Holidaying in Dubai last week, Abbey Clancy’s jutting hip bones and ribs were obvious. The WAG, who was already very slim, had also shocked fans two weeks ago by Tweeting a picture of herself in a skimpy bikini, revealing she’d lost more weight.
But the defiant model is telling pals she’s feeling good – and that she’s finally reached the size zero (UK size 4) figure she was striving for.
A source says: “Abbey has been on a mission to get to a size zero. She’s thrilled now that she has the body she wanted and says being in shape makes her feel better in general. But she’s still saying she has a bit more to lose and her mates are worried.
"You could almost fit your arm all the way around her.”
“They think she’s taking it too far, but Abbey dismisses their fears, saying she’s not too thin and isn’t even on a ‘proper’ diet. But she’s so skinny at the moment you could almost fit your arm all the way around her.”
Abbey, 26, was pictured on holiday with husband, footballer Peter Crouch, 31, and their one-year-old daughter Sophia. And, while the model may have looked underweight, she and Peter certainly seemed loved-up.
A pal tells Closer: “Abbey says their love life is brilliant and that they’ve refound the spark she worried they may have lost over the past six months. She’d been looking forward to their Dubai break for weeks – just to get some time with him. She was even giggling about how Pete couldn’t keep his hands off her and how he really loves her body right now.”
But celebrity fitness expert Nicki Waterman estimates 5ft 9 Abbey is at least a stone underweight and has lost around 4lbs since March. She says her skinny frame is unlikely to be down to exercise alone.
“She’s a beautiful girl, but looking at her figure, there’s little muscle tone or body fat,” Nicki says. “Her hip bones are visible and the gap between her thighs shows how much weight she’s lost.
“I don’t think she’s eating enough. Abbey was barely a size 6 before, but she’s a zero now. I’d say she needs to put on at least 1st to look healthier.”
And, worryingly, sources tell Closer Abbey wanted to slim down because she believed she’d gained weight after eating “three course meals every night,” while on holiday in Dubai in March.
A pal says: “On a night out a few weeks ago, Abbey was talking about how she was having to get back in shape after ‘eating loads’ on holiday. She said she was still ‘paying’ for it, patting her stomach and saying some of her dresses wouldn’t fit her any more, even though there’s nothing to her.”
“I don’t think she’s eating enough. Abbey was barely a size 6 before, but she’s a zero now."
Pals reveal she’s since been sticking to “handfuls” of food at mealtimes, cutting out processed food, red meat and pasta – instead having live yoghurts, white meat and fresh fruit, as well as running on the treadmill and using a step machine to tone her legs. Friends add that she’s also increased her caffeine intake and is smoking more to control cravings and hunger pangs.
Sources say Abbey had become increasingly focused on her figure since having Sophia in March 2011.
A friend says: “After Sophia was born, she started to worry her shape had totally changed. She’s keen to model a new fashion project herself and says she wants to be as glam as possible for Pete.”
As Closer revealed in March, Abbey had been finding it hard to adjust since moving from London to Cheshire last Autumn, when Peter was transferred from Tottenham Hotspur to Stoke City. But pals reveal the couple – who were rocked by allegations Peter had paid a prostitute for sex in 2010, which he strongly denies – are now in a good place as they approach their first wedding anniversary on 11 June.
A source says: “Abbey’s been calling this Dubai trip their ‘official honeymoon’ as, after their wedding, she felt they’d gone a little off track.
“Abbey’s crazy about Pete – she thinks he’s absolutely gorgeous and says he really makes her laugh.”
And judging by their displays of affection around the hotel swimming pool in Dubai, it’s obvious Peter is equally loved-up.
The source adds: “But while Pete can’t keep his hands off her, she’s saying they’re not planning any more babies at the moment, as she has too many exciting work projects on the go.”