Michelle Keegan 'regaining confidence with Mark Wright's help' after horrific bullying and trolling
There's no stopping former Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan – she's gone from strength to strength since leaving the soap including lead roles in Our Girl and Brassic.
But it's the 36 year old's recent critical acclaim following the release of Netflix thriller Fool Me Once, a Harlan Coben special drama, that really cemented her stardom.
However, the actress – who is married to TOWIE's Mark Wright – has sadly been affected by vile trolls on her rise to fame and a source has told OK! that the Stockport-born actress has been struggling. Now, with the help of husband Mark, she's learned how to ignore the haters.
They said: "Michelle has always said she wishes she was more fiery but she's such a sweet and kind girl, she's not controversial, it's just not her. She has struggled with trolling in the past but thankfully it's calmed down recently with her success, Mark has really shown her how to be more confident and brush it off."
The source added: "With the success of Fool Me Once she's starting to realise how much of a star she is, the bigger she gets the more confident she gets as well, so she's really gained that and is feeling good."
Michelle is, sadly, no stranger to abuse from strangers.
When she was a teenager, walking home from school was so traumatic for the Coronation Street star that her stomach would churn with nerves.
As she covered the short distance from the bus stop to her house, she would be subjected to a barrage of jeering and abuse from a group of schoolchildren.
Opening up on her experience with bullying, Michelle said: "I was only about 13 at the time so I was really scared. People are always braver in numbers and when they see someone on their own they tend to single them out."
"We didn't live far from the bus stop but I had to walk past groups of kids from the local school.
"There was no reason for them to pick on me other than the fact I was wearing a different school uniform and went to another school. It was ridiculous. They felt I didn't fit in. They would snigger every time I walked past and make nasty comments about what I was wearing."
It became so bad that she would take a detour around the park just to avoid the group - adding an extra 15 minutes to her journey.
Speaking in 2010, Michelle told the Mirror that she wished she was more like her Coronation Street Tina McIntyre.
"She takes no prisoners. Tina's so feisty and I wish I was a bit more like that," the star admitted.
"She's so good at giving what-for. I'm a lot more laid-back but it's good to play her because it gets it out of my system. She's had a lot to deal with but she's come through it."
Michelle herself has also revealed some of the sad realities that come with being famous. While she keeps details of her life away from the cameras private, the TV star did open up about how her fame can impact her family.
When on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, Michelle candidly shared that even her mum has been trolled after being snapped with Michelle.
Discussing how she's received negative comments before but that it's worse when it's about her family, the star explained: "When it affects my family, that's when it's hurtful.
"I remember once I stepped out of a restaurant with my mum and we got pictured and I remember my mum reading the article and she read the comments," she continued.
"That really affected my mum, really bad. Now, she won't walk out of restaurants with me, because of that reason."
However, as she firmly leaves negativity in the past, Michelle is back to work in Australia, with the BBC sharing a behind-the-scenes picture of her on the set of Ten Pound Poms.
The series stars Michelle as Kate Thorne, a British woman who departs post-war Britain for Australia, having been promised a better quality of life for just £10.
