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Charlotte Cripps

Senior Culture Writer@charcripps

Charlotte Cripps is a Senior Culture Writer at The Independent who specialises in profile interviews. Her highly amusing and irreverant weekly column about IVF and being a single mother ran in The Independent from 2019 to 2021. She acted as arts editor/commissioning editor for The Independent's culture desk from 2017 to 2018. She began her career writing for Tatler and Harpers & Queen, before joining The Independent as a writer.

<p>Animal rescuer Lynea Lattanzio with a handful of her many cats</p>
Lifestyle

‘I lived with 150 cats – and was told to get rid of them in two weeks’

<p>‘I’m hoping my dad will speak to me from beyond the grave. It feels ironic, especially as he scoffed at the idea of an afterlife’ </p>
Lifestyle

I spoke to my dead father through a psychic medium

<p>Rachael Doman and her husband Paul with their three children</p>
Lifestyle

‘I went from zero children to being a mum to three kids overnight’

<p>‘He said he really didn’t want to lose me – but he had something to tell me’ </p>
Lifestyle

‘My partner’s wealth was too good to be true – he was an armed robber’

<p>How could I fancy my cousin? It wasn’t just attraction – it felt like we had a profound connection</p>
Lifestyle

‘I had an affair with my cousin – and I wish we’d come clean sooner’

<p>Who wants a timer ticking away as you shop? </p>
Voices

Please, Tesco – don’t take my ‘midnight hour’ shopping joy away

<p>‘No longer could I just spontaneously post treasured snapshots. Suddenly it was all under scrutiny’ </p>
Lifestyle

The photo backlash every parent dreads has finally happened to me

<p>James Corden has struggled with binge eating, as I did</p>
Voices

Like James Corden, I also had to give up taking Ozempic – here’s why

<p>‘Are godparents outdated, or should we be aiming to bestow them in high numbers?’ </p>
Lifestyle

Successful godparents are a status symbol – my friend’s child has 37!

<p>Mark Ruffalo in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, Elijah Wood in ‘Lord of the Rings’ and Kate Winslet in ‘Titanic'</p>
Features

The 29 worst mistakes in popular movies

<p>Mike and Zara Tindall track their daughter Mia, 10, with an AirTag attached to her shorts – good for them! </p>
Voices

I’m planning to AirTag my kids until they’re at least 18

<p>‘Sometimes I wonder where my embryo is, and what – if anything – has happened to her. Is she OK? Has she been drafted?’ </p>
Lifestyle

My embryo’s in Russia, and I’m haunted by the child I may never have

<p>Following actor Alain Delon’s death at the weekend, the fate of his lapdog Loubo is playing out like a French farce</p>
Voices

Was Delon so wrong to want his still-alive dog to be buried with him?

Voices

Was Delon so wrong to want his still-alive dog to be buried with him?

<p>Following actor Alain Delon’s death at the weekend, the fate of his lapdog Loubo is playing out like a French farce</p>
<p>‘I strongly believe it can only help to open up conversation about heteronormative, stereotypical tropes that damage women and place undue pressure on us to breed out of fear of our “biological clock”’ </p>
Voices

I left my relationship because my boyfriend wanted kids – and I didn’t

<p>I hold the glass of tap water in both hands. I close my eyes. I whisper it sweet nothings</p>
Lifestyle

Why I spent a week talking to my water and telling it ‘I love you’

<p>‘I have no idea how to help Lola get over picky eating without nagging her. If I hand her a bowl of blueberries, she’ll burst into tears’ </p>
Lifestyle

My children are fussy eaters – but I can’t keep blaming myself for it

<p>‘When you put your child’s swimming costume into the oven at breakfast time, you know something has seriously gone amiss’ </p>
Lifestyle

Multitasking is the norm for mums – but it’s a silent killer for me

<p>‘When you put your child’s swimming costume into the oven at breakfast time, you know something has seriously gone amiss’ </p>
Lifestyle

Multitasking is the norm for mums – but it’s a silent killer for me

<p>A mum sent a list of expenses after a playdate that included wear and tear of the family’s sofa </p>
Voices

I’m considering charging for playdates. Why shouldn’t I be reimbursed?

<p>My daughter was so overwhelmed she slept through the whole Taylor Swift concert </p>
Voices

The tragic reason my daughter doesn’t remember seeing Taylor Swift

<p>The class WhatsApp is a minefield – just like more public forms of social media</p>
Features

Why I refuse to give up the dreaded class WhatsApp

Features

The top 16 Jane Austen adaptations from book to screen

<p>Emma Raducanu has said that her dad forced her to play tennis</p>
Lifestyle

Are pushy parents monsters or deliverers of potential?

<p>Jude Law as playboy Dickie Greenleaf  in hit 1999 movie ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ </p>
Voices

Like Jude Law, I wish I’d made the most of my youthful good looks...

<p>Empty nester Gwyneth Paltrow with her youngest child Moses, now 18, who is leaving home for college </p>
Features

Why I won’t buy into empty nest syndrome

<p>Carlos Acosta is making a rare appearance in his own version of ‘Carmen’ at Sadler’s Wells </p>
Features

Carlos Acosta: ‘It’s hard to talk about weight in ballet’

<p>Jude Law as playboy Dickie Greenleaf  in hit 1999 movie ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ </p>
Voices

Like Jude Law, I wish I’d made the most of my youthful good looks...

<p>Empty nester Gwyneth Paltrow with her youngest child Moses, now 18, who is leaving home for college </p>
Features

Why I won’t buy into empty nest syndrome

<p>Carlos Acosta is making a rare appearance in his own version of ‘Carmen’ at Sadler’s Wells </p>
Features

Carlos Acosta: ‘It’s hard to talk about weight in ballet’

<p>The AvatarMind iPal robot can sing and dance and tell bedtime stories – but it’s a far cry from proper childcare </p>
Lifestyle

I’d love a robot nanny for my children – it’s a dream

Lifestyle

I’d love a robot nanny for my children – it’s a dream

<p>The AvatarMind iPal robot can sing and dance and tell bedtime stories – but it’s a far cry from proper childcare </p>
<p>When my dog Muggles had a cancer scare, it wasn’t long before it dawned on me that the vet bills were going to be astronomical </p>
Voices

I nearly took out a second mortgage to pay my dog’s cancer treatment

<p>‘A childcare arrangement with a friend might give a parent an hour or two of peace and quiet to work, but there’s an enormous trade-off’</p>
Lifestyle

How ad hoc childcare became the new norm for stressed parents like me

<p>Could it really be as simple as ‘look into my eyes…’? Abracadabra and my mind is fixed?</p>
Lifestyle

I tried hypnosis to help me de-stress my life – here’s what happened

<p>Lily Allen says she plans to put her daughter in economy while she travels first class from New York to London (Victoria Jones/PA)</p>
Voices

Lily Allen’s got it all wrong when it comes to kids on planes

<p>Lily Allen says she plans to put her daughter in economy while she travels first class from New York to London (Victoria Jones/PA)</p>
Voices

Lily Allen’s got it all wrong when it comes to kids on planes

<p>Why should mums be told off for their children wearing black trainers at school? </p>
Voices

So what if some kids go to school in £100 trainers?

<p>Free childcare sounds good on paper – and during an election campaign – but the reality is very different </p>
Voices

What’s the use of free childcare if daycare centres are full?

<p>Merlin Entertainments are bringing in an airline-style surge pricing for atractions like Alton Towers and Legoland</p>
Voices

Pay more to go to a theme park because it’s sunny? Don’t make me sick

<p>Dating site findings suggest that women actively seek out single dads </p>
Features

Single dads – a love magnet? The only perk is sharing a babysitter

<p>Daisy Goodwin has chosen another super powerful woman to write about in her new novel, ‘Diva’, about the opera star, Maria Callas </p>
Features

Novelist Daisy Goodwin: ‘Harassment isn’t about sexual attraction’

<p>Kate has apologised for photoshopping her Mother’s Day photo – but she didn’t need to, writes Charlotte Cripps </p>
Voices

Stop ‘mum-shaming’ Kate Middleton for editing her family photo

<p>King Charles (with Queen Camilla in January) is a long-time advocate of homeopathy</p>
Lifestyle

Have the royals got the right idea about homeopathy?

<p>Is a term-time holiday really a crime? </p>
Voices

Of course I’d take my kids out of school for a holiday – here’s why…

News

‘It was so embarrassing’: 30 times things went wrong on set

<p>Every patient gets a Christmas cracker and a present – it’s usually a wash bag or socks</p>
Voices

Help! I’m stuck in hospital for Christmas dinner

<p>‘Christmas drags on relentlessly for weeks until they break up’ </p>
Voices

Don’t talk to me about ‘little angels’ – the school nativity is hell

Voices

Don’t talk to me about ‘little angels’ – the school nativity is hell

<p>‘Christmas drags on relentlessly for weeks until they break up’ </p>
<p>‘I spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking that if everything is clean, everything is OK. Surely this is normal behaviour for a parent with two young children and an unruly dog?’ </p>
Lifestyle

I have one big thing in common with Prince Edward: germaphobia

<p>‘Love addicts and love avoidants unintentionally attract one another. Then they enter into a “co-addicted dance”, known in layman’s terms as a total nightmare’</p>
Lifestyle

I was diagnosed as a love addict – but does it really exist?

<p>I’m not doing a U-turn on Instagram – I’m just living the fairytale dream </p>
Health & Families

I present my children on Instagram like a fairytale – am I deluded?

<p>Elizabeth Debicki as Diana on the Fayed yacht</p>
Lifestyle

The Crown claims Diana was addicted to drama – is the condition real?

<p>Elizabeth Debicki as Diana on the Fayed yacht</p>
Lifestyle

The Crown claims Diana was addicted to drama – is the condition real?

<p>The high-end, luxe spritz is inspired by ‘the childlike spirit of couturier-perfumer Christian Dior’ </p>
Comment

Why I can’t wait to buy my five-year-old a £230 Dior perfume

<p>New data reveals that today, one in 25 UK births is to a woman aged 40-plus </p>
Features

Your forties is absolutely the best decade to have your first child

<p>Hilton says that having a baby after infertility issues is ‘the biggest blessing’ of her life</p>
Voices

Stop mocking Paris Hilton’s ‘big-headed baby’

<p>Kim Kardashian arranged for her son Saint to watch an Arsenal match and meet the players </p>
Voices

How a spoilt child made my heart go out to Kim Kardashian

<p>According to reasearch, 26 per cent of parents take a photo of their children’s packed lunch for Instagram – I’m not one of them </p>
Features

My kids don’t have sushi packed lunches – does it make me a bad mum?

<p>Moonbather, wild swimmer, vegetable grower and supermodel Kate Moss, who is one of a number of stars advocating weird and wonderful wellness practices</p>
Lifestyle

Moonbathing and ice baths: Can eccentric wellness regimes help me too?

<p>‘I gave him the car, I let him stay in the house – I just wanted the dogs’ </p>
Lifestyle

‘You can’t cut the dog in half’: Inside the pet custody battle boom

<p>I take a more laid-back, relaxed and flexible approach – meaning the total opposite of tiger mums</p>
Lifestyle

I’m a jellyfish parent – my run-in with a tiger mum was terrifying

<p>Parents at state schools are often expected to buy uniforms from an offiical supplier </p>
Comment

What’s wrong with a supermarket school uniform?

<p>The highs and lows of Susannah Constantine’s life are laid bare in her memoir ‘Ready For Absolutely Nothing’ </p>
Features

Susannah Constantine on Strictly, splitting with Trinny and survival

<p>Bradley Cooper is 19 years sober </p>
Voices

The one question you should never ask someone who isn’t drinking

Voices

The one question you should never ask someone who isn’t drinking

<p>Bradley Cooper is 19 years sober </p>
<p>Helen Skelton has given up work to be with her three young children </p>
Voices

Why men can ‘have it all’ – but women can’t

<p>‘I’d never wanted to communicate with a deceased loved one – let alone Alex. I didn’t know whether to feel excited or scared. Or even angry. Was I being conned?’ </p>
Lifestyle

A psychic gave me a message from my late partner – I didn’t like it

<p>If I paid a courier to bring Tallulah back to London, it would be vastly expensive – and a legal minefield</p>
Voices

My frozen embryo is trapped in Russia – how do I get it out?

<p>I’d always feared being seen as some oddball conspiracy theorist</p>
Voices

Of course UFOs exist – one nearly landed on my car

<p>I’d always feared being seen as some oddball conspiracy theorist</p>
Voices

Of course UFOs exist – one nearly landed on my car

<p>Naomi Campbell has just had her second baby aged 53 </p>
Voices

No, Naomi Campbell, it’s not model behaviour having a baby at 53

<p>Taylor Swift – in concert in March – has inspired a SoulCycle class soundtracked to her hits</p>
Health & Families

My Taylor Swift exercise class has led me down a fitness rabbit hole

<p>I was given a sneak preview of Depp’s artwork before it was revealed to the world </p>
Voices

I was one of the first people to see Johnny Depp’s self-portrait

<p>Carrie Johnson has given birth to her and Boris Johnson’s third child together – as seen on her Instagram account </p>
Voices

I regret putting my kids on social media – but it’s too late now

<p>A woman has shared on TikTok why she refused to switch seats with a mother on an airplane </p>
Voices

What CEOs don’t understand about parents on planes

<p>‘Most people organise their dog parties themselves. However, for those who want a truly Instagrammable moment, that’s when you engage a planner for your pet’ </p>
Lifestyle

Spa days and pawsecco: How pet parties became an elite must-have

<p>Richard Keys has faced a lot of criticism for marrying a woman half his age </p>
Voices

Leave Richard Keys alone – you can’t help who you fall in love with

<p>Kaleidoscopic staircase reflecting the ‘Microlino Electric Vehicle’, 2019, at the new Young V&A museum </p>
Reviews

A trip to Young V&A is like a playdate at the grandest house in the UK

<p>David Baertan, a prankster known on TikTok as Ragnar le Fou, says he felt ‘unappreciated’ by his relatives. Me too</p>
Voices

Would I fake my own death? Over my (fake) dead body

<p>‘The invitation from my friend arrived at short notice. For him, it’s just a playdate. For me, it’s my world turned upside down’</p>
Lifestyle

Craving a beach body is the route to self-hatred, but I still want one

<p>Hannah Rothschild’s novel ‘High Time’ is a comic satire on wealth and status </p>
Culture

‘Private jets? Waste of money!’ Hannah Rothschild’s life as an heiress

<p>‘Trying to look younger,’ my doctor tells me, ‘it never works!’ </p>
Lifestyle

My non-surgical facelift has got me thinking about more procedures

<p>Busted’s Matt Willis and his TV presenter wife, Emma, made it through his drink and drug problem </p>
Voices

Being an addict is brutal. Loving one will break your heart

<p>Hugo Burnand (centre) and his team setting off early on Saturday morning to Buckingham Palace to take the official photographs for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla </p>
Royal Family

The secrets of royal coronation photographer Hugo Burnand

<p>King Charles has a lot of family drama to contend with as he is crowned alongside Camilla as his Queen</p>
Royal Family

King Charles uncovered: The man behind the crown

<p>The photographer Hugo Burnand is taking all the official portraits at King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s coronation </p>
Royal Family

Hugo Burnand: The man crowned as official coronation photographer

<p>Hugo Burnand (centre) and his team setting off early on Saturday morning to Buckingham Palace to take the official photographs for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla </p>
Royal Family

The secrets of royal coronation photographer Hugo Burnand

<p>King Charles has a lot of family drama to contend with as he is crowned alongside Camilla as his Queen</p>
Royal Family

King Charles uncovered: The man behind the crown

<p>The photographer Hugo Burnand is taking all the official portraits at King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s coronation </p>
Royal Family

Hugo Burnand: The man crowned as official coronation photographer

<p>Parenting is hard enough! </p>
Voices

The mum ‘snack shamed’ by her child’s nursery did nothing wrong

<p>‘Succession is certainly not something I ever imagined I could ever relate to. Then everything changed’ </p>
Health & Families

My life has turned into a Succession episode – now I struggle to watch

Royal Family

Who’s who in Camilla’s inner circle?

<p>Camilla’s hair colourist Jo Hansford won’t let the Queen Consort go grey any time soon </p>
Voices

Don’t fret about going grey, ma’am, there’s nothing wrong with ‘mumsy’

<p>He stated with a matter-of-fact ordinariness, ‘She’s still our mother’ </p>
Voices

The Queen’s son has more of a common touch than the rest of the royals

<p>Paul Newman and James Dean</p>
News

Paul Newman addressed claim James Dean could have overshadowed him

<p>This isn’t some kind of fun ‘playdate in the air’ for parents – it’s a living nightmare </p>
Voices

Stop shouting at babies on planes

<p>‘I married into the royal family in 1986 and that was an immense honour but it also came with pressures of being in the public eye’ </p>
Royal Family

Sarah Ferguson on Andrew, plastic surgery and writing for Mills & Boon

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