Rochelle Humes: Learning To Be At Peace With Uncertainty | E118

Rochelle explains that with her absent father, she reached a point where she realized no conversation now could change missed nativity plays or childhood neglect. Instead of burning time and emotional energy trying to extract an honest explanation she’s unlikely to get, she chose acceptance and forgiveness. That shifted her from feeling like a victim to feeling free, and she notes that many people prolong their own unhappiness by clinging to old grudges that only poison their future.

Despite valid reasons to resent her father’s ‘other’ family, Rochelle chose curiosity over bitterness when a chance encounter led her to her half‑siblings. Meeting them—despite deep nerves—produced some of the closest relationships in her life. She’s clear that if she’d stayed stuck in anger about their shared father, she’d have missed out on those bonds completely. It’s a tangible example of how letting go of old stories can create unexpected “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Rochelle describes girl‑band life as a ‘hamster wheel’ where everything from days off to stage outfits required group consensus and label sign‑off. She performed on national TV three‑and‑a‑half weeks after giving birth because she felt pressure not to let the group and label down. In hindsight, she sees that the loss of personal sovereignty was unsustainable for the life she wanted as a mother and entrepreneur—so she’s consciously built her current career around autonomy and aligned choices.

My Little Coco took three years of product development and strict testing before launch, then arrived just before the pandemic. Rochelle emphasizes you won’t switch off at 5pm, shouldn’t expect profit early, and must be ‘all in’ if you want a viable business. She pushes back against the ‘be your own boss’ fantasy, warning that the reality is constant emails, crises and decisions, and you should only start if you’re prepared for that grind and not just the aesthetics.

When pitching retailers, some wanted Rochelle’s name but not her insistence on inclusive products—like a curl custard for afro and curly hair—and questioned if there was even a ‘need’ for it on the high street. She refused to compromise on that SKU and eventually found a partner in Boots who ‘got it’ and took the full range. Her experience shows that if diversity and representation are core to your brand, you have to be prepared to walk away from misaligned opportunities.