Melinda Messenger retrained as a psychotherapist as she felt ''trapped'' by public perception.

The former glamour model admits she struggled to cope with how other people felt about her and admits she would have felt regret if she didn't go ahead with moving away from the spotlight to pursue a career as a therapist.

Discussing her career change on Monday's (13.07.20) episode of 'Loose Women', Melinda said: ''In 2010, I started retraining. I thought, I have children, I have bills to pay. I was working in television and there was no sign of that letting up.

''I thought, I can carry on doing what I'm doing but how painful would that regret be? I made the decision to go for it and I've been practicing for the last five years and I can tell you, it's the best thing I've ever done.''

The 49-year-old star revealed that she had dreamed of becoming a psychiatrist since she was a child but felt she lacked the intelligence needed for the job.

Melinda explained: ''As far back as I can remember, I remember being around seven and thinking I wanted to be a psychiatrist.

''My mum said 'Oh no you'd have to go to university, you can't do that.' We take in these ideas of what we can and can't do.''

The beauty admits that she faced an ''internal struggle'' as she was concerned about how others would perceive her modelling career.

She said: ''A lot of it is an internal struggle. You can feel trapped by other people's ideas of you.

''That can be an internal struggle. But if you know that's just a perception and not the truth, it's still a challenge not to be held back by that but you can still keep going forward. People will have ideas. The challenge is not to let that stop you.''