'They held him down on the school bus': Emotional Natasha Hamilton claims her son Josh, 13, was attacked because she had four children by four men

She is a proud mum to four children by four different fathers.

But former Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton revealed her upset that her eldest son Josh, 13, was allegedly 'set on' and 'held down' on the school bus amid cruel '4X4 mum' jibes this week.

The 33-year-old was close to tears as she told ITV's This Morning on Friday: 'They were saying "your mum’s a four by four!". He was so upset afterwards.'


The Celebrity Big Brother star, who shares Josh with nightclub owner Fran Cosgrave, added: 'Cruel comments are tough for me to read but as an adult, I know I just have to put my armour on and get on with it.


'But now, the effects are starting to trickle down to my kids. Children are on social media, they read the comments. Josh is the one who says to me "Why are you letting it define me?"'

She continued: 'I refuse to let it define me. I've worked hard since I was 16, I work hard and I do the best I can for my children.


'It makes me angry that people get upset I've had four children. What would I be without them? They enrich my life. Josh wants to go into the army and fight for the country.'

The Tide Is High singer also has a son Harry Hatcher, twelve, whose father is dancer Gavin Hatcher, and in 2010 gave birth to her third son Alfie Riad Erraji, six, with then husband Riad Erraji.

Since 2013, Hamilton has been dating 5ive's Ritchie Neville.  The pair both took part in ITV2's The Big Reunion in the same year. They have both stated that they had also previously dated in the past but chose to go their separate ways due to the scheduling from both of their groups.

Natasha gave birth to baby girl, Ella Rose on September 23, 2014 - sadly in March this year the reality star and Ritchie announced they had split.

               

She spoke about her anger that the fathers of her children didn't get any backlash - and added that she bore the brunt of the criticism when she and Ritchie broke up.

'The fathers don’t get any comments, especially when me and Rich split up - it was all aimed at me. To be attacked, especially by other women...' she said.

'Take Hugh Grant for instance – he had two children in one year to two different women. I'm sure he's a brilliant father, but it was like, that doesn’t matter.

She added: 'I've kept my thoughts and feelings to myself for such a long time. When it's affecting my children I feel like I have to stand up for them.

'When you put damning remarks on social media, it affects people. I hate the fact I have to pick up the pieces when the kids come home from school for things that concern me.'

Speaking of her family's bond in the wake of the criticism, Natasha confessed: 'Everyone’s entitled to their comments, but just be mindful. Derogatory comments are not funny. My children have learnt from me being in the limelight and they're great kids because of it. They don’t judge.

'My house is full of love and I think that’s really important. We’re all close, we’re still a family, we just don’t live under the same roof.

'We try and make it as normal as possible. Me and Richie still live together, which can be difficult. It's hard to move on because of that. We play with Ella together, we take her out. we are totally dedicated to being parents.'


Meanwhile TV chef James Martin, who made his hosting on Friday, brought some light relief as he joked: 'I didn’t know what a four by four was! I thought you were here to promote a new range rover or something!'

After the emotional interview Natasha wrote on Twitter: 'Thank u all so much for all your support & kinds words, that was a really tough interview to do...glad I didn't cry! Xx'

Users rallied to support her after the interview, with one commenting: 'You shouldn't have to defend being a mum to anyone. Be proud! Nobody else's business'

Another added: 'Touching interview. All that matters is that your 4 beautiful children are happy, loved and healthy'


     source:mailonline