Emotional LadBaby Mum reveals learning difficulty struggle and teacher's harsh words

Daily Mirror

14 hours ago

Roxanne Hoyle, best known as LadBaby Mum, spoke to the Mirror about her experience growing up with a learning difficulty and how she overcomes the impact of it in her life
Roxanne Hoyle, better known as LadBaby Mum, has shared that she has a determination to succeed after having felt "embarrassed" over a learning difficulty that led to teachers writing her off at school. Now a best-selling author, she wants to inspire others and raise awareness over dyslexia.
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The content creator, 41, rose to fame with her husband Mark Hoyle, 38, known as LadBaby, on social media, before taking the charts by storm with five Christmas Number 1 singles. The couple, who have a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old, have also released several children's books together.
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Over the years, fans have been given insights into their lives, with both Roxanne and Mark having previously spoken about being dyslexic. The NHS suggests that up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia, described as a "learning difficulty" that primarily affects reading, writing and spelling. It adds that intelligence isn't affected.
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Ahead of releasing their latest book, Greg the Sausage Roll: Dinosaur Adventure, Roxanne recently spoke to the Mirror about her experience with dyslexia. She opened up about her time at school and life now as a neurodiverse parent.
Looking back on the impact in her childhood, she told us that it was "confusing" and "very challenging," but described herself as "lucky" for having supportive parents. She said that they were "very positive" and considered it "a gift".
Roxanne recalled: "They didn't kind of listen to what other people said. They challenged me and they didn't ... I never felt like I was different. I just was encouraged in certain areas. Very early on. Like, my sister was very academic, but I was very creative, so my parents kind of both embraced us."
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She said: "I remember it being very hard at school though - like never fully understanding, never fully reading well, never fully being supported or even people not understanding how to support me. [...] Nobody was kind of educated about it. I don't think anyone was. I didn't even really know I had it until y'know much older when I was working."
Roxanne said that growing up she learned through song, visuals and movements. Sharing one example of her efforts, she told us: "My dad would like play on the guitar the solar systems in order so that I could basically pass an exam."
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"Once I had a way or I knew my type of dyslexia, I knew how to get information into me," she said. Roxanne, who said that understanding ways that you retain information is life-changing, added: "Once I knew song or movement can trigger my memory, then my exams ... I mean I just sung through my GCSEs and I got A*s to Cs, and to this day, like on my paper, my teachers were like 'she's not gonna pass anything because she can't retain anything'."
Asked how she feels about being written off at school, given that she's now achieved success, including as an author, she said: "It's very overwhelming because I think back when I was younger you're told ... and through no fault of teachers' own, like teachers are doing what they can with the tools they have, but, you are told 'it's this way and it has to be done a certain way'. I was told I would never be an author." Roxanne added: "I mean, to be quite honest with you, I never even thought I would be one. I never dreamed of being one because ... words on a page make me wanna cry."
Roxanne, who's released a number of books with Mark, went on to discuss how she works on the material. She said: "We don't necessarily sit in a room and type. Everything can be voice noted and we draw." She said: "You don't have to do it the way that it's set on paper and been set for years."
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She also praised publisher Puffin over the process of recording the subsequent audiobooks. She explained: "They print the whole book on yellow paper, acetate, for me, so that I can read it quicker and they actually support it."
Roxanne said their books have proved "really inspiring" for many kids, adding: "It's quite something that it inspires them because back when I was younger, I wouldn't have even said that I was dyslexic out loud because people would look at you different, or like talk to you different, or talk to you like you didn't understand anything. And that's not true at all!"
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When asked if the way those with dyslexia are perceived and treated has given her determination to thrive, she said: "Yeah, I feel like I am driven to achieve or to just ... I want to put things out there for neurodiverse people. I wanna put ... like the creativity and the fire and the joy out there." She added: "You have to have a fire with this because y'know otherwise what's the point? You've got to push forward."
She encouraged others to "embrace" the condition like she has. She told us recently: "A lot of successful people are dyslexic and you can identify things in the world that aren't necessarily there for a neurotypical brain."
Roxanne said: "It can be a gift but I think when people say that it's very hard when you're living it. I would say anyone who's lived an experience of being neurodiverse, it's hard." She said: "You just have to constantly educate people, challenge people, prove your worth, when realistically like why?"
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She said that she tries her best to raise raise awareness with her platform. She added: "I try to inspire, to prove that it's okay to laugh, it's okay to joke, it's okay to be creative via video or books, or sound, whatever it is. I do my best."
Whilst speaking about parenting, Roxanne said that she finds joy in being part of her sons' education, though admitted to struggling to help with homework at times. She said: "I'm not embarrassed of it anymore. I'll go 'I'm really sorry, mummy doesn't know that one, maybe let's work it out together'. And actually it becomes quite a nice challenge for us."
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Addressing reading to her own kids and at events for young fans, she stressed the importance of showing that its "alright to go wrong". She said: "If you go wrong, it's gonna be okay because you'll get it right eventually, and I think that's really important to show those mistakes so that other children can see that nothing's going to happen to them. And it's something you can overcome."
In the interview earlier this month, Roxanne also spoke about navigating the summer holidays, saying that there's "a lot of pressure" on parents nowadays to keep their kids entertained. She said: "It's okay for them to be bored. It's okay for them to have down days and not do anything."
"Six weeks is a very long time, especially for neurodiverse parents who can't always y'know cater to needs and routines," she said, adding: "Don't be so hard on yourself." Further sharing some advice for other parents, she said: "Sometimes kids just really enjoy just simple things like a picnic tea."
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She said that 'brain breaks,' which are videos on platforms like YouTube that "get kids moving," are "one of the best things" to give her the chance to do housework. And she said that the videos are available with popular characters in.
And Roxanne provided advice for parents of children with dyslexia over reading. It included recommending that they consider coloured overlays. She said: "I have yellow acetate over my words and it just stops it ... calms the page down and lets you focus." She also promoted apps like Nessy and DoodleSpell.
She also shared her excitement of her upcoming book, Greg the Sausage Roll: Dinosaur Adventure - Greg the Sausage Roll, which is set to be published next month. It follows the titular character, Greg, in a prehistoric world and Roxanne described it as a "very special book" ahead of its release.
Greg the Sausage Roll: Dinosaur Adventure - Greg the Sausage Roll by Mark and Roxanne Hoyle publishes 28th August 2025 (Penguin Random House Children's UK, paperback, £7.99).