Don’t mess with Myleene Klass! The super-focused workaholic reveals why she’s so scared to slow down...

We're used to seeing Myleene Klass looking every inch the glamourpuss, all flowing locks and ultra-feminine dresses. But today, Fabulous shows off a very different side to the star - Myleene the kick-ass businesswoman.

Shrewd and sharper than a Simon Cowell put-down, Ms Klass has not only worked hard to forge a TV career, she has built a business empire, too - all while being a mum to two-year-old Ava. And no, she hasn't got a nanny either.

In the past, Myleene has been criticised for taking on too much, working too hard and running the risk of burning out. But, as she tells Fabulous, her workaholism is fuelled by the fear of losing it all - again.

"I'm always saving for a rainy day, a nest egg for my daughter and my future. I wish I could just blow money," she says. "I wish I could just liberate myself from myself. Maybe it's Catholic guilt or maybe it's because I've had the plug pulled on me twice in my career. When you have that happen to you, it's a very sobering experience."

Myleene, 31, is referring to the dark days of 2002 when she and the other members of Hear'Say, the band formed on ITV1 reality show Popstars, hung up their microphones. She went on to sign a five-album deal with Universal Classics & Jazz, but after Moving On was released at the end of 2003, any future albums were canned and Myleene's music career took a nose dive. It was then she tried her hand at presenting and bagged her first job on ITV1's CD:UK music show.

"I've been criticised for working too much, but I have a strong work ethic - work is good," she says.

But with her packed TV schedule - including a successful stint presenting I'm A Celebrity! stateside - not to mention her M&S and Pantene advertising commitments, you have to wonder what sort of strain it puts on her relationship. She met fiancé, security boss Graham Quinn, 44, who she affectionately calls Gray, during her Hear'Say days. And when she's not working, he is, organising security for various rock stars on tour. Myleene admits she's "trying to think" about dedicating more time in her manic schedule for herself and time with Graham. "Trying" is the operative word.

"Gray gives me lectures about putting the businesswoman to bed more often because I can't sit and relax," she says. "My biggest insecurity is that I put too many pressures on myself. I want to be the best mother I can be, I have body insecurities and work insecurities and I can't be with my family all the time. I worry that I might not be there when I'm needed."

There is also the small matter of a marriage to plan. The couple have been engaged for three years, but so far there hasn't been a wedding. So, will they ever tie the knot?

"Years ago I would have said yes, but now I don't know because things are quite nice as they are. It's not even a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's actually because I want more babies and that's coming up first. I don't take marriage for granted. I've seen my mum and dad married forever. I've seen the pressures that people go through, and I've seen that it's not just for that one day. I take these things very seriously. I can wear a pretty dress any day of the week. I also don't need the reassurances or the stability from a financial or an emotional point of view. It's more a case that I would do it for Ava to have that family unit."

It's a man's world, eh Myleene?

Does Gray ever feel threatened by her success? "Gray isn't interested. We have a very normal life. Last night we ate Chinese and did some accounts together. He's what I need. I don't need a musician who you feel you have to emotionally support. In fact, we support each other. He understands that priorities have changed since having Ava. The love has changed, too. Having a baby doesn't miraculously bring you closer together. You have to work at it."

In the beginning, did he feel he didn't get as much attention as the baby? "Yes, that happened. That happens to everybody. You can't have a perfect scenario. You deal with things as they happen. We talk. He's Irish, fiery, passionate and forthcoming with his opinions. There is no one person that wears the trousers - we share them. I work at my relationship."

And with Myleene's career going from strength to strength, she will undoubtedly have to work even harder. Her Baby K clothes range for Mothercare has just been franchised to 12 other countries and in recent months her passport has gained another 38 stamps. During her five-week stint filming I'm A Celebrity! in Costa Rica in May and June - her longest time away from home - Myleene realised just how tough it is for her fiancé when she's away.

Myleene with fiancé Gray

"They say you hurt the people closest to you and I hurt Gray when I sent him loads of photographs of me and Ava," recalls Myleene. "I thought it was the right thing to do, but he got upset because he wasn't in any of them. I should have realised he was feeling low that day."

But as a self-confessed control freak, Myleene's never disguised her belief that the best place for Ava is with her. "Happy baby equals happy mamma, and happy mamma equals happy baby," she says, glancing fondly over at her daughter playing with her publicist's dog.

"I'm exceptionally broody," she smiles. "I'd fill that house with babies tomorrow but Gray is on tour a lot and I'm away, so it's just logistics."

Myleene admits she's not one for big romantic gestures. She likes to find a surprise Cadbury's Creme Egg in the fridge and sometimes irons shirts for Gray to make him happy. And when she's away, contact is by text, phone call and occasionally Skype, although nothing remotely raunchy. "Don't think Graham doesn't try, but I hate the idea of beaming myself into cyberspace and regretting something horrifically stupid," she laughs.

Myleene with daughter Ava

Years ago Myleene had many body insecurities. After putting on weight following her Hear'Say split, she slimmed from a size 14 to an 8, but is still plagued by the occasional hang-up. "My thighs are definitely my least favourite body part. I don't exercise - it's boring - I run around after the baby. I gave Gray some gym equipment for his birthday and the only time I go in there is to use the full-length mirrors to see my outfit. I don't like gyms at all. It's probably the idea of running hard and going nowhere. I like to see progression."

She recently turned down an opportunity to advertise Botox. Not that she needs it - she only has a couple of laughter lines. "The company said they would give me £50,000 worth of treatment," she laughs. "What would I look like with £50,000 of Botox in me? I've never tried it. Each to their own, but I like Twiggy's mantra about ageing gracefully. She doesn't use it. My mum doesn't use it."

Unlike her pal, Simon Cowell¿ they've known each other for over a decade and when she's in Los Angeles, they get together. "Ava and I went to his house in LA. His mum was there and she's adorable, but Simon kept trying to give Ava sugary meringue the whole time! I said: 'No! No! No!' He was lovely with her, though, and showed her his cinema. He has about a billion Disney movies."

And what of her not so subtle hints to Simon that she'd make an ideal judge on The X Factor? "That was a while ago and I'll get into trouble talking about it now," she laughs. "I think he finds me too feisty and I don't know that it would make me happy - to be able to judge people you have to be pretty near perfect, and I am far off it!"

And there was another flaw in the X Factor idea - Myleene would find it impossible to be anything other than nice to another human being. Particularly if she was part of the sisterhood.

"We should celebrate all success, especially female success," she says with passion. "When we were in Hear'Say everyone thought Kym Marsh and I didn't like each other, but that's just not true. I'm in touch with her now, and I helped her with things when she lost her baby earlier this year. Women are their own best friends and worst enemies. When we stand united we are unbreakable."

Super-mum, uber businesswoman and now cheerleader for us all - Myleene, you really are a Klass act.

KLASS REBEL

What's the naughtiest thing you've ever done? When I was 17 I fell in love with a guy and told my parents I was going to play in an orchestra in Torquay. Instead I went to the Caribbean with him. It was a really c**p holiday because I had to stay out of the sun - you're not going to get a tan in Torquay, are you?

When did you last tell a lie? This morning I told Ava I love peas, which I don't. Do you have any secret vices? Mojito cocktails. I blame Piers Morgan for that. He reintroduced me to them in the bar at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in LA. It was all very Pretty Woman.

Have you ever gone to work drunk from the night before? Not from the night before, but I was asked to co-host Channel 4's Richard & Judy when Judy was having a knee operation. Richard asked me to have a drink with him before we went on and I can remember thinking: 'I'm never doing this again!'. I wasn't blind drunk, but it was enough to put the fear of God in me. Have you ever flirted with a famous person or has a celeb ever flirted with you? I haven't, but there was a famous person in Hollywood who flirted with me. As I went to interview him I banged my head on the lighting rig and he went bananas. I was pregnant and overemotional, but he didn't realise that. Shortly after he sent me flowers to apologise and asked me on a date, which I declined.

Have you ever compared boob sizes with your female friends in a toilet cubicle? I find I talk about boobs a hell of a lot lately because of Marks & Spencer. Recently we measured the bra sizes of 600 women and discovered only three were wearing the right size bra. So yes, I have compared myself to 600 women in one day. Which Sex In The City character are you? I wish I was Samantha, but I'm Miranda, the lawyer, because she is so methodical and then has these bursts of doing mad and vulnerable things. I like the way she wears her heart on her sleeve.

• Myleene's autumn/winter range of Baby K clothes is available at Mothercare now. Her Homeware and Travel range launches in December.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: XPOSURE, MATRIX, WENN. HAIR: BEN JONES. MAKE-UP: VANESSA GUALLAR

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