Carl Mullan has spoken about struggling with body image, particularly since becoming a father.
The 2fm presenter is dad to son Daibhí and daughter Éala, and said this week that he has always wanted to be the “best version” of himself for his children.
“I don’t think I was fully mentally prepared before becoming a dad for what it would mean,” Carl said on Brendan O’Connor’s RTÉ Radio 1 show.
“I often talk to people about the mourning of the loss of your old life. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve had to try and figure out. You realise, oh, it’s gone. It is not coming back, I keep thinking it’s coming back – it’s not.”
Carl said that body image is always something he’s struggled with, “particularly in the last couple of years.”
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“It’s just feeling self-conscious about putting on weight or clothes not fitting as well as you’d like and being out and about and wanting to look good,” he said. “But actually, a lot of it now, it’s even more deep-rooted, because I want to be the best version of myself for my kids.
“I want to be healthy and I want to be there for them. And sometimes, just because it’s so mad, you don’t get to be that best version of yourself the whole time.”
He went on to say that maintaining a good lifestyle can be hard when you’re “running on empty.”
“It’s nearly the fact that I know that just by eating healthy and exercising, I know I can be the best version of myself, creatively, and I can have more energy for my kids,” he said.
“So there’s nearly a guilt around when you’re not eating properly because you’re just running on empty. That you’re going ‘but now I know I’m not being the best version of myself that I can be’.
“There’s definitely an element of that public body image, but actually it’s more so rooted in just me and my life at home.”
