Mrs Hinch holds back tears as she opens up about son Ronnie’s delayed speech & lengths she went to protect him
SHE regularly shares snippets of her family’s life on her much-visited social media profile.
But now Mrs Hinch has emotionally opened up for one of the first times about the impact of her son Ronnie’s delayed speech – and the lengths she went to to protect him.
Social media phenomenon Mrs Hinch – real name Sophie Hinchcliffe – appeared as a guest on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.
During the candid chat, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here star Giovanna and the 32-year-old cleanfluencer were busy discussing parenthood and their children.
Talk then turned to Mrs Hinch’s eldest son Ronnie, now three, and how he encountered speech delay growing up.
In October 2021, Mrs Hinch revealed in an Instagram open letter that Ronnie had ‘invisible speech needs.’
However, he’s since overcome the hurdle, as Mrs Hinch revealed when she posted videos of Ronnie – who she calls ‘Ron’ – reciting the alphabet.
And emotions ran high, as Mrs Hinch – who is also mum to son Lennie, two – appeared to choke back tears as she recalled the sometimes turbulent time, as well as his latest milestone.
Sophie told Giovanna: “My first, Ron, had speech delay, so we went through a lot of speech therapy and still go.
“I wasn’t prepared for that, but when I had Len, I didn’t know any different.
“So when Len started saying these words that I’d literally waited years to hear from Ron and I was hearing them, I was like – I couldn’t believe it.
“I was thinking, ‘How beautiful.’ But, at the end of the day, it makes no difference.
“Their own time is the perfect time. Ron spoke when he wanted to speak, he was just taking it all in.
“And if I never had a word from him ever, I knew what he was thinking anyway.
“I guess it’s a mother’s instinct – he could look at me, make a sound and I knew what he meant.”
Ron spoke when he wanted to speak, he was just taking it all in
Mrs Hinch
Continuing to relive how she first found out that Ronnie had speech delay, Mrs Hinch explained it happened during a routine visit with a health visitor for the two-year check-up.
During the meeting, a form had to be filled out about Ronnie’s progress, and – a process Sophie described as “cut-throat” and “intense.”
She then appeared to hold back tears as she spoke of the pivotal moment.
The social media star explained: “You sit there and your heart just crumbles for them because you just think, ‘have I let you down?’ I don’t understand.
“And then as a mother you’re sitting there thinking, ‘OK, maybe he can’t say that but you should see how he can stack his cups and how he does things – his fine motor skills are another level.’
“I just had this huge emotion of thinking, ‘there’s crosses, but where are his ticks?’ because I know what he can do.”
She later added: “Parents that have those visits and then sit there afterwards in complete tears, please know you’re not alone. You’re not alone.”
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Mrs Hinch also revealed that she felt like there were times when she was extra protective over her son.
She confessed: “I think there was a point as well where maybe I was so protective that I would speak for him too much.
“Because I was so worried of him not being understood, or getting frustrated that we didn’t understand him.
“I didn’t want him to feel like there was something not ok.”
Your heart just crumbles for them because you just think, ‘have I let you down?’
Mrs Hinch
However, she also spoke of her joy that Ronnie has now found his voice.
“It’s got all of its ups and downs to it, but Ron’s words – and my followers know because they say to me, ‘Soph, he’s like my nephew.’ They love him to bits.
“They’ve seen him go from no words to some words to, all of a sudden, these words have come out of nowhere.
“I just sit there and melt. I think, “I’m not speaking back to you because I don’t know what to say right now because I just absolutely can’t believe you’ve just said that.”
