Fearne Cotton has wowed her fans with an Instagram post using a cake she made with daughter Honey as an analogy for self-love, and letting people be who they are. The TV and radio presenter shared an image of a cake she made with daughter Honey along with a valuable life lesson.
Fearne wrote: "A cake analogy
"This is a cake I made with my daughter Honey. That's the cake bit.
"Here's the analogy bit.
"This cake is a spectacular victoria sponge with butter cream icing, jam in the middle and sprinkles on top. Whilst some will revel in that combination, some will say they would have preferred butter cream in the middle, or a simple sprinkling of icing sugar on top. Some would protest that a carrot cake would have been a much nicer choice. It doesn't matter how many colourful sprinkles you put on top, they'll always be someone who doesn't like sprinkles.
"The thing is this cake doesn't care. She will not morph into a carrot cake, nor pretend to be a flapjack for the gluten intolerant. She is proudly and resolutely a victoria sponge.
"She also doesn't hate herself for what she is. She does not wish she had a different filling or worry that her icing is a bit slap dash. She remains happily as she is.
"This may be a tenuous and slightly off centre analogy but one that I think works. We can only be ourselves. There is no point pretending to be someone else or wiping off our sprinkles because someone doesn't like them.
"Be a proud Viccie sponge lovelies. It's really the only way."
Friend and fellow TV presenter Kirty Gallagher replied: "Could not love this more! The world would be a happier place if everyone realised this and stopped trying to wipe off their sprinkles (and ate more cake!)"
Hannah Barrett added: "I love this analogy so much. For so many years I wiped off my sprinkles until I realised that it didn’t matter what others thought. I loved my sprinkles so they stayed for good."
Harriet Rouse said: "Love this analogy! That last crumbly slice that's not quite as neat as the first is still the same beautiful cake. I'll try to remember this on the days I feel a bit crumbly myself!"
Sarah Jane wrote: "I love this ❤️ I will forever see myself as this beautiful cake … sometimes I’m a little burnt, sometimes under cooked, too many sprinkles, not enough jam …. Always always a little bit wonky! Thank you @fearnecotton I love you"
The post was quickly liked around 15,000 times.
Last year, Fearne Cotton said she “quite happily doesn’t have an opinion on a lot of things” and that social media is driving people “mad”.
The TV presenter and broadcaster said the world is “a noisy place” and that often she chooses to “tune out of everything”.
Speaking to the i newspaper, Cotton discussed the objectification she suffered throughout her career, wellness, and the negative effects of social media.
The TV presenter and broadcaster said the world is ‘a noisy place’ and that often she chooses to ‘tune out of everything’ (PA)
Speaking on the latter, she told the i: “It’s a nightmare… we’ve lost the plot.
“We’re driving ourselves mad trying to imbibe all this information, make sense of it, have an opinion. It’s insanity.”
“The world is a noisy place at the moment. Everyone’s pissed off.
“There is a lot of aggression being channelled in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons. So what I do is tune out of everything.
“I’m not going to stand on my social media soapbox arguing about something. I’m not interested.”
She added: “It has somehow become a crime if you don’t have an opinion. I quite happily don’t have an opinion on a lot of things. I’m still questioning everything. I think I was questioning too little before.”
Cotton began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children’s television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC.
In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show, going on to present her own Radio 1 show, airing every weekday morning from 2009 to 2015.
She joined BBC Radio 2 in 2016.
In 2018, Cotton began presenting her podcast Happy Place, which has included guests such as Dawn French, Hillary Clinton and Tom Daley.
Since writing her first book, Happy, in 2017, Fearne Cotton has been on a mission to spread joy far and wide.
The broadcaster, author and mum talks to celebrity guests about what happiness means to them on her podcast Happy Place (happyplaceofficial.co.uk), and has written a series of books designed to help people find calm. She extended her joyful quest to kids, with the children’s book Happy From Head To Toe.
The book is designed to teach children that a happy, healthy mind is closely connected to the body.
“I think the world our kids are navigating is incredibly complex, and that’s causing more anxiety and heightened stress for everyone,” says the mother of two and stepmum of two. “The more tools we all have to find happiness in ourselves – rather than pinning it on situations, other people or outcomes – the better.
“I hope the book shows every kid they have much more control over their own happiness than we’re all led to believe, and that there are simple ways we can all explore what our own individual version of happiness looks like.”
