Kate Ferdinand has revealed that she "sobbed her heart out" after being overlooked by husband Rio and his three children on Mother’s Day.
The former footballer is father to Lorenz, 16, Tate, 14, and Tia, 11, with his late wife Rebecca Ellison who died of breast cancer in 2015.
Speaking on her Blended podcast, the former Towie star, 31, who now shares son Cree , 2, with Ferdinand, said that adjusting to life as a step mother was a challenge.
"I wasn’t a biological mum," said the former reality star who is currently pregnant with her and Ferdinand’s second child.
"I think it was our first Mother’s Day. Maybe I’d been living here about six months, something like that.
"Although I wasn’t a biological mum I kind of felt like I’d taken on the mum role.
"For me, going from living at home on my own to taking the kids to school, cooking them dinner, I felt like a mum."
Turning to Ferdinand, who joined her in the chat, she said: "I really thought I might get a card from you, and I didn’t get a card from you.
"I felt bad to express that in front of you because you guys had lost your mum, and the kids have lost their mum. So I just went in my room and I just sobbed my heart out. Seriously.
"And then I felt selfish for wanting a card - how dare I want a card? So anyone that’s kind of new in this situation might feel like that because it’s a weird one.
"I wasn’t a biological parent so how could I expect that? But I felt like a mum."
The reality TV star also spoke of how for the first few years after Ferdinand’s wife’s death, the family would go to the cemetery for her on Mother’s Day.
"I think we’ve got to the stage now of Mother’s Day, where it might have been five or six years, that we kind of are a bit more used to doing occasions together.
"We all know how everyone feels and what to expect from the day."
Ferdinand said: "I wasn’t being aware of the role that you’re playing, and how invested you are...
"I got caught up in thinking about the kids about this terrible day for them...’What the f*** was I thinking?’ Mistakes are made."
The pregnant star and Ferdinand started dating in 2017 - the same year the former England star lost his own mother Janice to cancer - and wed in 2019.
