Ahead of her debut on Dancing with the Stars on Sunday night, Rosanna Davison has said she's not a "natural dancer" and that taking part in the show was "definitely way out of my comfort zone".
Speaking to press as she prepared to make her dancefloor debut, the model, TV personality and 2003 Miss World winner reflected on the decision-making process that led to her joining the seventh season of the glitziest show on television.
Davison, who is a mother to three young children, three-year-old twins Hugo and Oscar and four-year-old daughter Sophia, said: "I'm secretly enjoying the break from the mum duties and the chaos of toddlers and life at home. It felt like the right time for me to step away a little bit - they're a little bit older, a little bit more independent.
"And so it feels like the timing is right and it's the perfect antidote to being home and changing nappies! I feel really positive, that I'm doing the right thing at the right time and I couldn't be happier that I made the decision to join the show."
The 38-year-old, who has been paired with professional dancer Stephen Vincent this season, said her sense of self, outside of being a mother, is "gradually coming back".
"One of the many reasons I decided to do the show was to remember who I used to be, independent of being a mum," she explained. "You do lose yourself a little bit when you have a child or more than one child, where your thoughts, your decision making, your behaviour changes completely so that it's all about putting the this other person, this little human, first.
"The first few years are difficult, they're really intense. You're in this baby bubble, but then you slowly come out of it and find that balance again of who you used to be, and who you are now as a parent.
"I want to be that inspiration to other mums who are in the trenches, so to speak, with newborns or toddlers at home and they think they'll never get out of it - you do and you find yourself again.
"It's a fantastic feeling to remember that you used to be an individual with different sort of passions. Dancing ticks all the boxes because I love to keep fit, I love staying physically active and the idea of learning a new skill and learning a skill for life."
Davison said her husband Wes Quirke was "very supportive and encouraging" when she decided to join 2024's line-up, and that he will step up with regards childminding when she is busy rehearsing and taking part in the live shows.
"We're very much a team when it comes to co-parenting," she said. "So now he is going to do all the parenting at the weekends and look after the kids at weekends. I think that's just the way you have to approach it, you're sort of a team now."
She also hopes her newfound skill will encourage her husband to put on his dancing shoes, saying: "I might be able to convince my husband to come to dances with me at some stage because I see this as a lifelong thing.
"Obviously it's a very intense learning stage at the moment, but maybe in the next year or two I'll take lessons and continue to learn different types of dancing and continue it. So hopefully it's a hobby that will continue."
Davison, the daughter of Lady In Red hitmaker Chris de Burgh, said she hopes her father will be able to come see her dance on the show if he can work around "his own busy schedule".
"He was only telling us the other day that he's celebrating 50 years in the music business this year and so he's got a whole series of tours and concerts," she said. "He's got a musical running at the moment in Germany, so he's got his own stuff going on, which is amazing. I mean, he's 75 now and he's still there's no stopping him!
"My parents will try and come for one of the shows, my mum might find it easier to come with the kids and Wes to one of the dress rehearsals."
Although Davison describes herself as a confident person in her everyday life, that confidence doesn't automatically translate to the dancefloor.
"Since becoming a mum I've felt more confident in myself and my abilities. There's a sense that things don't matter as much in life as you once thought they did - what matters is that your family is healthy and happy.
"As for dancing, I'm not as confident because it's definitely way out of my comfort zone. I wanted to do this show because I think it's important to push yourself out of your comfort zone - it's the only place that growth actually happens.
"I wouldn't say I'm a natural dancer, I wouldn't say I'm a confident dancer, but I really want to do my best, obviously for myself, but also for my dance partner, Stephen, who's investing a lot of time and effort into teaching me to dance.
"I'm taking it step by step, day by day and seeing it as a process of learning rather than trying to get to a place at the end."
The TV star also revealed that she reached out to her friend and former DWTS contestant Suzanne Jackson, who was a finalist in last year's competition, for advice on taking part.
"It was probably last summer I got in touch with Suzanne and said, tell me honestly what's the show like? How did you feel about it? Did you love it? What are the hours like?", Davison said.
"And she gave me loads of great advice, particularly about how to look after your mental and emotional well-being throughout the show because it's obviously physically demanding, but it's also emotionally demanding."
She added: "The overriding idea I got about the show was that it's just a great buzz, it's great fun and you make great friends. Carl Mullen, the winner last year, was in touch as well and just said to enjoy it.
"But at the same time I think for each of us, everyone competing or the dancers, we're each on an individual journey as well.
"We all have different things that we want to get out of the show, whether it's fitness or personal growth or learning a new skill, or escaping your toddlers at weekends, everyone has different motivations. We're all on a different journey as well, but I just hope that we'll all have fun doing it."
Dancing with the Stars kicks off on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday 7 January at 6.30pm.
