Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed her children are being bullied in a heartbreaking admission. The Murder on the Dancefloor star, 46, shares five kids with husband, Richard Jones, who is the bassist for band, The Feeling, who she married in 2005.
Sonny, 19, Kit, 14, Jesse, seven, and Mickey, four, have all inherited Richard’s red hair – and look adorable. However, sadly, Sophie says they have been bullied for ‘being different’, admitting the cruel treatment at the hand of their classmates is “really harsh” as they navigate their way to adulthood. Pointing out that the desire to “blend in” is “extraordinary” when you’re young, she told Andreas Wild on her Salon Confidential podcast: “It’s [bullying] definitely been something they’ve experienced, which is really harsh.
Sophie continued: “You get to secondary school and anything that marks you out becomes the thing you will be teased about. It’s extraordinary how you have this desire at that age group just to blend in, to be part of the pack. It’s a really strong instinct.
“But rather than letting it make you feel down, hopefully by having conversations, you can actually keep an eye on it and keep it on the right side of things.”
The sparkly songstress, who is the daughter of Blue Peter star, Janet Ellis, has said that when her boys get older, they will realise how unique and special they are with their red hair, and it will enable them to accept themselves for who they are.
Sophie added: “And then you get a bit older and you’re like: ‘Actually, all those things about me that set me apart are the things I’ll now give space to and invest in and enjoy myself.'”
The Catch You star also pointed out another positive of her kids’ beautiful hair, joking she can easily spot them in the playground.
Sophie said: “My kids have got some different shades of red, but it’s so gorgeous – and I can always find them so easily in a playground.”
The singer has first-hand experience of bullying after revealing that kids in her class had cruelly set up an ‘Against Sophie’ club.
Explaining she was picked on because her mum was on TV, she told Heat Radio in 2009: “Was I popular? No, complete opposite.
“There was an Against Sophie club. It’s pretty cruel, but they were interested at first: ‘Oh your mum’s on TV’, and then it was: ‘Hang on a minute, she’s the only one who’s got that so we can all gang up on her’, and stuff like that.
“That was in my infant school so I think I was about five or six. I can’t say it was brilliant, but at the same time I probably was a bit of a show-off about it because I thought it was brilliantly glamorous.”
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