Former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt tells London Mums how she helps girls get active & a few gossips

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Published on Sunday, 20 December 2015 11:00

Last Updated on 18 December 2015

Monica Costa

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In this exclusive interview, former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt tells London Mums how she helps girls get active and a few other gossips. The second part of our chat will be published in our Spring magazine issue out at the end of February 2016.

2015 has certainly been former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt year: she had a baby daughter (Willow), she became Masterchef Champion. Now former Pussycat Doll has joined the Youth Sport Trust as a school sport ambassador. So young but so passionate about dancing and helping the selfie generation find a healthy balance in their life.

Kimberly Wyatt is best known for being a part of one of the biggest girl groups of all time The PussyCat Dolls, selling over 50 million records across the globe.

With her roots firmly planted in dance, Kimberly took on the role of lead judge on Sky1’s UK show ‘Got to Dance’ for five seasons and recently enjoyed massive success when she was crowned winner of Celebrity Masterchef 2015. Kimberly is currently filming popular dance show ‘Taking the next step’ for CBBC.

Now a mum to 10 month old Willow, Kimberly lives in London with her husband Max and continues to enjoy cooking healthy family food .she is passionate about inspiring others  to be fit and healthy and particularly devotes her time to inspiring the younger generation to follow their dreams and lead a healthy, happy lifestyle.

 

Q: Kimberly you have joined the Youth Sport Trust as a school sport ambassador. Why do you feel particularly connected with this organisation?

KW: I have joined the Youth Sport Trust as a school sport ambassador to support this independent charity’s promotion of physical activity, particularly within primary schools, and encourage more young people toget active. I am really passionate about supporting young people to have the confidence to take part in physical activity. Be that traditional sports, dance or alternative sports.
I’m working with the Youth Sport Trust because I believe it’s a platform that’s making a real difference, for example by finding ways to connect Olympic medal-winners to those at school who are striving for greatness, wellness and true happiness.

 
Q: What have been your personal achievements in this charitable capacity?

KW: Girls Active is about instilling good habits for life and these girls will go back to school to inspire their peers to engage in alternative sports, like dance, and get moving.”

 

Q: Have you always been confident with your body image as a school girl and teenager?

KW: I didn’t have lots of confidence, but dance taught me how to express myself emotionally and have a bigger purpose, which gave me a voice. That’s why I’m so inspired to be working with the Youth Sport Trust, talking to young people who lack that confidence to get active and teaching how to dance has helped me getting my confidence.

You might not be a competitive sports person, but there is a real sense of achievement when you find something that you are passionate about because that can spur you on to do great things.

As a young girl I was very self conscious and really shy. I did not fit in, and did not get along with my peers.

But I was in awe of the Olympics. I loved gymnastics and figure skating, and my first dream was to compete on the stage so I found a dance studio and fell in love straight away.

It helped give me an outlet because at school I was a very shy girl who didn’t have a lot of confidence or friends. I was always quite athletic but by the time I was nine or 10 I was so into my dancing that there really wasn’t room for competitive sports in school. I didn’t fit that traditional mould.

You might not be a competitive sports person but there is a real sense of achievement when you find something that you love and there are a lot of girls and boys out there who love to dance.

Dance has certainly helped me getting my confidence.

Nothing for me was quite as amazing as dance.

The benefits of dance for 6-8 years old girls – which is when they start to feel about themselves – are huge.

 Q: What should parents do to encourage children to do more sport / fitness?

KW: I would say be healthy as a family. What works also for me the most is breathing and meditation. I do hot yoga meditation because it is a great stress reliever.

We live in fast pace world and often cannot understand our children’s feelings.

Q: You are still best known for being one of The PussyCat Dolls. What do you miss about being in a band?

KW: I look back at my Pussycat dolls time with nostalgic feelings.

I spent those days with my best girlfriends sharing lots of laughs and hugs. That actually continues even now in my day to day life as we are all still great friends.

It was such an amazing time and we took dance to such a great level.

 

Q:  You are very versatile and talented with a career covering now judging on ‘Got to Dance’, Celebrity Masterchef and dancing still very much the core focus.  How do manage our work/life balance now that you have a 10 month old baby?

 

KW: Work – life balance is crucial and I am aware where I am in that balance. I work really hard and now that I have a child my decisions are even more important as I need to provide a future to my little daughter.

 

Q: What do you like the most about living in London?

KW: London is an amazing city and what I like about Londoners is that they don’t take the sun for granted so they enjoy it even more when it shines.

Q: Who is cooking at home, you or your husband? Do you have Masterchef competitions at home? What’s your favourite home made meal?

KW: We cook together. Sunday roast with pork and apple sauce is my hubby’s favourite but I love it too.

Last Thanksgiving day we cooked all together and we had our meal laughing and thanking for our wonderful life.

Our Weekend favorite treat is Strawberries with Honey topped with vanilla infused cream with our ‘red wine’ substitute of full bodies grape juice. Yummy!

 

Q: How are you handling your baby sleeping routine as you once said that your daughter is a ‘night owl’?

KW: I simply accept that my girl is a night owl and I go with the flow.

Q: You said your first dream was to compete on the stage as a dancer. What is your best advice to young people who share this dream and haven’t been able to find the right platform / support to pursue their dream or they don’t simply fit into traditional categories?

KW: As a young girl I loved gymnastics and figure skating, and my dream was to compete on the stage, so I found a dance studio and fell in love straight away.

But young people these days can seek see opportunities for themselves using social media and YouTube.

 

Q: Young people are obsessed with their body image but also with sharing ‘selfies’ all the time. This is a dangerous combination. What would you recommend to both teenagers and mums in terms of dealing with this?

KW: I am passionate about fight what the selfie generation has created. The Selfie generation is atrocious but they also have YouTube and can create their own opportunities so I would recommend to see the positive. Mums need to lead by example and be with kids as much as possible.

 

Q: Generation ‘selfie’ thinks that fame comes overnight. How did it happen for you?

KW: Now that I am a mum I have a real concern about the ‘selfie’ generation. I call it that because I think the world of TV has taught our young generation that fame comes overnight. While fame may be something you can aspire to, the message I want to send is that it doesn’t happen at once. Like other high profile athletes and performers, I trained hard and I think it’s my duty to clear that up for youngsters.

It’s always about being able to do what you love. Fame is only a by-product.