Has Dubai censorship made Kate Ferdinand change her mind? WAG U-turns on saying she was ‘homesick and struggling’ in UAE as she now claims she’s changed her ‘mindset’ and ‘the kids are learning things they wouldn’t in the UK’

Kate Ferdinand has made a U-turn, claiming she is ‘homesick and struggling’ in Dubai, amid growing speculation about whether influencers are being paid to praise the government on social media.

The former TOWIE star, 34, has previously opened up about moving to the Middle East, where she revealed she was struggling emotionally.

Now on the latest episode of his podcast BlendedKate appears to have changed her mind, boasting that her children are ‘learning things they wouldn’t have learned in the UK’ during her own ‘mindset’ change.

The star spoke on the Mother’s Day special of his podcast, which was recorded just two days before the UAE was caught up in the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen it hit by Iran’s drones, missiles and regular airstrike sirens.

Much of Dubai’s impressive army has faced allegations they were paid to carry out “propaganda” as they continue to praise the government on social media despite attacks from Iran.

Talking about living in Dubai during Ramadan, Kate explained: ‘The kids’ days are shorter, my kids go to school from 8.45am and are picked up at 1pm, so they work part time.

‘Everything is changing, I like the energy, it’s quite calming – not the kids coming back at 1pm by the way – it’s just something I haven’t experienced before.

‘It has a different atmosphere and I feel like I live in a country with different religions and many different cultures; You learn a lot and learn a lot.

In the latest episode of the Blended podcast, Kate appears to have changed her mind as she raves about how the kids have fared academically since the move

‘My children are learning things they can’t learn… They can learn in the UK but they can’t live actively. This is something I really love about Dubai.’

When co-host Nathalie Holmes-Lewis replied ‘Mashallah’, Kate said she wasn’t comfortable repeating the word because of its pronunciation.

He explained: ‘I don’t feel comfortable saying the words because I don’t think I have the right voice, but because he’s learning Cree Arabic he’ll say the words, although I still feel a bit awkward about it.’

Meanwhile, Kate, who previously shared with fans on Instagram how she felt ‘overwhelmed and stressed’, said she was trying to slow down and change her mindset.

He said: ‘Life is busy, I’m trying to slow down and not move too fast everywhere. [It’s] It’s not perfect but I’m more aware of what I’m doing, sometimes I try to stop myself.

‘Listen, I have a busy life but I’m actively trying to do some breathing work and do some things like changing my mindset because I realize nothing can change this but me.

‘You actually need to make changes in your life, which is what I’m trying to do and I feel like everything is going well.’

Since February 28, when the conflicts in the Middle East began, content creators with hundreds of thousands of followers have responded to Iran’s attacks with pictures of Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the words “I know who protects us.”

Posts ‘are you scared?’ It starts with the question. before footage was shown of Al Maktoum waving to the adoring crowd.

Skeptical social media users responded by claiming the influencers were paid by the UAE government, with many also speaking out to deny it.

Online creators need a license to operate in Dubai, and the Dubai government responded to the outbreak of war by threatening imprisonment to anyone who shared information that would “cause panic among people”.

The hardline stance is believed to encourage self-censorship by influential figures in the Gulf country; Previous clips of Iran’s drone and missile attacks have now been flooded with posts praising the regime.

There appears to be a deliberate attempt to avoid mention of the war, with the creators reflecting the sanitized language of the city government.

In the early days of the conflict, the government cracked down on ‘citizen journalists’ who republished actual footage of the first wave of attacks, including a drone attack on the five-star Fairmont Hotel on Palm Jumeirah.

Within hours, the Dubai Media Office responded, claiming that ‘outdated footage of past fire incidents’ in Dubai had been disseminated to create fear among the city’s residents.

TikTok users joining the viral ‘I know who’s protecting us’ trend often share photos of themselves and ask: ‘You live in Dubai, aren’t you afraid?’ They start with a message that says: or ‘Do you feel safe in Dubai?’

It then cuts to a montage of the UAE leader saying, “No, because I know who’s protecting us.” One such video has been viewed almost seven million times.

Social media users were quick to suggest that the videos appear to be government-sponsored.

One slammed the influencers for ‘working overtime trying to convince the rest of the world that everything is fine’, and one of them, Bea Albero, responded with ‘we’re fine, that’s how I feel’.

Another TikTok user @julisjoking shared a video denying accusations that she was paid to post the ‘I know who’s protecting us’ meme, before urging her followers to ‘trust God and the government’.

There are strict laws against criticizing or insulting the UAE government or causing “disrepute” to the country, which can result in a fine of up to £200,000 or imprisonment for up to five years and possible deportation.

If you own property there, this is a harsher penalty.

Kate and Rio moved to Dubai with their 13-year-old daughter Tia, from the footballer’s first marriage to his late wife Rebecca, and their five-year-old son Cree and two-year-old daughter Shae.

However, his two eldest sons, Lorenz, 19, and Tate, 17, remained in the UK.

She also discussed Mother’s Day as a stepparent on her podcast, as she and her co-hosts answered emails from listeners with personal dilemmas about their blended families.

Kate said: ‘Mother’s Day is great for a lot of people, but for stepmums it can sometimes be, what it means, you don’t always feel accepted, you can get a bit demoralized sometimes.

‘It’s difficult, there are so many people to consider and when someone dies there’s a different type of energy and feeling around that person, you worry about everyone involved.

‘You’re also a human being with feelings, so I think it’s about having a really honest conversation and being really open and open with everyone as you as a husband and as a partner.’

Kate and Rio moved to Dubai with their 13-year-old daughter Tia, from the footballer’s first marriage to his late wife Rebecca, and their five-year-old son Cree and two-year-old daughter Shae.

He continued: ‘I try not to talk about myself, but I will talk about myself, we always say that when children reach a certain age, my being here and loving me does not change their love for their mothers.

‘HE [their mum Rebecca] it will still always be up there, it is always there. You can love two people and it doesn’t take away from the other. If you have five siblings, you cannot love all five of them because love is infinite, you can give as much as you want and take as much as you want.

‘I think it’s about people realizing that their mothers will always be their mothers.’

Kate, who announced plans to visit the UK for Mother’s Day before the situation in the Middle East developed, concluded: ‘For me, I’m happy to talk about it, I don’t want Rio to post about me on Mother’s Day, I really don’t. Because I wouldn’t feel comfortable if he didn’t publish Lorenz, Tate, and Tia’s mother.

‘It’s complicated… I don’t care, I know you love me, I know the kids love me too, like I trust that.

‘Who cares what people think? I don’t care what people think if he doesn’t post about me, I know he loves me. Sometimes you have to think about this. You are loved, you are safe, you are good. Fuck everyone.’

Kate previously said of her move to the UAE: ‘I’m enjoying it but I also miss home a lot. I am sad. I miss the big kids so much and I struggle with it.

‘I know this decision is the right one for my young children and we have settled there as a family but the boys are pursuing their football careers. So they do what they want to do, otherwise they would be with us.

‘But it’s so hard because we’ve been through so much as a family and we’ve always been together and this is such a big change.’

Kate even admitted that she and her family felt much safer in Dubai than in the UK but was starting to ‘miss’ the British weather.