SHE’S had five Christmas number one singles, has 1.3 million Instagram followers and secured brand deals with the likes of InTheStyle, Jet2 and Smyths Toys.
But Roxanne Hoyle – known to her loyal fans as LadBaby Mum – knows only too well what it’s like to struggle to put food on the table and lie awake at night worrying about money.
The 39-year-old social media star, who lives in Nottingham with husband Mark, 36, and sons Phoenix, seven, and Kobe, five, once lived in a one-bedroom flat and had only £20 a week to spend on essentials.
“I remember just feeling… you feel like you’ve failed,” Roxanne tells Fabulous as she backs our Baby, Bank On Us campaign in partnership with Save The Children, Little Village and UK baby banks. “You never forget that feeling and you do worry everyday about that feeling.”
Now she is in more of a comfortable financial situation, Roxanne is passionate about paying it forward and helping families in need.
I remember just feeling… you feel like you’ve failed. You never forget that feeling.
She says: “I’ve met a lot of people who are only having one meal a day to make sure their kids can wear a school uniform and are fed. Parents aren’t eating and aren’t able to pay the electricity bill or pay for their children’s school shoes.
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“[Families with young children need] things like nappies and baby wipes. Everyone should have the right to afford those – they’re the basics. It’s like bread and butter.”
She adds: “That’s why the Baby, Bank On Us campaign is a great initiative and I’m pleased to have been asked to be part of it.
“I know where I came from and I’ll always support people in that situation. It’s important to give back to people.”
How YOU can support Fabulous’ Baby, Bank On Us campaign
– Give money by donating here or by scanning the QR code.
– Give clothing, toys and essentials to a baby bank, wherever you are in the UK.
– Give your time volunteering. To find your nearest baby bank, visit Littlevillagehq.org/uk-baby-banks.
Roxanne says she gets “hundreds of messages a day” from Brits who are reliant on food banks and baby banks.
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“I’ll never give up hope for these people. I’ll always donate. I’m always putting nappies and wipes in the baskets at the end of tills,” she says.
“I think it’s really important to give back if you can. You don’t have to give money, you can give second-hand donations, you can give your time – a lot of baby banks are run by volunteers.”
The Baby, Bank On Us campaign is calling on the public to volunteer their time and donate items to their nearest baby bank. It also aims to raise vital funds to support the work of baby banks across the country.
What are baby banks?
– Baby banks provide essential items for babies and young children whose parents are living in poverty – including nappies, wipes, clothing, bedding, Moses baskets, cots, blankets, toys and books.
– There are over 200 baby banks in the UK, and they run out of shops, community centres, warehouse units and even people’s living rooms and garages.
– Last year 4.2 million children in the UK were living in poverty and 800,000 children lived in a household that used a food or baby bank.
Just four years ago, Roxanne and Mark were living solely off one wage. Mark worked as a graphic designer and Roxanne felt forced to quit her job because of the cost of childcare.
Their weekly budget was just £20 and it had to stretch across food, baby essentials and hygiene products – but it often didn’t.
She says: “I was at a checkout in Aldi and I had a £20 note in my hand for all the food and everything we had to have – nappies, wipes, everything.
“I was like, ‘I can’t put the wipes back, I can’t put the nappies back’ so I had to put the food back. I remember that panic. I was panicking.”
Despite her efforts to stay on budget, the shop came to £20.70 and a stranger stepped in to give her £1 to cover it, prompting her to burst into tears when she got back to the car.
She says: “I had been working and never would have deemed myself in a situation where I needed help.”
We were just a working class family. I had to give up my job because I couldn’t afford childcare costs.
Roxanne also recalled having sleepless nights about money worries when her sons were younger.
“Having a baby, you’re tired anyway – you’re not sleeping, you’re not looking after yourself as well as you could – because you just want to make sure your baby is happy and healthy,” she says.
“We were just a working class family. I had to give up my job because I couldn’t afford childcare costs – it was the cost of a mortgage.”
As her youngest son Kobe began to outgrow his babygrows, Roxanne and Mark would cut the feet off to give his legs space to come through.
Mark also cut their door in half to create a makeshift stair gate when the couple couldn’t afford one.
During this time, Roxanne and Mark often went without – he wore the same Asda jeans for years and they’d eat basic meals like a jar of cheap sauce and dried pasta.
Roxanne has advised struggling mums to “use what you have” because “the love that you can give your children is far more valuable” than being able to buy them new toys.
She says she was fortunate to be able lean on her family for both financial and emotional support during darker times.
“Mark couldn’t afford the train journey to get to work so my mum had to give him £10 because the prices had gone up at the time,” she says.
“He would have to get an early train at 6am, so he wouldn’t see our son in the morning and he, like everyone, would work a whole day and then he’d get the train back and have just 15 minutes to see our son.
“I just remember he didn’t have the train fare and we were like, ‘how are you gonna get to work?’"
The couple now have 13 million followers and earn a living doing what they love: being a bit silly with each other and sharing their videos online.
But Roxanne’s humble roots are never far from her mind. She says she still loves Poundland and Home Bargains, doesn’t wear designer clothes and hasn’t made any extravagant purchases.
The couple gave 100% of the profits raised from their Christmas number one singles to the Trussell Trust – a charity that works to end the need for food banks in the UK.
Roxanne has never used a food bank but knows families that have. She urged struggling parents to “keep going and never give up”.
She says: “I meet so many amazing families now who have come through using food banks or baby banks, and they’re back on their feet.
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“Their children are growing up, they’re back in work and that’s hopeful – keep hoping. It’s really important to not be embarrassed if you are struggling.
“Everyone is in the cost of living crisis and it’s important to go, ‘I need a bit of help’ whether it’s to friends, family or whoever.”
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