Jess Wright is reflecting on what motherhood has taught her. “Patience. That I can survive on five hours of sleep. That you think you love someone, and then you have a child, and you realise that you never knew the meaning of love. And how much all you want is for your child to be okay.”
Her son was two years old when he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, bicuspid aortic valve, which affects one per cent of the population and will one day require open heart surgery. “It has been pretty tough,” she says. “When we found out, it was really sad, and I grieved it for a long time. But I’ve learnt that you just have to make peace with it. I know there will be tough times ahead, but I have to just hope for the best and touch wood that please God, he will be okay.”
Wright, who rose to fame in 2010 as one of the original cast of The Only Way Is Essex, is speaking to me from the Essex home she shares with her husband, William Lee-Kemp, and their son Presley, now three. Having lived much of her adult life in the public eye, garnering a huge platform on social media and reaching new audiences through presenting work on BBC Morning Live, Wright feels a magnified pressure to get parenting “right”.
“I try to remind myself that you are never going to please everyone,” she says. “And if everyone was the same kind of mum, the world would be a very strange place. I think you just have to go with your gut. A mother’s instinct is so strong.”
She is personally adopting a “gentle parenting” approach – or at least trying to. “Sometimes I’ll say I’m doing gentle parenting, then all of a sudden I find myself snapping,” she admits. “But that’s just life. Kids can push you to limits you never thought you could get to. I do think there’s something in gentle parenting, though, because their little brains are so fragile and they’re just trying to learn their way in the world. You have to be careful how you deal with things.”
Like many parents, she finds the juggle between work and family relentless. “If I’m honest, I’m shattered,” she says. “I’m one of those people who burns the candle at both ends. I always want to do more and more. Nothing is ever enough.” That drive, she says, needs managing. “You have to lean on people when you can. I know you shouldn’t stretch yourself too far, because you’ll end up burning out, and only say yes to things if they make you happy.”
These are exactly the kinds of conversations she is now having on her new podcast, Wright at Home. Launched last month with her mother, Carol, and her younger sister Natalya, a model and influencer, the show is recorded around the kitchen island.
It’s a family affair for Natalya, Jess and Carol Wright“It’s a real laugh, working together,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to spend time with each other talking about pop culture, motherhood, fashion, the world today – and get to call it work.”
So far, 65-year-old Carol is the understated star of the show. “I love that people at home are getting to see my mum’s real personality. She’s very funny, she’s coming across great, and I think it’s really nice that people are getting to see that.”
The podcast is part of what feels like a fruitful 2025. Since leaving Towie after 16 series nearly a decade ago, Wright has built a career which has required thick skin. “The amount of rejection I’ve had in my career is beyond,” she says. “But this year I’ve been able to do things that I’ve always wanted to do, like charity work.”
She also turned 40 this year. While she is “not worried” about her age as a number, aging itself brings up mixed emotions. “I’ve probably got more insecure as I’ve got older, but also cared less in other ways,” she reflects. “Some days I feel great, and other days I feel shocking; I won’t like what I look like, or I’ll fixate on certain hang-ups.”
What has only become clearer with time, though, is the importance of family.
“I’ve always known family are important, but the older I get, the truer that feels,” she says. “I love having them around the corner. I could never really live anywhere else. No matter what, as long as I’m with my family, I know I’ll be okay.”
Wright at Home is available now on all major podcast providers
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