The One Show presenter and mother-of-three Alex Jones has never been one to shy away when discussing the often-harsh realities of parenthood.
And catching up with OK! this week, the 46-year-old TV star opened up on a recent emotional milestone she was forced to endure, when her youngest son Kit, three, joined his big brother Edward (Teddy), five, at primary school.
“He was amazing,” she wrote on an Instagram snap of her little boy venturing off to school in his new uniform. “A kiss goodbye and off he went. Excited about this new chapter and who can ask for more?”
But despite putting on a brave front for social media, Alex reveals she was privately devastated as she waved him goodbye at the school gates.
“I’ve been used to having him with me every morning, so I’m going to find that really hard,” she confesses. “He’s ready, but I’m not – it’s hard to let go. When Annie goes to school, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Alex – who also shares her one year old daughter Annie with husband Charlie Thompson, describes her life right now as a mammoth "juggling act" because of her hectic on-screen schedule.
“Sometimes, I think, ‘God, I just wish I could be home to put them to bed,’ but on the other hand, I want them to see a mum who works,” she admits.
“I want Annie especially to see a mother who, while being the nurturing parent, actually works. And for her to experience that somebody else can read her stories and we’re OK with that.”
Alex is live on air most weeknights at 7pm, which means missing out on valuable family time.
“It can be tough,” she says. “Even if I go straight home after The One Show, they’re already in bed. But in a few years that will change – it’s always changing.
“When you become a mum, you go into overdrive, questioning everything you do. And then you end up overthinking things. I just need to keep it simple and try to do a great job. And I do as much as I can with them, and that’s the best I can do.”
Opening up about mum-life, Alex also admits she firmly believes that welcoming her children later in life – with all three of her pregnancies being considered “geriatric” in medical terms due to her age – gave her the chance to embark on her award-winning presenting career before settling down.
“My job requires a certain level of fizz, so I’m quite used to a high-octane kind of life,” she explains. “Yes, being a mum can be tiring, but I feel I’d be just as tired if I was a younger mum because I was a lot more selfish in my twenties.
“I would have been frustrated not to be able to do my own thing, too. Now I feel so grateful to have had my children so I’m not frustrated. I put everything I’ve got into them, and it pays you back a thousand times over.”
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