Kate Lawler has offered a candid take on the back-to-school rush, admitting she had bought her daughter the wrong colour shoes and had not prepared the picture-perfect return to school often portrayed on social media.
The former Big Brother winner shared the video on Tuesday as five-year-old Noa prepared to return to class after the summer break. Sitting on the floor of her utility room beside a pile of washing, Lawler described herself as a “Type B Mum” and reassured other parents that they were not alone.
“Do not feel like a failure if you’ve watched these videos of American mums making a full on fanfare for their kids’ first day back at school,” the 46-year-old said. “Just to let you know, there are parents out there like me as well.”
Lawler began listing the jobs she had either forgotten or left until the last minute, starting with Noa’s footwear.
“I have bought her navy blue shoes instead of black by accident, she’s just going to have to wear them, I don’t have time to get some other ones,” she said.
She also revealed that two of her daughter’s summer dresses were still marked with yellow stains after she had used up her stain remover. Without a tumble dryer, she was unsure whether the dresses would be ready in time.
“I haven’t labelled anything, I didn’t get her white socks in time, I didn’t get her a swim hat either,” Lawler added.
Kate Lawler rejects picture-perfect back-to-school pressure
Rather than decorating the kitchen or preparing an elaborate breakfast, Lawler said Noa would be greeted by a far simpler start to the day.
“There will be no back to school paraphernalia in the kitchen when she comes down, no back to school banner, helium balloons, heart-shaped jam sandwiches and there definitely won’t be any freshly baked peanut butter and banana muffins,” she said.
“She’ll have a bowl of Cheerios, she’ll have a photo on the porch and then off you pop! ‘See you at 3:15 babes.’”
The post struck a chord with Lawler’s followers, including All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, who responded with laughing emojis.
Lawler has become known for sharing the less polished side of family life online, rather than presenting parenting as a seamless series of carefully staged moments.
Last month, she also spoke openly about the strain parenthood had placed on her relationship with husband Martin ‘Boj’ Bojtos. The couple attended two sessions of couples’ therapy during a month-long family holiday.
Lawler said becoming parents had been “the hardest thing we’ve ever navigated as a couple” and credited regular conversations with their therapist, Diana, with helping them through the challenges.
She said the experience had taught her to “protect your relationship as fiercely as you do your family”, adding that the intensity of family life would eventually ease.
Lawler and Bojtos welcomed Noa in February 2021 and married in east London in June 2022. Lawler recently announced that she would return to Big Brother as a host of its companion programme.
