Alexandra Burke made her first TV appearance since announcing she’s expecting her second baby, nine months after welcoming her first child.
The 34-year-old took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce the joyous news that she and her footballer boyfriend Darren Randolph were expecting again.
Now in the wake of the exciting news, the West End star appeared on Wednesday’s This Morning to detail her debilitating battle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a condition that once left her suffering “agonising” cramps while performing on stage.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a chronic digestive condition that needs to be managed long-term, and symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhoea and constipation.
Symptoms tend to come and go over time but can last for days, weeks or months at a time.
Detailing how the condition manifested to hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, the singer shared: “It started in my early twenties just after The X Factor and it got to the point where I felt like it was out of control and an out-of-body experience.
“It was something I was too shy and too ashamed to speak of, which you shouldn’t be really.
“All of the symptoms are ones you naturally don’t want to speak about, but I am here speaking about it now and it is a good time because so many people go through them every day.”
Some of her symptoms included cramps and the constant feeling of needing to go to bathroom, which left her with crippling anxiety over what she could eat.
Raising awarness about the condition for IBS Awareness month, Burke continued: “The joke of it was after I had all these symptoms, I would also think that it was anxiety or something else that triggered it. Anxiety played a massive part in it all.
“I was skipping meals before shows because all the pain would come after eating. I’d be hungry and then do a show.
“It just was so bad, and it got to the point where I thought to myself ‘I can’t take this any more.’”
After years of suffering in silence, the performer eventually went to a doctor and started the process of addressing the condition, which she described as a “taboo topic”.
“I just want to talk about it so people can do something about it… don’t suffer in silence,” she concluded.
Burke appearance on the ITV show comes after she announced her second pregnancy, nine months after welcoming her first child, whose name and gender she is yet to disclose.
To celebrate the news, the star uploaded a series of throwback pregnancy pictures of her posing with AFC Bournemouth goal keeper Randolph, 34.
She captioned the post: “We are so excited to do this all again,” followed by a white heart emoji.
