Michelle Heaton strips off to sunbathe in the heatwave after brave alcohol and cancer battles
MICHELLE Heaton wowed fans as she stripped off to a bikini to soak up the sun.
The 44-year-old took to Instagram to share a snap of her sunbathing and urged fans to be kind to themselves by accepting their own bodies.
Looking amazing in a black two piece and floppy hat, Liberty X star Michelle wrote: “Making the last of the sun… stretch marks and loose skin galore…
“The skin aging process in having children, #menopause & in #addiction has had a knock on effect in more ways then one!
“And after a lot of fluctuations with my weight over the years it has ultimately changed my skin forever.
“I doesn’t bother me anymore… and it shouldn’t do you either ladies.”
Michelle added: “Ageing has brought me stretch marks AND acceptance at the same time.”
Fans rushed to send supportive messages to Michelle, who shares children Faith, 11, and AJ, nine, with husband Hugh Hanley.
One wrote: “Love this energy Michelle – you look beautiful.”
Another said: “Bloody stunning you are such a role model.”
And a third added: “Real is the only way to be truly happy and healthy.”
Brave Michelle previously opened up about a drink and drug addiction that nearly cost her her family and her life.
When she hit rock bottom she was drinking a bottle of vodka and two bottles of wine a day.
Michelle told Closer at the time: “I’d given up on life.
“At my lowest point I’d wake up in the morning and pray for someone to help me, or I just wanted to die.”
But she quit booze and went sober two years ago after an intervention from Hugh and friends.
And in 2012 she made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with the BRCA2 gene meaning she had an 85 per cent chance of developing breast cancer.
In 2015 she also underwent a hysterectomy to prevent developing ovarian cancer.
As a result of the life-saving operations Michelle hit early menopause, with her experiencing the first symptoms at just 35.