Sonia Kruger on Mum Guilt, Motherhood and Letting Go of Perfection

Here's something Sonia Kruger said on the Glow Talk podcast that we haven't stopped thinking about:

"As women, we are really hard on ourselves. We're working, we have children, we sometimes have elderly parents. The last thing we should add to that is beating ourselves up on top of all of that."

She's right. And she would know.

Sonia became a mum in her late 40s, welcoming daughter Maggie while hosting The Voice, filming Dancing With The Stars, and building fitness platform Strictly You from the ground up.

She's done the school pickup in her slippers. She's been exhausted in the way that only working mums understand. And she's navigated the particular kind of guilt that seems to follow women around no matter how much they're actually getting right.

So when she sat down with our resident dietitian Millie for the Glow Talk podcast, the conversation got real pretty quickly.

On Mum Guilt (Spoiler: Everyone Has It)

"You'd be hard pressed to find a mother out there who didn't experience mum guilt at some point."

Sonia told Millie that mum guilt can show up in countless ways.

The social life that takes a back seat.

The relationship that becomes more of a phone relationship for a while.

The work trips that clash with school events.

The feeling that you should somehow be doing more, even when you're already doing everything.

Sonia's perspective? Recognise the season you're in and trust that it shifts.

"These are the phases of life that we go through. It will come back around."

But she also made a point that really stuck with us: often, the guilt itself is the most draining part. Not the actual juggle, but the mental weight of feeling like you're failing at everything simultaneously, even when you're not.

Which is where we'll make the obvious but important point:

You cannot keep showing up for everyone else if you're running on empty.

Taking care of your own health, energy, sleep and nutrition isn't indulgent. It's the foundation that makes everything else possible.

What Keeps Sonia Going

When Millie asked which Collagen Co product best matched her personality, Sonia had two answers.

And both happened to be chocolate.

The Collagen Glow Shake

Sonia chose the Chocolate Collagen Glow Shake because, in Millie's words:

"It does it all, and so do you."

With 17,500mg of collagen peptides and 29g of protein per serve, it's meaningful nutrition on mornings when there's genuinely no time for anything else.

It's more than a collagen supplement.

Your skin gets the collagen peptides it needs.

Your body gets the protein required to maintain lean muscle mass.

And your brain gets the fuel it needs to function throughout a busy day.

Collagen Dream

For winding down, Sonia's go-to is Collagen Dream (formerly Sleepytime Chocolate).

And it makes perfect sense.

Sleep is where recovery happens.

It's when your body carries out some of its most important repair processes, including collagen synthesis, skin regeneration and hormone regulation.

When sleep quality suffers, everything tends to suffer alongside it: skin, energy, mood and focus.

Collagen Dream is a warm collagen hot chocolate formulated with:

• Magnesium

• L-Theanine

• Valerian Root

• Chamomile

• Passionflower

Together, these ingredients help support relaxation and restorative sleep.

For busy mums, it's also five quiet minutes to yourself at the end of the day.

And that counts too.

You Can't Pour From an Empty Cup

Sonia shared another insight during the episode that stayed with us:

"It's what we do at this point in our life that's setting us up going forward."

It's a simple idea, but an important one.

Taking care of yourself isn't selfish.

It's essential.

There's a version of self-care that gets talked about a lot: the face masks, the baths, the Sunday sleep-ins.

And those things are lovely.

But the kind of self-care Sonia is talking about, and the kind we're obsessed with, goes deeper than that.

It's the kind that changes how you feel when you walk into a room.

The kind that means you still have something left to give at the end of a long day instead of arriving home completely depleted.

When you sleep well, you wake up more patient.

When your energy is steady, you show up more present.

When your body feels nourished and strong, you carry yourself differently and the people around you feel that too.

That's the ripple effect of genuinely looking after yourself.

Not just the skin benefits, although we'll always talk about those.

But the way it feels to commit to yourself every day and watch that consistency translate into more energy for your work, your kids, your relationships and everything else that matters.

Sonia summed it up perfectly:

"I want to be fit and healthy and vibrant and interesting. I want to have connections with family and friends. I want to be happy and peaceful."

You don't get there by running yourself into the ground.

You get there by making yourself a non-negotiable.

One small daily ritual at a time.

Ready to Build Your Own Daily Ritual?

Whether you're looking for a nourishing breakfast that actually keeps you going or a calming evening ritual to support better sleep, we're here to help.

Shop the Collagen Glow Shake and Collagen Dream, or take our quiz to find the right fit for you.