go home,' I cried.

Mum shook her head. 'No, you can't,' she said sadly. 'If you move back in with me, all your old habits will return.' She was right of course. But I felt stung by her rejection.

'You gave me this eating disorder,' I hissed as she left.

I stayed in hospital for a few more weeks. Mum called but I refused to speak to her.

Once I weighed 7st 7lb, I was allowed to leave the hospital as long as I agreed to regular check-ups to make sure that I was still working towards a healthy weight.

I found a small flat to rent and started to carve out a life for myself. I wanted to get better and to study again.

Slowly, I realised I couldn't blame anyone else for what had happened to me. Or rely on them to fix things. I started seeing a psychiatrist and committed myself to getting better. There was just one thing missing - Mum.

After six months I rang her. 'Thank you,' I said. 'You saved my life.' And we started to rebuild our relationship.

A year on, I'm a healthy 9st 7lb, a size 10 and I have a good relationship with food. There's no overnight cure, but I'm getting there. Mum and I still have a different relationship to most mothers and daughters. We've been through some really tough times. I know she tries to control her weight, though I hope one day she'll stop.

We talk on the phone all the time and meet a few times a week. I don't blame her for my eating disorder any more. I thank her for saving my life."

Sonia Szynkarski, a former sales executive, 48, says: "I'll never forget watching as my darling daughter was carried screaming from the house by the mental health team taking her away to be sectioned.

The truth was, however much Natasha hated me, I hated myself more. My beautiful, bubbly girl was a skeleton, dying in front of my eyes, and it was all my fault.

Her problems had been triggered because I'd set a bad example. As her mum, I should've tried harder to say 'no'.

But I hadn't always been there for her. When she asked for laxatives, I should have refused. And three years later, I still didn't say no when she wanted diet pills. Maybe if I had, things would have been so different.

My own weight problems had started when I was pregnant with Natasha. I'd piled on 3st, taking my weight to 11st. Whenever I looked in the mirror, I panicked. My rounded face and puffy ankles made me feel sick.

When Natasha was born, I turned to anything to help me lose the weight. I didn't have time for diets, so I found a quick fix, using laxatives and pills. Even though they left me feeling drained, they also put me in control.

But despite losing weight and having an energetic and happy toddler to look after, something had changed in me. My mood swung violently between elated happiness and a plummeting feeling of doom.

When Natasha was five years old, I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. While I came to terms with my illness, I struggled with being a mum. And I made some serious mistakes.

As Natasha grew up, all I could do was watch her pick up my bad habits. I should have led a better example, but I was consumed by my own compulsions.

Looking back, I realise that I wasn't thinking rationally. When Natasha was 15, she demanded slimming pills. We had a vicious row and she was quick to point out what a hypocrite I was - I popped pills like they were mints.

I really thought that the doctor would tell her that she was being ridiculous, but instead he wrote her out a prescription. As her mother, I should have stopped her. Only that would have meant I had to give them up, and I wasn't strong enough.

In my medicated mind, I thought that I was still in control. I took them and I was OK - wasn't I? It sounds like an excuse, but I really didn't know what I was doing.

When I finally grew stronger, with better medication and counselling for my bi-polar disorder, I realised that I had to help Natasha. She was so weak, she could hardly move. 'I've done this to her,' I sobbed every night. It plagued me, how I wished I'd done things differently.

Laxatives and diet pills were part of my life but Natasha had to escape. And I had to help her. When she was sectioned, she was wheelchair-bound and fed by a tube.

It broke my heart the day she begged me to take her home. For the first time, I had to learn to say 'no' to her. After seven months, she had become stronger but I knew that I couldn't let her come home. It was time to be the mum she deserved.

I crushed her that day, but I only did it to save her life. When I look at Natasha now, I'm so proud of what she's achieved. She's studying performing arts and doing brilliantly.

My bi-polar is under control with better medication and I do my best to fight the lure of diet pills, but I do still take them. I used to torture myself for Natasha's problems but she doesn't blame me. 'You were ill yourself, Mum,' she says.

It doesn't stop me wishing I'd done things differently. I'm constantly in awe of Natasha's strength. Finally, she's the strong beautiful woman she always aspired to be.

And with her help, I'm getting there too."

The expert opinion

Susan Ringwood, chief executive of eating disorder charity B-eat (visit B-eat.co.uk), says eating disorders can run in some families. "While you can't actually inherit an eating problem itself, you might inherit some of the vulnerabilities that make having one more likely - such as a chemical imbalance in the brain, which can cause depression leading to an eating problem," she explains.

"Daughters do copy their mothers' behaviour. If a mother makes self-critical comments, it's very likely to have an adverse effect on the daughter's self-esteem."

Single, pregnant and DATING, so what?

Teen mum-to-be Amie Rogers explains why she shouldn't be judged for looking for love

Pregnant and looking for love

By Hannah Barr, 21/03/2010

I'm a normal 18-year-old girl - into fashion, boys and dating. There's just one difference: I'm pregnant too. Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. I've seen it in the looks I get approaching a boy at the bar.

You might frown on the fact that I'm dating, but before you condemn me, ask yourself - just because love didn't last with Danny, the father of my child, should I have to wait 18 years before I get the chance of happiness again?

I'm not looking for someone to be my baby's dad. Nor am I ignoring the fact I'm due to give birth to a little boy in three months' time. But I'm not ill, I'm pregnant. Surely there's nothing wrong in wanting a bit of company and affection?

After my relationship with Danny, 23, collapsed three months ago, I could easily have become a hermit, worrying about how I'd cope. Instead, I decided to get on with my life.

Danny and I met last August at a house party. While we were careful, there was one time we didn't use contraception and a month later I missed my period. I've never really agreed with abortion, so planned or not - I was keeping my baby.

What do you think about Amie's story?  

My parents had split when I was 14; I didn't keep in touch with Mum, instead I stayed with Dad and my brother, Joe, 12.

Dad wasn't happy when I told him my news, but said he'd support me and do whatever he could to help. And I hoped, naively I suppose, that Danny and I would be able to make it as a couple. But we soon started bickering and I realised we weren't meant to be together forever. Two days before my three-month scan, we split up. Danny vowed to stand by me and be there for the baby. It was a tough decision, but deep down I knew it was the right one.

By that time, my hormones were all over the place - I couldn't stop crying and was constantly moody. Last Christmas, I'd never felt so alone. Sitting at home, thinking about my future, I felt empty. All I could see was a life of being lonely. I couldn't help feeling jealous when my best friend Jenny, 19, called and recounted stories of drunken parties and snogging guys. As I put the phone down, I started to wonder why my life had to come to a standstill just because I was pregnant. I made the decision to stop moping. I needed to embrace my freedom for a few more months. I could still go to the pub with friends, even if I couldn't drink alcohol.

In January, a group of us went to the seaside. There, I was introduced to Simon*, 18, who works in the navy. My friends had told him I was pregnant, and he didn't flinch. In fact, he was really caring, hugging me when I shivered and offering me his jumper. I was surprised when he messaged me on Facebook the next day to ask if I wanted to meet up.

Teen mum-to-be Amie is still dreaming of Mr Right

Until then, I hadn't even considered dating, but my mind changed as I read his email. I had nothing to lose. For our first date we met in a local pub. Without a drink, I was nervous. But Simon was so attentive as he listened to me gabble on about the baby. And, at the end of the night, when he hugged and kissed me, it felt so comforting that I agreed to meet up with him again.

He said it didn't bother him that I was pregnant. I hoped he meant it, then worried he thought I'd be easy to get into bed. But he didn't press me for sex. Instead, he constantly told me how beautiful I was, and it was a boost to my self-confidence.

But although I really liked him, the timing wasn't right. After three weeks, when I saw he was falling for me, I decided to end it. I explained how I wasn't ready for a relationship and I didn't want to make things complicated.

Simon had made me realise that I was still desirable. A month later, I was out with friends when I met Jamie*, a handsome 22-year-old soldier. By now, my hormones had me in a spin, my sex drive was through the roof and when Jamie started flirting, I couldn't help but respond. Four months gone, my bump was visible but not prominent. Presuming he was after no-strings sex, I decided there wasn't much point telling him I was pregnant. I had my first one-night stand with him. Having sex felt natural, I knew it wouldn't harm the baby and we made sure we used a condom.

I stayed the night. It felt lovely to have his arms around me. But the next morning, when he asked for my number, I was hesitant.

He sent me a Facebook message that same day telling me he was going to be in my local pub that night. We had some mutual friends and I suddenly realised he might find out from someone else that I was pregnant.

I'm aware that people gossip

I didn't want him to think I'd deceived him. So that evening, I went to the pub and quietly and quickly told him I was expecting. His jaw dropped, he politely asked about the father and, not wanting him to think I was easy, I explained my situation. I said I'd had a great night and didn't expect anything else from him. He seemed relieved. I understood his reaction, but I didn't feel guilty. We were consenting adults and we enjoyed ourselves.

Over the past few weeks, since my bump's started to show, men don't approach me in bars. I don't mind, but it's made me realise it's going to be harder to date now that I'm obviously pregnant.

On one occasion, a guy started chatting me up while I was sitting at a table in a bar. He seemed keen, but when I got up to go to the toilet and he saw my bump he looked horrified. He wasn't there when I got back.

In the past month I've been out on a few dates, usually with men I've met through friends - they're normally more accepting of my pregnancy than strangers. Men are still interested in me, despite my bump. They seem to want to look after me. And that feels nice.

I'm hesitant to take dates further now unless I really like somebody. While a kiss and cuddle at the end of the night is comforting, sex will make things complicated. I've dismissed the idea of more one-night stands, but if I really fell for someone I wouldn't rule out a sexual relationship before I give birth.

Pregnancy hasn't stopped Amie dating

I'd have to trust my partner implicitly though and know his feelings for me were genuine.

For now, I'm just taking it a day at a time. You never know who you might meet - the man I'll spend the rest of my life with might be just around the corner. But I'll soon be starting antenatal classes and preparing for the birth, which is my main priority.

I'm aware some people have been gossiping since I've been pregnant and dating, and have labelled me promiscuous, much to Dad's embarrassment. But I can count the men I've slept with on one hand.

It's my body, my life and I'm not putting my baby at risk, so I don't see why going on dates is a problem. I'm making the best of a bad situation. I refuse to stop believing that one day I'll fall in love and have a successful relationship. Dating keeps that dream alive. And what's wrong with that?"

Danny Butler, 23, says: "As much as I care for Amie, our relationship didn't work out. It's for the best that we're apart. If dating makes Amie happy, I'm fine with it. We've both got to move on and I accept there will be another man in Amie and the baby's life."

'I went from anorexic teen to plus-size model'

Rejected by model agencies for being too fat, teenager Mellissa Laycy developed a lethal eating disorder. Now 22, she's curvy, confident and on the catwalk

Striding down the catwalk wearing nothing but a lacy bra and matching knickers, Mellissa Laycy oozes confidence and attitude.

She's achieved her schoolgirl dream of modelling. But she's not your normal stick-thin model. Mellissa is a size 16, with 42in hips and 32GG breasts.

Far from hiding her curves, the statuesque blonde flaunts them and she's the star of the show at this lingerie event.

With designers such as Vivienne Westwood and hot newcomer Mark Fast using 'normal' sized women to promote their clothes, curvy girls are making their mark on the catwalk from London to New York.

And, just like the American supersize supermodel Crystal Renn, Mellissa is in demand because of her size 16 figure.

But six years ago, it was a very different story. Mellissa was in the grip of anorexia.

After spending two years starving herself, Mellissa's body had started to shut down. Her periods had stopped, her skin was lifeless and her long blonde hair was falling out.

Her eating problems began at the age of 13 when, 5ft 9in tall and a size 8-10, she was rejected by a modelling agency for having too much puppy fat.

Size-8 Mellissa was rejected by model agencies.

Desperate to become a model, the teenager took drastic action. Surviving on just diet cola and a small plate of steamed vegetables a day, Mellissa's weight soon plummeted to just 7st.

"I thought thinner had to be better, so I dieted harder," she remembers.

It was all to achieve her modelling dream. But it could have killed her.

Melissa and her friends used to pore over fashion magazines dreaming of becoming models. Then one of her classmates was signed up to a modelling agency.

"She'd go on fashion shoots and tell us all about getting her hair and make-up done," Mellissa remembers. "It sounded so exciting."

It was a world Mellissa wanted to be part of. So she convinced her mum Elaine, now 63, who had modelled in fashion shows locally in her 20s, to take her from their home in Hampshire to meet model agents in London.

Excited, the teenager was convinced this would be her big break.

"We saw nine agents, and every one of them said the same thing - to come back when I'd lost my puppy fat.

"I was so shocked. I'd never thought I was overweight. But if the model agents said I was, then I must be. I decided to lose some weight and try again."

Mellissa embarked on a strict diet, swapping junk food for fruit and veg. Within six months she'd dropped down to a size 8. She headed back to London, certain this time she had the perfect figure for modelling.

Sitting in the agency offices, she compared herself to the girls on the walls.

Mellissa's dieting almost killed her.

"I didn't think I was as skinny as them, but I hoped I'd lost enough weight to be taken on," she recalls.

But Mellissa was still rejected. "They said I was pretty but my body shape wasn't right. To me, that meant only one thing - I was still too big. I was devastated."

When her mum saw how upset she was, she begged her to drop her model dreams.

"Mum said most models weren't happy. Did I really want to be like them? But I wouldn't listen," she says.

Mellissa cut down her diet to barely 600 calories a day, surviving on veg, black coffee and diet drinks.

"I'd take ProPlus to keep me going," she says.

"Everyone dieted at school, so no one thought it was odd if I just brought in an apple for lunch."

She lost another stone, but she was fixated with calories and started skipping meals altogether.

"I became very deceitful. I'd shove crumbs from the toaster on to a plate and dirty a knife with butter so my parents would think I'd had breakfast," she admits. "And I'd tell Mum I wanted to eat dinner in my bedroom, then I'd flush my food down the toilet.

"Food had become my enemy. It stood between me and my dream."

Meanwhile, to lose even more weight, Mellissa started exercising obsessively - doing hundreds of leg lifts, stomach crunches and press-ups in her room. Every day she would study her body in the mirror to see if she looked skinny enough.

"I'd pore over catwalk pictures, scrutinising models' bodies to see where I could improve," she says.

By the time she was 15, Mellissa weighed just 7st 7lb and wore size 6 clothes - painfully thin for a girl of her height.

By then she had downy hair on her face, her hip bones and ribcage jutted through paper-thin skin and her hair was falling out.

Plus-size Mellissa oozes confidence.

"I couldn't sleep because my bones stuck out and hurt me when I lay down. But I was still convinced I was fat."

Her parents were beside themselves with worry and her mum was often in tears. But their pleas fell on deaf ears and, by 16, Mellissa was a tiny size 4 and 7st. It was only when the head teacher noticed her dramatic weightloss and contacted her parents that they were able to convince her to see a doctor. She was diagnosed with anorexia and referred to The Priory Hospital in Roehampton for treatment.

"I wasn't ready to get better, though. And my parents wanting me to didn't make any difference to me," she says. "I read on the internet about how to trick the doctors at my monthly weigh-in," she explains. "I'd wear ankle weights under my jeans to pretend I was getting heavier."

Despite her illness, Mellissa managed to pass seven GCSEs and earned a drama scholarship at a college in Guildford, Surrey.

But, surrounded by other confident girls her age, she felt increasingly insecure about her looks - especially when she overheard some of her classmates commenting on how skinny she was.

"I was about to go into the classroom one day when I heard two girls saying I looked sick," she says. "I was so embarrassed. Had I gone too far?"

Torn between wanting to look 'normal' and her fear of putting on weight, Mellissa began to binge.

"I'd eat anything I could get my hands on - peanut butter, ice cream, cakes, crisps - then I'd make myself sick," she says.

One afternoon, feeling miserable, Mellissa embarked on another bingeing session.

After stuffing herself full of food, she made herself sick as usual. But this time, there was blood in her vomit.

Panicking she'd done some serious damage, she called her parents and begged for help. "I've got to stop this," she sobbed to her dad, who answered the phone. "I need help - I'm scared."

She was admitted to hospital - by now she was 2st underweight for her height. Part of her treatment included group therapy, to understand why she felt the need to diet.

"I explained that I felt there was no connection between me and my body. I felt disgusted by my attempts to control what I was eating, but I couldn't stop myself."

Mellissa was forced to eat three regular meals a day.

"The first night they served cottage pie for dinner. I didn't want to eat it because I knew they'd be watching me closely to make sure I didn't throw up. But three nurses sat with me until I'd finished the lot.

"Each mouthful was so difficult, a fight with myself. But deep down, I knew it was for my own good."

With six weeks of intensive therapy, Mellissa finally accepted that she needed to get better and learn to eat again. After getting her weight up to 10st she was discharged and went back to live with her parents.

They ensured she stuck to her recommended three meals a day, and Mellissa continued to put on weight. She developed breasts, hips and a curvy bottom. But she hated her new voluptuous figure.

"I felt disgusted with myself," she remembers. "So I started dieting again because I still hadn't given up on modelling." After losing more than a stone, taking her to a size 10, she felt confident enough to go out for drinks with friends from school.

It was at a London bar that she met Gaven Orlando, a 31-year-old property developer.

"I thought he was gorgeous. He asked me out and we started dating.

"I couldn't believe he found me attractive. Every time he told me I was beautiful, I just went on about how I needed to lose weight."

With Gaven's support Mellissa realised she needed to get to grips once and for all with her unhealthy attitude to food.

Boyfriend Gaven loves her curves.

"I'd go out for dinner and just order salad and I didn't drink much alcohol.

"It was difficult for him - he could see that I wasn't really enjoying myself. And I was sometimes snappy with him because I constantly felt hungry."

One day, flicking through a magazine, she saw an advert for a hypnotherapist who treated eating issues. Mellissa made an appointment.

"I'd had so much therapy that hadn't worked, I thought anything was worth a try," she says. At £500 for two hours, the treatment wasn't cheap, but Mellissa believes it was worth every penny.

"Under hypnosis I was taught how to reassess my relationship with food," she says. "I explained I wanted to think positively about food and to see it as fuel or a treat instead of something destructive."

And, to Mellissa's astonishment, over the coming weeks, she began to relax about her diet and to enjoy food.

"The therapy helped me to stop worrying about my weight and to accept my natural curvy shape."

Mellissa's now 12st 3lb and is a size 16. And she's never been happier.

Last year, she applied to be a plus-size model.

"I wasn't worried about rejection - I knew I looked good," she says.

And this time, the response couldn't have been more different.

"They all wanted to sign me," she grins.

Choosing to join the London-based Hughes Models, Mellissa has been working ever since.

"I've worked for Evans and Spanx and done magazine shoots and TV appearances, including GMTV and How To Look Good Naked," she says.

"Being taken on as a plus-size model has given me a feeling of total acceptance. In a way, I'm glad I went through what I did because it got me to where I am now.

"When I look at old photos of me it's like looking at another person. I can't believe how thin I was, yet I thought I was fat. In reality, I was slowly killing myself."

Mellissa's friends and family all love her new look - especially Gaven.

"He adores my curves," she says. "And he says my personality has completely changed - I'm upbeat and I've got more to talk about than dieting!

"For the first time in my life, I love my body. Modelling could have destroyed me, but instead I'm doing it on my own terms. I still go to the gym and look after myself, but now I celebrate my body. It makes me sad when I see models who are so skinny. I know what sacrifices some of them have to make to stay slim.

"But it doesn't have to be that way. I'm healthy, happy and a model."

Gaven says: "Mellissa is a lot more confident now she's happy in her own skin. She's sexier now and she has curves in all the right places."