She's prepared to face her critics head-on
SAIRA Khan has admitted to making a rather controversial parenting decision that could provoke the wrath of mum-shamers.
The former Loose Women star, 54, is a proud mum to two children, Zac, 16, and 13-year-old Amara, who she shares with husband Steve Hyde.
Saira Khan has admitted to a controversial parenting decision
Saira and her husband Steve with their children
Saira explained how she decided to take a four-week sabbatical in Bali during her son's GCSEs.
Although some of her friends reacted negatively, she felt it was essential for her mental and physical well-being.
She wrote in the Daily Mail: "Zac wasn't remotely concerned. 'It's fine mum,' he told me. 'It's not like you can sit the exams for me is it?'
"If anything he was relieved not to have me on his case. I was stunned by his maturity, and Amara's too. They and Steve could see how ground down I was, how much I needed this.
"Alas, I couldn't say the same for others, who were aghast at the thought I was 'abandoning' my son during exam period. 'I honestly couldn't live with myself,' one friend told me.
"I'll admit it gave me pause, until I realised that very few people would think to say the same to Steve.
"Golf holidays, lengthy stag dos (some second time round), extended periods away for business – no one bats an eyelid when a man goes away without his family, but when a woman does, suddenly she's abandoning her loved ones and heading for divorce."
The trip was exactly what she needed, as she returned feeling "a world away from the woman" who had left.
Saira continued: "I can honestly say that taking time to press the reset button has transformed my outlook.
"It's why I'd recommend that all women take a break away from their husband and children and tell anyone who calls them selfish for doing so exactly where they can go."
Saira and her husband Steve said "I do" on December 17, 2004.
The lovebirds had their son through IVF in 2008.
Three years later, following a miscarriage and several difficulties in trying to conceive a second child, the pair decided to adopt.
After a nine-month-long process, they travelled to the Edhi Foundation Orphanage, in Pakistan, where they adopted their daughter, Amara, when she was four days old.
Saira told Loose Women in 2018: "She was tiny. All I remember is when they put her in my arms - she was mine. I looked into her huge eyes and they were staring back at me."
She explained that, in Pakistan, unwanted babies are frequently left in cradles at the sides of roads, bus stops and shopping centres.
Saira added: "We know nothing. But I always say, to whoever is out there, thank you for bringing Amara and putting her in that cradle."
