Michelle Heaton says her husband has been her "rock" in the wake of her hysterectomy operation.
The former Liberty X singer made the decision to undergo the procedure to remove her reproductive organs to prevent her from developing ovarian cancer as she carries the mutated BRCA2 gene which increases her risk of developing the illness.
Since she underwent the operation, Michelle admits her spouse Hugh Hanley has been incredible and an unbelievable support.
The 35-year-old star – who underwent a double mastectomy in November 2012 to stop her from getting breast cancer – said: "Hugh is amazing, he’s the best dad in the world and he’s the best husband ever. He’s been fantastic support for me and like I said earlier … I think a lot of men in his situation may have possibly walked away. It’s been tough, it’s been a tough two years and he’s had to see me go in and out of hospital and I haven’t really been that person that he married when he married me, we didn’t know that this was going to happen. It’s been traumatic and there are guys out there who could have selfishly walked away but he’s just been amazing so I couldn’t have done it without him."
Michelle’s recovery has also been helped by the love of her two children, Faith, two, and seven-month-old Aaron, and she admits caring for them has kept her busy and stopped her from dwelling on the operation and the reality that she can’t have any more kids.
During an interview on TV show ‘Lorraine’ this morning (21.10.14), she explained: "When you’ve got kids at home … they keep you upbeat, they keep you busy and I don’t have time to sit down and really, really think about everything that happened. They take up so much of my time and concentration that I don’t have time to focus on me. At this point in my life that’s been great. Usually you want that time to yourself whether it’s to go get your nails done or go to the cinema, I don’t want to really think about what I’ve had to go through right now, I might reflect later on in life but right now it’s done and we’ve dealt with it and that’s been the best form of counselling for me, my children."
Michelle knows she made the right decision to have both operations to protect herself from cancer and now she just hopes that her daughter Faith will not be diagnosed with the mutated BRCA2 gene, something she has a 50 percent chance of.
She said: "My only hope now is that when my daughter turns 18 she’s not faced with the same decision that I’ve had to make. I don’t know at 18 years old how do you come to the decision to remove something that helps you have children."
Michelle Heaton: Hugh’s been my rock after hysterectomy
