Mrs Hinch - This Is Me

Hinch Yourself Happy

The Activity Journal

The Little Book of Lists

PENGUIN BOOKS

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
New Zealand | India | South Africa

Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published by Michael Joseph, 2020

Copyright Mrs Hinch, 2020

Wedding & baby shower photography Instagram @jasminejadephotography

Behind the scenes photography Chelsea White

The moral right of the author has been asserted

PHOTOGRAPHY CHELSEA WHITE DRESS COURTESY OF BOWEN DRYDEN

ISBN: 978-0-241-45431-2

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

To My Amazing Husband Jamie, My Darling Boys
Ronnie Roo and Henry Hinch, My Family,
My Friends and My Hinchers

Im sitting here taking some seriously deep breaths because I have so much to tell you that its hard to even know where to begin!

But let me start by saying hello. I hope youre doing OK and Im so glad youre here on this journey with me. Im beyond grateful and constantly blown away by the love and support I feel every day from you guys, and before I go any further, I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for allowing me to be me and for helping me to feel proud of who I am.

You have no idea how much you have changed my life and how you have helped me grow as a person. This book is for you.

Ill be honest, this isnt a book I ever thought I would write. This might sound strange seeing as I show you a lot of my life on social media, but Im actually quite a private person.

I prefer to go through life not making a lot of fuss and blending into the crowd. I am actually so shy when I dont know people. Ive never been comfortable being the centre of attention. I feel physically ill with nerves if I ever have to do any kind of public speaking and there are areas of my life, past and present, that I find difficult to talk about.

So you might be wondering why Ive decided to open up more about myself for this memoir. The truth is, I am nervous, and this does feel like a big step for me.

But it feels like the right thing to do and now feels like the right time to do it.

When I wrote Hinch Yourself Happy and touched on some quite personal stuff, I had so many messages from people saying how much they could relate to me and my story.

My first book was mainly about Hinching and the beginnings of my Mrs Hinch journey, but it was the little bits about me and my life away from all of that which you guys seemed to love reading about. That really surprised me! I honestly didnt think anyone would be all that interested.

But hearing about the challenges Ive faced seemed to strike a chord people had no idea about some of the things Ive been through. There was quite a lot of surprise about my past, especially my gastric band, which helped me lose eight stone but which Ive also had a lot of trouble with.

I think some people assumed I was this Essex princess with an always perfect life who had everything land in her lap, which couldnt be further from the truth.

People wanted to know more about the details Id not yet shared, not feeling ready to go deeper at that time. So, after giving this a lot of thought, Ive decided that its important to answer everyones questions. Its so hard for me to do that to you all individually because I know now that I will never make it to the bottom of my inbox (as much as I desperately try), but I thought maybe I could get as much of it as I can down in this book

By doing that, I thought I could help other people. Maybe by reading my story you will be able to relate and you wont feel so alone.

As youll probably already know, I became a mummy last year to Ronnie and so I also wanted the chance to talk openly about motherhood the highs and the lows and I hope that by sharing some of my reality, I can show you that we are all in this together. Im not pretending I know all the answers (I really, really dont!), but talking about how were feeling is so important, and the more we share our experiences, the more we can learn from them and help each other.

On top of all that, I feel like we have got to know one another so well over the last few years and I genuinely see you all as my friends. Maybe some people think thats silly but thats just how I feel! I can chat to you like I do on the phone to my mates.

I see us as very much a two-way relationship and, believe me, you guys are as much of a support to me as you say I am to you.

I have the best followers in the world its a real family and one which is open to anyone and everyone who wants to get involved with being part of something amazing. Being a Hincher gives you a real sense of belonging and at the heart of this friendship is kindness, love and understanding. I dont see any nastiness or competition amongst us.

Its never ever been about showing off whos got the biggest and best stuff or the nicest home. No one is better than anyone else. Its a very equal community, which is exactly how it should be. We all just want to help each other; thats what brings us together.

I hope that after reading this book you will know just how much youve done for me. While Ive not changed as a person, you guys have helped me to change the way I feel about myself; the way I see myself. The doubters and the haters can make fun of me, but I have over 3 million friends who love and support me and after all these years of self-doubt and low confidence, Ive stopped feeling uncomfortable about myself.

Ive stopped feeling embarrassed.

If I do something silly or clumsy or daft, you know, just me being typical Soph, I put it on my stories and you guys love it! You laugh with me. You dont judge me its never been about using Instagram as a stage or being a performer. Its just always been about being allowed to be me, exactly as I am.

Ive always felt that I didnt quite fit in with what was considered normal, whether that was because of my weight issues, what happened when I was at school or the anxiety Ive suffered with my whole life. Ive always been lucky enough to have the most incredible friends and family around me. Ive never been one to get involved in going out until the early hours of the morning or wearing short skirts and high heels. Thats what everyone else seemed to enjoy doing, but I never did, and I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me because of that.

Which is why finally feeling part of something, accepted and even celebrated just for being me well, that truly is amazing.

Finding something I love doing being at home Hinching and realising its become this really cool thing, blows me away. Ive never been a part of anything cool in my life! In so many ways its been like a fairy tale. For the most part, Im living my best life with the man I love, our beautiful baby boy Ronnie, handsomes Henry and a successful career Im excited about every day.