Suzanne Shaw introduces baby grandson who brought 'love and light' after painful split

s life in sleepy Somerset is a far cry from her rollercoaster days in the She is now a doting and very glamorous grandmother Her eldest son Corey 21 who she shares with West End star Darren Day and his partner Erin Mitchell 20 welcomed their first baby on 26 March and Suzanne who s still as fresh-faced as ever at 44 The former star tells the that she s been swapping notes with her former bandmate who became a grandma in 2019 I ve spoken to Kym loads she tells us It s great to have a friend in a similar position to me being a young nana Kym reassured me that I didn t need to be a nanny or granny and could find my own name I m calling myself Zaza We ll see if that sticks We ve been sharing pics of our grandkids of course We re two very proud glammas But thrilled as she may be Suzanne admits becoming a grandmother at 44 has taken a bit of getting used to I can t even say the g word out loud she laughs The youthful star has been mistaken for Colton s mum on occasion Corey and I went into a shop together and the assistant asked how old the baby was He was eight weeks at the time and she went You re looking spritely for giving birth two months ago I said I didn t I m Grandma She looked shocked Suzanne admits the birth came at a time when she needed an injection of love and light following her of 12 years businessman Sam Greenfield The former couple who broke up in January and while Suzanne isn t yet ready to go into the details she concedes it s been a difficult time It s been tough I m just trying to navigate the loss of what I didn t think I d ever lose she shares Hopefully with time I ll heal and co-parenting with Sam can run smoothly We re doing our best to make sure it can I m enjoying my family even if it looks a little different now Another upside to Colton s arrival has been Suzanne s successful reunion with her who she dated for 18 months in the early 2000s When Erin was admitted to hospital for an induction due to pre-gestational diabetes it was 57-year-old Darren who kept Suzanne company while they waited for an update It was lovely actually says Suzanne We sat there waiting with bated breath reminiscing and having a laugh It was fun Suzanne and Darren drove to the hospital in separate cars to meet the new baby and once there emotions ran high I held him in my arms and it was incredible I burst into tears bubbles the whole lot I didn t want to hand him over I was like Just 30 more seconds But Darren had been very patient so it was time to let Colton meet his grandad Despite an acrimonious split some 20 years ago when Corey was months old Suzanne says reconnecting with her ex who she met while starring in theatre show Summer Holiday has been really lovely They do say time heals says Suzanne who last saw Darren in person at Corey s 18th birthday We ve been on good terms for a long time now and still message each other regarding Corey Now with the new baby we re in touch a lot more I was really proud of us to get to that point at the hospital It was really special to be able to share that moment together as Corey s mum and dad Suzanne adores being a hands-on gran with Colton as well as bonding with Aaron Erin s gorgeous two-year-old son from a previous relationship With Colton I can go Great I don t need to do a night feed I m handing him back You have such deep love for a grandchild without the stress of keeping them alive She s been roped into some light babysitting duties and Corey and Erin who live close by recently managed a rare night out at the cinema However she may be taking on more soon as nursery worker Erin is about to return to work and Corey is already back full-time at his marketing job The idea of Corey having a baby was quite an adjustment Suzanne admits as she wasn t even sure if her own baby-making days were over Sam and I were still talking about it so it was getting my head around that being off the cards Corey is clearly as besotted with his baby son as new mum Erin I love how Corey is so hands-on Suzanne says proudly I think it s the big age difference between him and Raffi Corey helped me with Raffi changing nappies and feeding him when he was 12 13 As for Raffi who is football mad and plays for a local academy it s clear that not only does he look up to his big brother but he s a little gentleman at one point complimenting Erin on a dress she wore for our shoot I was taken aback when he said Oh wow you look beautiful Erin laughs Suzanne But it s important that he grows up really respecting women That was important for both my boys I was doing a speaking gig at a school recently and they were talking about how bad misogyny is right now It s scary Suzanne who now works as a motivational speaker and empowerment coach is passionate about self-development which has helped her I ve had a lot of lessons thrown my way she admits Then life throws you another curve ball and you re like God I ve got more growing to do I m thankful I have the tools I ve got because I think the break-up would have been a lot messier without them The irony was on New Year s Eve I wrote in my journal that this year I wanted to embrace the mess the ups the downs Be careful what you wish for Right now Suzanne who has never had long breaks between relationships is Asked if she s even contemplating another romance she shakes her head firmly She says I m not there yet This is a chance for me to fully get to know myself so I can attract the right people Otherwise I m just going to keep bringing back these people who aren t right Right now I ve got plenty on my plate with work being an embarrassing football mum and being Zaza As for her old bandmates Kym Noel Sullivan and Danny Foster Suzanne has remained in touch and looks back on her Hear Say days with fondness I have amazing memories says the star who shot to fame after appearing on talent show Popstars I ll never forget our UK arena tour or performing with stars like and Lionel Richie We had a rollercoaster ride and it wasn t always easy but I ll always have a very special bond with my bandmates For now she is happy to focus on her family and her work which includes an appearance at the upcoming Festival Of Sport next month at Packington Estate in Warwickshire where she s headlining the Wellness Zone When it comes to showbusiness Suzanne is happy to dip in and out I find big showbiz events quite overwhelming she admits I used to cope with the pressures by drinking going for retail therapy and chasing instant dopamine hits These days I have a whole wellness routine I m aware of how my mental health can dip so I really take care of that I and I prefer a cosy night at home and to be in bed by 9pm You honestly wouldn t recognise me she laughs