Leona Lewis has opened up for the first time about her struggles with anxiety after welcoming her baby into the world.

The former X Factor winner, who dominated the show back in 2006 against the likes of Ray Quinn and Ben Mills, said she felt 'drained' and struggled with 'anxious thoughts' which left her 'unable to rest'.

Leona, 38, welcomed her first baby into the world with her husband professional dancer Dennis Jaunch last summer.

Announcing the news on Instagram the couple, who wed in a romantic ceremony in a Tuscan Vineyard in 2019, shared a gorgeous photograph of the new born writing alongside it: "And then there were three, our little Carmel Allegra arrived 22.7.22," with a pink heart emoji.

Her daughter's first public photograph was on the front cover of Vogue Arabia, where Leona looked sensational in a deep reddish-brown coloured dress from Dior while Carmel was sat on her mummy's hip swaddled in a camel-coloured blanket.

At the time she told the magazine: "Being a mother is one of the most rewarding yet challenging roles in life."

Leona has now opened up more on what the first year of motherhood has looked like for her, and for the first time has spoken about her debilitating health while she was pregnant and her struggles with anxiety since giving birth.

Speaking to The Sun, she said: "I'd been so sick throughout the whole pregnancy, I could hardly get out of bed. That went on literally up until she was born, so to [had already been] a lot, both physically and emotionally."

She said once she got physically better after giving birth, things took a turn for her mental health.

She explained: "I was so drained, so tired and then I'd have these anxious thoughts that kept me up, so I wasn't ever able to rest. I was so lucky that I had a lot of support around me."

She added that she has since wanted to do everything she can to help other mums, which she has a new found respect for.

She said meeting new mums 'opens her heart' and she realises everything they go through.

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