One of those who spent £5,000 on ticket named as 'super-fan' Paul Mills-Ash

One of those who spent £5,000 on ticket named as 'super-fan' Paul Mills-Ash

Pregnant would-be glamour model Josie Cunningham has told how she was so disappointed when she found out she was expecting a third boy, she drowned her sorrows in wine and cigarettes.

The 24-year-old mother of two, whose baby is due in October, said she smoked a whole packet of cigarettes and drank one glass of wine after the other because she felt 'genuinely gutted' to discover it wasn't the little girl she'd hoped for.

And she admitted that she wouldn't have done it if she'd been carrying a girl.

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Opening up: Josie Cunningham appeared on This Morning with hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langford today Miss Cunningham, who has boys aged six and three, said she was 'gutted' to find out her baby was a boy



Miss Cunningham, of Leeds, who already has boys of six and three, told the Mirror: 'The evening I found out the sex of the baby was when I lit up my first cigarette...

'I knew it could harm my child but it didn't stop me. Deep down I know I wouldn't be smoking or drinking if I knew I was having a girl.'

She said she was now smoking 20 a day.



Her controversial comments came after she said she wanted to pay the NHS back for her boob job, not out of a sense of duty but in an attempt to stop people confronting her.

Miss Cunningham, who has sold tickets to watch her give birth to her third child in October for a total of £30,000, insisted her £4,800 breast enlargement was medically necessary.

But she told This Morning hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langford that she intended to give the money back to taxpayers, who also footed the £6,000 bill for the taxis that Miss Cunningham took on the school run, in an attempt to deflect vitriol from strangers.

She said: 'I do want to pay back the NHS not because I feel I have to - because like I say, I have a medical condition - but because I just want people to back off.'

Pregnant: Miss Cunningham said she suffered from 'severe anxiety' which meant she couldn't take the bus

Miss Cunningham, who lives in Leeds, said her breast operation was needed because she had 'no breast tissue at all'. And she said she needed taxis for the school run rather than taking the bus because she feared abuse from strangers.

The mother of boys aged six and three, who said she had worked from the age of 15, said: 'I got my taxi funded by Leeds City Council for a short period because I'm suffering with severe anxiety, which is something a lot of people go through.

'This anxiety stems from me raising my children on my own... it comes from my fear of people confronting me in front of my children.'

Today she said her decision to sell tickets so people could watch her give birth was better than 'sitting at home and claiming benefits' and said: 'I t's not much different to [reality labour ward show] One Born Every Minute.



Hard talk: The This Morning hosts quizzed Miss Cunningham about why she had become so unpopular

'They'll not be sat down there with a camera - I will have someone for protection. People will be vetted.'

And when asked by Holmes why 'people hate you', she said blamed her aspiration to become a glamour model.

'I think it's not because I had my breasts done on the NHS but because of my career path - I aspire to be a glamour model,' she said.

'Any woman growing up with no breast tissue is going to want to get them out for anyone.'

She also said that her baby's father would not be at the birth, saying that 'We speak [but] we're not really in a good place at the moment.'

During an #AskJosie Q&A session on Twitter last night , the 24-year-old from Leeds who is best known for having a breast enlargement on the NHS, had to defend herself against furious strangers angry about her use of public money.

One accused Miss Cunningham, a mother of two who is expecting her third child in October, of wasting NHS funds, while another accused her of 'failing Britain'.

Josie Cunningham, 23, who sold tickets to watch the birth of her third child, faced abuse on Twitter last night

Not happy: This angry tweet to Miss Cunningham was typical of those sent during the #AskJosie Q&A session

The angry tweets poured forth all night, but Miss Cunningham barely managed to answer more than a dozen

Miss Cunningham started the session last night with the tweet: 'Sorry guys, today's been manic. Get your questions in and I'll do #AskJosie in the next 25 minutes (10pm) Sorry it's later than expected!'

She was then asked: 'We have a 30min drive to our nearest A&E. Do you think the money wasted on you could be spent better? Answers: a) Yes or b) Yes'.

Miss Cunningham replied: 'Money wasn't wasted on me, I had a medical condition.'

Another said: 'How does it feel to know you make so many people feel angry on a daily basis?

'You have failed Britain... well done.'

And another tweeted: 'Why do people like you get so much attention and money spent on you when people are struggling to live because of poverty?'

Miss Cunningham had no answer for that one.

The scale of the vitriol was influenced by Miss Cunningham's decision earlier this week to sell four tickets to watch her give birth at home, which she said had sold out in 14 minutes, raising £30,000.

Miss Cunningham was accused of 'wasting' public money but insisted her boob job was medically necessary

Yesterday morning, Miss Cunningham announced to her 27,000 Twitter followers that tickets for her home birth had sold out in 14 minutes.

Three of the four tickets were apparently purchased by journalists, while the fourth is said to have been bought by a 'super-fan' named Paul Mills-Ash.

Mr Mills-Ash, who spent his savings on the ticket, told Closer: 'I've followed Josie since she came into the public eye. It'll be great to say I was at the birth.'

This tweet boasting about making money from charging people to watch her give birth prompted vitriol

Two people are said to have paid £10,000 each, while Mr Mill-Ash and one other paid £5,000 for their ringside seats.

The more expensive tickets will enable the holders, said to be journalists, to film the birth and take photos, while the cheaper ones will include travel and accommodation.

A spokesman for Miss Cunningham insisted ticket-holders would be vetted to ensure no-one 'dodgy' was admitted.

Miss Cunningham has suggested that she might use some of the money to repay the NHS for her breast operation.