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If you’ve ever been on a diet – and, let’s face it, who hasn’t? – you’ll know it’s as hard to change your mindset as your body. This week, Michaela is super-honest about her reasons for piling on the pounds and what it took to shift them (p24). Maybe you can relate? Debbie is also speaking from the heart about her late partner Tony. She shares a very touching tribute to the man she loved and the unusual way she’ll honour her soulmate’s legacy (p10). There’s loads more stories, including chilling true crime and body shockers, plus health advice, fuss-free food, fashion and beauty. Stay safe and well.…

During his trial, the court heard how Hill: • Pinned one woman against a wall by her throat. When she left due to his violence, he ‘destroyed’ their flat and killed her kitten. She returned to find the place desecrated and her kitten’s body amongst rubbish on the kitchen floor. • Threw another victim’s cat out of an upstairs window. • Strangled Sarah-Jane’s mum Patricia, then 39, after drunkenly shouting, ‘I’m a killing machine!’, until her face turned purple. • Threatened his own Alsatian when one victim said she was leaving him. • Hurled burning cushions at one woman, telling her to choose between burning to death, being thrown out of a third-floor window or returning to a party he’d been kicked out of for being aggressive.…

Debbie Dowsett, 49, north London As I walked through the front door, my partner Tony, then 52, was waiting. ‘Enjoy yourself, love?’ he winked. ‘You bet,’ I grinned, putting down my overnight bag. It was early 2009 and, despite being madly in love with Tony for a decade, I’d just spent the night having sex with another bloke. And not only did Tony know – he’d encouraged it. A few months earlier, he’d convinced me to sign up to online dating sites including Illicit Encounters, specially for couples, including married ones, looking for saucy flings and affairs. ‘Men will really fancy you,’ Tony had said at the time. ‘You must be joking!’ I’d laughed back then. I’d never considered opening up our relationship before. Don’t get me wrong, we were…

Natasha Griffin, 39, south London Feeling nauseous and dizzy, I tried to steady myself as I followed my mum Marion, then 36, in the shop. I was 14 and today was a momentous day... I’d started my period. Just like other teenage girls, I was nervous. And, now, I was feeling awful. ‘Let’s get you to the pharmacy,’ Mum soothed. Given paracetamol, I was told it was normal to feel a bit off during my cycle. But back home, I was doubled over in pain. ‘It’s just because it’s your first,’ Mum reassured. Only, for the next two years, each month brought at least a week of pain. A heavy bleed, vomiting, excruciating cramps and fatigue. Sometimes, a period could last 20 days. When I was 16, Mum took me…

OVER TO YOU Can you set a puzzle in this format? Send it, with a photo of yourself, to the address on p3. There’s £20 for every one we use! This week’s puzzle was compiled by Kath Thomas, Chippenham, Wilts ACROSS 1 Not closed 2 Unlikely 3 Operatic song 4 Unpleasant look DOWN 1 Spoken exam 2 Trim 3 Pennsylvanian city 4 Not far Your answer: WIN 5x £25 Puzzle 6 CHAIN WORDS The city of Astrakhan stands on the delta of which river? Get from Start to Finish, making words by joining two boxes together as you go, eg: SAL + TY, TY +… you decide! When you reach Finish, two unused boxes join together to give the prize answer. Your answer: WIN £1,00 Puzzle 7 IN THE GRID Which…

ARROW WORD Since 2018, it has been possible in Andalusia to study an Interuniversity Master’s course on what performance art form? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. Your answer: WIN £1,000 Puzzle 10 SUDOKU To solve the puzzle, each 3 x 3 box, each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9. Solve the puzzle and the numbers in the highlighted squares will give you the prize puzzle answer. Your answer: WIN £60 Puzzle 11 WORDSEARCH The supporters of Argentine President Juan Perón were known as descamisados, a Spanish term indicating that they did not have what type of clothing? The answer is the one missing from the grid. BAG BLAZER BLOUSE…

Scared of sex after a baby Q I had a baby 11 months ago and became a single parent. I’m incredibly lonely and want to meet someone, but I have an issue. I tore my muscles during childbirth and, while some were stitched OK, I have a prolapse of my bladder and uterus. I’m seeing a gynaecologist for it now, but I’ve not had sex since the birth and I’m scared that if I meet someone, I won’t be able to. How can I regain my confidence, as, if I don’t try, how will I know? Leanne, 29 A Poor love! Who’d be a woman, eh? I’m glad you’re seeing a doctor, but your confidence will only start to grow when you accept who you are now. All our bodies…

Mandy Whitworth, 49, Stanley Carrying my baby boy Aiden, then 10 months, upstairs, I couldn’t catch my breath. ‘I’m full of cold, too,’ I groaned to my partner Graeme, then 42. It was December 2012, and I should’ve been relishing motherhood. Aiden was our miracle, and I’d not had it easy. After struggling to conceive with my first husband, my first son Ethan had been born in September 2001 via IVF. He’d arrived at 28 weeks, only lived for 24 minutes, leaving me utterly bereft. Then two years later, in June 2003, we welcomed Matthew. Yet while he was my world, he had severe learning difficulties and needed full-time care. Sadly, my husband and I split up, so when I met Graeme in 2010, and fell pregnant at 39, it’d…

Q What is the scam involving National Insurance numbers? A According to Action Fraud, victims have reported getting automated phone calls claiming their National Insurance number has been ‘compromised’, and that to fix this and get a new number, they should ‘press one’. They’re then connected to a fraudster asking for their personal details, ‘in order to issue a new NI number’. But the criminals can use these details to commit fraud. For info on protecting yourself, visit actionfraud.police.uk.…

Maybelline Color Strike Eyeshadow Pen in Tempt, £7.99, Superdrug Apply with the precise cushion-tipped wand and blend with your fingers. Goes on just like a cream and dries to a powder for long-lasting, day-to-evening wear. e.l.f. Mint Melt No Budge Eyeshadow Stick in Ice Crème, £5, Superdrug One for eyeshadow newbies, simply scribble on, blend, and you’re good to go. This shimmering shade will help brighten tired eyes. Barry M Colour Glide Eyeshadow Wand in Lilac Lush, £3.99, barrym.com Don’t be put off by the bold shade - one swipe gives a gentle wash of colour that can be layered up. The purple hue suits brown eyes particularly well.…

Dear Mum, You always taught me to believe in myself, no matter what. And while I know that most mums say things like that to their kids, to me it meant everything. Being born with learning difficulties meant that, sometimes, I found the outside world daunting. I’d struggle with simple things, like counting money or processing what people said. Sometimes got confused. Only, more often than not, I managed. I’d always been sociable, outgoing. So when I decided to study Performing Arts at college, you were thrilled. I discovered a love of dancing, singing and acting. Came alive on stage, forgot about my disability. Only, I started overhearing cruel comments in class. Hushed whispers that I’d never find a job in the arts industry due to my learning disability. Some…

£25 for any photos that we use on Picture Perfect. They must not have been sent to any other publication and you must include written permission from a child’s parent/s or guardian/s. Post to Picture Perfect, Chat, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP, or email chat_magazine@futurenet.com Unfortunately, we can’t return photos without an SAE. And please don’t forget to include your full address and a contact number.…

In 2010, the jury convicted Steven Hayes of 16 charges, including kidnap, murder, burglary and sexual assault. He was acquitted of arson but handed six death sentences, plus 106 years. Just over a year later, Joshua Komisarjevsky was found guilty on all 17 counts, including kidnap, burglary, sexual assault and murder. During his trial, he had also tried to unsuccessfully pin the blame on his accomplice, saying it was Hayes who had escalated the violence. Komisarjevsky was sentenced to death by lethal injection. In 2015, however, as both men waited on death row, Connecticut abolished the death penalty and they were sentenced to life without parole instead. Since the brutal and merciless slaughter of his family, Bill Petit has worked tirelessly to honour their memory by founding a charity for…

Michaela Miller, 31 Whacking the golf ball across the course, I watched it land straight in the hole. Chuffed, I turned to my dad Don, to check he was watching. ‘Well done, Michaela!’ he cheered. At 7, I was a real daddy’s girl, and desperate to impress him. I’d started playing golf because Dad loved it. Got really good, too, winning kids’ tournaments. At parents’ evenings, as my teachers went through my reports, I loved seeing Dad grinning with pride. His seal of approval was all the reward I needed for working hard. Only, as I got older, me and Dad started to clash. He could be blunt, and I was a sensitive teenager. The main thing we started locking horns over was my weight. ‘Are you sure you should…

Katie Clarenborne, 32, Southampton Pulling out my phone, I Googled the words for the 100th time. Cystic hygroma. ‘Our baby could be disfigured!’ I wept to my husband James, then 33. It was September 2018, and James and I had just had our 20-week scan. But moments after getting the exciting news that we were expecting a boy, the sonographer had found something else. A mass… ‘It looks like cystic hygroma,’ she’d said, referring us to a consultant for the following week. The wait was agonising. According to my countless Google searches, it was a fluid-filled cyst. It formed on a baby’s head or neck in the womb, was usually benign – but it could lead to permanent disfiguration. ‘Let’s just see what the doctor says,’ James reassured. Only, the…

Swinging her bat as her best friend bowls, Alyssa Pursely laughs – just like any other carefree teenager mucking about in the garden. Yet things haven’t been easy for Alyssa. She was bullied from the moment she started school, and doesn’t think the nasty comments will ever stop. ‘People are mean – the world’s mean,’ she says. Yet there’s little Alyssa can do about it, because she was born with a rare condition that causes her to smell constantly of fish. Alyssa says, ‘The name of my medical condition is trimethylaminuria. ‘My mum knew from when I was little that something was wrong, but they never found a name for it until I was about 6, as it’s so rare. ‘I started Reception class, and started being bullied for it.…

Opening the envelope, I gasped as a photo fell out. It was of a handsome young man, with hazel eyes and dark hair. ‘I can’t believe it!’ I cried, clutching it in my hand. This was the man who’d given me back my life. My future with my boys. It took half an hour for me to pluck up the courage to read the letter. Finally, when I did, I learnt it was from a woman named Lozzie, then 50. My donor’s mum. I was so pleased to hear from you, she’d written. She explained how her son Jordan, 23, had died in a tragic bicycle accident. Your letter made me feel closer to him, she said. Lozzie told me how she’d heard one of the transplant patients had spent…

Puff pastry sausage rolls So British – and an absolute essential at any picnic MAKES 22 PREP 20 MINS COOK 30 MINS ● 400g sausage meat or minced pork ● 4 spring onions, finely sliced ● 1tsp dried thyme ● 1tsp fennel seeds ● 1 × 375g pack puff pastry ● 1 egg, beaten ● 2tbsp sesame seeds 1 Mix together the meat with the spring onions, thyme and fennel seeds, and season well. 2 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Roll out the pastry to measure 30cm × 50cm. Cut lengthways, in half. Spread the sausage meat down each length, and brush one side of the pastry with egg wash. Fold over the opposite side of the pastry, using a fork to seal the edges. Trim the edges slightly.…

Aries 21 March-20 April Understand the full implications for others, and if you feel certain things aren’t right, change them. There’s no reason to stay within time constraints. ● Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May You may feel like sprucing up the house to promote balance and harmony. Think about the colours you like to wear and incorporate them into your home. ● Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June A book on mindfulness might help you, or you could check out magazines, as you are sure to find interesting articles. The information you need is easily accessible. ● Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July Don’t take people too seriously. The time will come when you feel more sure…

Q Do I really need to be wearing sunscreen every single day? Lauren Turner, 36 A Using a daily sunscreen is the best thing you can do for your skin. Sun exposure can leave you with fine lines and pigmentation – and, at worst, skin cancer. For max protection, you’ll need at least SPF30 with broad-spectrum defence, to shield your skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Apply liberally (a teaspoon-to tablespoon-sized dollop, depending on the size of your face), and don’t forget commonly missed spots like hairline, ears and neck. When it comes to formula, there’s plenty of choice. Oily complexions, try Nivea Sun UV Face Suncream SPF50 Shine Control, £8, Boots, for a non-sticky finish. If your skin errs on the drier side, Garnier Ambre Super UV Solaire…

HOW TO ENTER TEXT Simply text CHATD followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 84988 Texts cost 50p plus standard network charge (maximum 160 characters per text). When you enter by text, you may in future get SMS marketing messages from Future plc and Chat. If you want to receive these, please end your text with OPTIN. Texting tips • Don’t put any spaces in an answer that has several words: eg: CHATISTHEBEST not CHAT IS THE BEST. • If the answer is a name, you need only give the surname: eg: CLOONEY not GEORGE CLOONEY. • You can use capitals or small letters, but don’t use any commas, etc. • Leave out answers you don’t wish to enter.…

Sarah-Jane Davidson, 39, Dundee Carrying in the cage, I placed it gently on the hallway table as my son’s and daughter’s faces lit up. ‘This is Peggy and Polly,’ I grinned, stroking the fluffy heads of the green and grey parakeets. ‘Hello, hello,’ both birds chirped as Elise, then 4, and Saul, 1, giggled. It was summer 2008, and a relative had recently died, leaving the birds homeless. I took them in, knowing the kids would love them. Their humming and whistling in the hallway became a welcome distraction from the chaos at home. Because life with their dad Paul Hill was hell… I was 19 when I met Paul in a nightclub. He was a 35-year-old bouncer, and would treat me to romantic dinners and country rides on his…

What did Denise Van Outen buy with her first pay cheque from The Big Breakfast? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the three-word prize answer. ACROSS 11 Cartoon character, _ Rubble (6) 12 Taking in, accepting (9) 13 Destroy, wreck (4) 14 Makes clean (8) 15 Fashion (5) 16 Most elderly (6) 17 State officially (7) 18 Worldly-wise (11) 20 Sphere (5) 22 Apart from that (9) 24 Have faith in (5) 28 Prudent (7) 29 Take in air (7) 32 Common type of insect (6) 34 Family member (8) 36 Railway coach (8) 37 Curving outwards (6) 39 More cheerful (7) 40 Distorted or tangled (7) 45 The perfect example (5) 47 Long narrow piece of land (9) 48 Puts money…

Kerry Burke, 42, Copthorne Hearing the needle buzzing as I walked into the tattoo studio, my adrenaline started to soar. ‘Ready?’ Ben, my tattoo artist, asked. ‘Can’t wait!’ I smiled. It was 2007 and I was getting my first big tattoo at 28. A fairy, across my left upper arm. I’d previously had smaller ones. You know, the usual – dragon on my back, stars on my feet, Chinese symbol on my ankle… But, this time, I was going for it. For three hours, I grimaced through the constant scratching pain. After, even though my new tatt was splattered in tiny drops of my blood, I was thrilled. ‘How about a sleeve next?’ Ben asked. A tattoo covering my entire arm. He’d never done one on a woman before, and…

Sex is a pain Q Sex is great until I orgasm, then I can’t move because of sudden, terrible cramping pain. What’s wrong? Mabs, Sandwell A Orgasm pain, known as dysorgasmia, usually takes the form of cramps rather like period pains low in your abdomen or pelvis, immediately after your orgasm. Often it’s not possible to pinpoint a cause, but check with your doctor to rule out possibilities such as an infection, a leaking cyst on an ovary or endometriosis, where a portion of womb lining has travelled outside your womb. Urine infections, bowel problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or a side-effect of some antidepressant drugs, are other possible causes, and anxiety and depression can make symptoms worse. Treatment depends on the cause but, in the meantime, rest,…

FILL ME IN Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Dogtooth was a 2010 film produced in which country? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. WIN £100 Puzzle 14 Your answer: CIRCLE TIME Edirne, Sinop, Konya and Van are provinces of which country? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles. 3 letters BAD BAP EAT EGG ERA EVE HEN OFF USE 4 letters ABLE BASE EDGE ROBE SHOE TWEE 5 letters DISCO ERROR PROOF YEAST 6 letters BADGER STRICT SUBURB TARGET 7 letters BESPOKE NURSERY WIN £100 Puzzle 15 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit…

CODE CRACKER What is British actor Asa Butterfield’s favourite movie? To find out, solve the puzzle... Fill in the grid. Each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number from 1 to 26. When you’ve completed the grid, the shaded squares will spell out the two-word prize answer. We’ve given you five letters to start off. WIN £500 Puzzle 16 Your answer: WORD JUMBLE Released in the Dyfi Valley in March 2021, Barti Ddu became the first wild example of what animal in Wales in 400 years? Unscramble each group of letters to discover six aquatic mammals. Now fit them across the grid and you’ll spell out the answer to the question. 1 CAPRA BAY 2 A ROSETTE 3 EMANATE 4 RAVE TOWEL 5 ERASE DEAL 6 ARK…

3 ways to... manage your money with apps Your smartphone can help you organise your finances. 1 Emma With Emma (emma-app. com), you can see all your accounts in one place, which means you can easily keep track of your spending. It lets you set budgets, which you can sync to cover the period from payday to payday, and it helps reduce unnecessary spending by highlighting the subscriptions you’re paying for each month - plus it’s free to download on iOS and Android. In-app purchases are available. 2 Plum Link your bank accounts to Plum (withplum.com) and, as well as getting a real-time view of exactly where your money is going, the app will analyse your transactions to learn about your income and spending patterns. Then, every few days, it will…

Chat winners issue 12 (25 March 2021) £1,001 CASH J Stoddard, Barrow-in-Furness £1,000 CASH P Riley, Hoddesdon £500 CASH H Stuart, Hove; J Kirby, Liverpool £250 CASH S Hackett, Scunthorpe £150 CASH M Stubbins, Barnsley £100 CASH E Hadley, Maidstone; A Korchak, Ipswich; H Davies, Shrewsbury; M Young, Bristol; J Armstrong, Belfast £60 CASH R Jackson, Gairloch £50 CASH L Tween, Spilsby; J Dunstan, Pembroke; S Mitchell, Abbots Langley £30 CASH S Bennett, Derby; S Knowles, Dartford; K Osman, Harrow; D Applegate, King’s Lynn; L Whebell, Brentwood £25 CASH A Howitt, Barnsley; B Barnard, Diss; C Elliot, Sunderland; S Turner, Accrington; S Dockerty, Birmingham; M Benmailoud, Harrow; S Myston, Lowestoft; L McInerney, Buxton; C Parson, Stoke-on-Trent Anyone from your town in the list this week..? Chat PUZZLE 2 FAKIR Chat…