Kate Ferdinand gets emotional as she pays tribute to stepdaughter Tia on her 13th birthday

Kate Ferdinand has shared a sweet birthday message in tribute to her stepdaughter Tia, who turned 13 this week. The former TOWIE star, who tied the knot with former footballer Rio Ferdinand in 2019, posted a pair of photos of herself with Tia, showing how much the teenager had grown since they became a family.

The first photo saw Tia a number of years ago, while the second was much more recent. Both snaps were taken from behind and cleverly hid the teenager's first. Captioning the post, Kate wrote: "How did that happen? [crying emoji]" She also shared some photos of the celebrations to her Instagram Story.

Showing off some pink balloons in her kitchen, the TV star wrote: "Happy 13th birthday to our princess Tia. I love you so much. A very special girl [two pink hear emojis]"

Fans were quick to comment on the sweet post, with one writing: "How lucky is she to have a role model like you to look up to and to love her like you do. Her mum will be so thankful to you."

"Beautiful relationship you both have" added another. While a third penned: "Happy Birthday beautiful Princess Tia. Beautiful pics @xkateferdinand the most special bond treasure it forever."

Earlier this year Kate and Rio welcomed daughter Shae, their second child together, having previously welcomed son Kree. Rio is also dad to Lorenz, Tate and Tia, whom he shared with his late wife Rebecca Ellison, who passed away from breast cancer in 2015.

Kate, who gave up her reality TV career when she became a stepmum, previously admitted that she didn’t quite know what she was letting herself in for when she started seeing the Manchester United legend.

"When I think back, I don’t know how we did navigate it and it’s a real big blur," she said on Anna Richardson’s It Can’t Just Be Me podcast. "I went from being a single, carefree girl to a stepmum-of-three. And these kids have gone through so much, and there’s grief. It’s all a bit of a blur."

"It’s hard to know what you’re getting into sometimes until you’re actually in it," Kate said. “Until you’re in it, you don’t really realise. I felt a little bit shocked, I didn’t really know how to parent."

The TV star has since sweetly credited her stepchildren with teaching her “how to love a child as my own”, and says because she’s had to “really work” for the bond with them, it’s “so special”.