Ashley James admits she’s ‘not naturally maternal’ as she reflects on falling pregnant

Ashley James has reflected on falling pregnant with her partner of nine months, Tom Andrews.

The DJ, 33, served as a panellist on Wednesday’s edition of Jeremy Vine as she touched on her journey to motherhood.

Admitting she’s ‘not naturally maternal’, the former Made In Chelsea star said she’s now ‘so excited’ to welcome her first child with the tech professional, 30, who she praised for being ‘great with kids’.

The influencer was joined by the host, journalist Beverley Turner and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford as she spoke about the changes that have taken place in her life since she was last in the Channel 5 studios. 

Enthusing about becoming a mother, the empowerment coach, whose due date is January, said: ‘At the beginning we were laughing at the baby boom but now we’re part of it.’

The media personality confessed her boyfriend was initially more excited about the prospect of starting a family, but she’s now happier than ever and has already built their unborn baby’s gender-neutral safari-themed nursery.

Ashley explained: ‘I wouldn’t say I’m a naturally maternal person. He always said he’d want a big family and I told him I don’t know if I want that. But now, I’m so excited and I’ve basically done the nursery now in lockdown. 

‘It wasn’t like a contract in which he told me that he’d leave if I didn’t give him a family, but I think authenticity in relationships is nice, he’s from an amazing family and he’s really great with children.’

The TV star also credited the parents-to-be’s decade-long friendship for staying strong amid the coronavirus pandemic.

‘I think lockdown has been make or break for people in any relationship, but the nice thing is that we used to work together a decade ago so there’s an element of familiarity. It has brought us closer together’, she detailed.

The influencer, who is expecting a boy, revealed she unveiled the happy news to her loved ones during a virtual gender reveal party, sharing: ‘We did a Zoom call when our families met for the first time. We found out and kept it a secret.’ 

Ashley is known for encouraging others to feel their best on social media, and even follows a strict no-image retouching rule on her online platforms.

Standing by why she decides to post lingerie-clad snaps to her account, the blonde said: ‘I saw women talking about they didn’t like their pre and post-baby bodies so it makes me really sad as I’ve worked through a lot with my body confidence. 

‘So now I try to normalise it and also take images of my body for memories for myself.’

On Tuesday, the host documented her first four months of pregnancy in a sweet Instagram video.

She kicked off the clip by saying: ‘Good morning, it is the May 6 2020 and today is a pretty big day as I find out whether I’m pregnant or not.’

The post included the moment she discovered she was expectant, sun-soaked trips with her partner, baby scans and her gender reveal party. 

Ashley wrote in an accompanying message: ‘the story so far… I’ve always loved to document big parts of my life and put videos together long before social media. 

‘I’ve got videos from each year of uni, when I was an au pair and various others. I thought being pregnant, especially during lockdown, would be one of those moments I’d want to look back on. 

‘I loved going through my phone and putting this together, especially because I couldn’t share the first few months (I’m not sure I entirely understand or agree why such a monumental event and probably the hardest part of pregnancy is meant to be a secret? 

‘Maybe that’s a conversation for another time. anyway, here’s our little journey so far…’. (sic)