Articles | I piled on 60lb when I had my baby

A baby and a new album spell a fresh start for Belinda Carlisle. Bloated by toxaemia during her pregnancy, the singer now draws inspiration from her son Duke.

Beautiful pop singer Belinda Carlisle is releasing a new album, Real, this month after a three year absence from music. During that time, she gave birth to a long awaited son, James Juke Mason.

And at 35, Belinda is looking better than ever. ”I’ve really worked at getting my body back into good shape since having Duke” she says, “If somebody had told me, while I was pregnant, that I’d get my old figure back, I’d never have believed them!” laughs Belinda, as she stretches out perfectly-honed legs and arms, and raises her flawless complexion to the critical neon light glare of her Beverly Hills record company office.

The Californian dream girl gained a staggering 60lb during her pregnancy, Duke weighed in at just 3lb 13oz when he was born three weeks prematurely, by caesarean section on April 27 th last year, Within two weeks, Belinda was back at work with her trainer. “ I couldn’t wait to get back into action again. The final few months had been the most boring in my life.”

“I’d had toxaemia which caused my body to swell up and my blood pressure went up, too. My doctor ordered me to stay in bed for the final two months of my pregnancy and I’d sit there, propped up on pillows, surrounded by menus from my favourite restaurants and would order food in all day long.

“It was so sick; I had a menu from every restaurant and I’d sit munching, watching tacky TV talk shows. I had all the channels memorised and the programme times. Friends would visit me, but I couldn’t really do anything, I was forbidden to get out of bed unless I needed to go to the bathroom. It was real tough on me because I’m usually so lively and hyper-active.” Finally, Belinda contracted a virus which made her so ill, her doctor decided the baby would have a better chance outside the womb. She was rushed to the celebrity Cedars Sinal Medical Center , Where she gave birth 45 minutes later.

Her husband Morgan, 36, the son of the late actor James Mason and once aide to ex-President Ronald Reagan, made it to the bedside with just 10 minutes to spare. Time enough, though for him to video Duke making his entrance into the world to the accompaniment of Gun N’ Roses, Later Morgan a movie executive, gave his wife a pair of diamond earrings.“It was really cool, Duke was so perfect and tiny. I could hardly believe he’d grown inside of me,” says Belinda “He’s named after both our fathers, James, of course, was Morgan’s father and my father’s name is Duke. It’s a strong, solid name and quite unusual. We tend to call him that. He suits it with his blond hair and big blue eyes,” She says reaching into her wallet and producing a selection of pictures of her angelic-looking son, all carefully marked with the date and place.

While most new mums complain about the long hours their baby demands, Belinda was already accustomed to rising before the sun. As lead singer with all girl group the Go-Go’s, she had become dependant ond drugs and booze. Only when she met her husband to be Morgan eight years ago, did she embrace a healthier life-style which included getting up at dawn. “I used to go to bed at dawn , but when I began to clean up my act, I soon discovered it was the best time of the day. I grew to love the tranquillity of the early morning, a time I would use to write, read, work things out in my head. Now I share my special time with Duke.

“ I get up at 5:30am with him and we play for a few hours before I go to the gym while he has his morning nap. I do as much as I can for him myself – however, I have a great nanny who makes my life a million times easier.“I felt better the day after I’d had my baby. But then I’d had such a rough pregnancy, it came as an enormous sense of relief to have it over with.“Duke was in hospital for a short while after and I had to take things easy, but I was soon chomping at the bit to get back to work, writing and recording my new album real.

“I was brought by my mother who worked but who was always around for me. Although my work is very important to me, I want to make sure that Duke grows up feeling that way, too. My son is my priority and I’ll always be there for him.“Being pregnant gave me a sense of wanting to change everything and that stretched as far as my music, too. I think my hormones were telling me I had to do the best I could, not for myself or for my career, but for my baby.

“The whole experience of having a baby and going through pregnancy has made me a much more confident person. I figured if I could go through that, I could go through anything. Real is the first album I’ve produced myself and my involvement has been far greater than in the past. I’m really proud of it. It’s as if my baby has helped me into a part of me I never knew existed – I can only put it down to Duke.

“He has helped put a lot of other thing into perspective. Before he was born, my six dogs got a lot more petting – now they know they just have to wait their turn.” grins Belinda, who is still actively involved in several animal rights organisations in America .

While she was pregnant, Belinda listened to every Stevie Ray Vaughan record she could find. “you never know, Duke may turn out to be a great guitar player, but only time will tell,” she laughs, “Right now, he’s just beginning to develop a personality of his own. He’s a lot of fun, like a little friend. He looks a lot like me. He has my blue eyes and my skin colouring. He has Morgan’s lips and I only pray he has Morgan’s nose, because being a boy he’d look pretty silly with my little one!”

The couple would like at least one more child, although they will wait to after Belinda world tour next year. With this in mind they’ve sold their house in the Hollywood hills, once the home of Carol Lombard, and bought a larger property which they will move into at the end of the year. “We want to remodel the place with all the safety measures you need for young children.

When she’s not swimming with her son, Belinda exercises for two hours a day, five days a week, with a body builder, to tone herself into an enviable shape. ”On those days, I try to do cardio-vascular exercises, which include running, stepping or cycling. I also try to do weight training for four days a week. I enjoy sport and when I was younger, I was the first girl to play for a boys’ basketball team in the state of California .

“I wouldn’t say I’m fanatical about it, but I’ve never had so much weight to lose in my life before it’s been really hard work.”

She’s also hired a professional nutritionist. “I’m not going to eat as much on my next pregnancy, that’s for sure. But I can’t really blame myself. When you’re in bed all day, there’s not much left to do but eat. I looked at my swollen body after I’d given birth and never envisaged I’d get my figure back. But I took my diet and fitness plan pretty seriously.

“Morgan was also incredibly supportive. We have a great relationship. We’re still romantic with one another and we’re also the best of friends. It gets a bit tough when I have to travel, but he knew when we got married that would be inevitable, so we don’t let it upset us too much.”

>And it is Morgan’s love and support that helped Belinda quit booze and drugs when they first met, “There are still certain situations which I avoid today,” says Belinda. “But I can enjoy a glass of wine without feeling the compulsion to drink the whole bottle.

“In the early days, I used the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery programme and it was helpful while I was making the transition between using and not using. But drink and drugs are not really an issue in my life any more. While I was going to AA meetings, a lot of people freak out because I’d have a glass of wine every once in a while.

“But it’s all down to the individual, and you work out your own programme. That’s what I did myself, although I appreciate there are others who need the structure of AA meetings. That technique has worked for millions of people. For me, my own way seems to have done the job, so I’m not complaining. But I wouldn’t knock any other methods – they have saved thousands of lives.”

If her husband helped Belinda Carlisle to start her recovery, it was the arrival of Duke which completed her rehabilitation. “Having a baby has really taken me out of myself. It seemed like I would always get into trouble when I had time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. “Now I no longer have time to dwell on myself. And Morgan never stops telling how proud he is of me, which is nice too.”