KAREN Danczuk has claimed she will "never get over" the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her brother and is struggling to cope with the anxiety she feels trying to protect her own kids.
The selfie queen said she is "in a better place now" since her older brother Michael Burke was convicted of eight rapes against three different victims, including her, back in November.
Speaking on Loose Women on Wednesday afternoon as part of the ITV's , the former wife of MP Simon Danczuk, Karen said: "I will never get over it. People say to me: 'do you think you will ever get over it?' I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, just learn to live with it but coming out and talking about it makes it easier.
"You think you are coping with life fine and everyone else is just crazy, you’re doing selfies and stuff thinking you’re fine and actually you’re not."
The mum-of-two also revealed she struggles with the anxiety she feels about keeping her two young boys safe, claiming she's "over the top" when it comes to protecting them and always worries every time she says goodbye it will be the last time.
She said: "I am really over the top with protection. I am horrific. Even when the boys go away with their dad.
"I’d go crazy at him if he didn’t constantly tell me they were okay.
"Counselling has helped but I also had it some years ago. Crazy stuff goes on in my head. Even when the boys go to school I think it could be the last time I’ll kiss them. I like showering over the top love on them because I never had that.
"The therapist has broken all of this down and said I’m trying to protect my boys from harm but I’m taking it to the absolute extreme which is harming them and myself."
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The 33-year-old also claimed that posting selfies on social media was a way of coping with the abuse she suffered as it made her feel in control.
Panellist Janet Street Porter reminded her of the time they "almost came to blows" over Karen's selfies, saying she now understood what they were about.
Karen added: "It was about being in control, I was saying I'm in control of my body no one else is in control. It was just a cry for help. If we'd had a cup of tea back stage I probably would have told you.
"It wasn't real. Back then it was just a front, and I thought everyone else was crazy but I was really very insecure and very shy, probably just wanted a hug."
On Today's show the mum claimed she'd never loved anyone before her current partner David. When asked by the panel if that included ex-husband Simon, she answered: "I will always have a love for him as the father of my children.
"But I’d always have relationships where I was in control. I never wanted to get hurt, I’d always think if I can walk away tomorrow I will be fine."
Karen Danczuk was married to Labour MP Simon for three years and first came to public attention because of her stream of sexy selfies on social media, but more recently she’s been in the news after speaking out about the abuse she received at the hands of her brother.
Michael Burke collapsed in court after he was found guilty of a string of sex attacks over an 18 year period between 1992 and 2010.
Karen exclusively told The Sun how her ‘monster’ of a brother robbed her of her childhood after years of abuse.
She gave evidence in court that helped put Burke behind bars, but admitted on a previous appearance on Loose Women that she “felt guilty for doing it”.
She bravely waived her right to anonymity to talk about being raped by her brother between the ages of nine and 11 to encourage other survivors of sexual abuse to speak out.
Speaking again on the programme today, she added: "I'm in a better place than I was. I do feel mentally in a better place.
"I feel mentally I’m ready to move on but sometimes I can be washing the dishes or walking to school with the boys and I’ll get a flash in my head. I’m hoping eventually they will stop.
"The other day I drove past the prison in Manchester and there it was again, bang."
Karen said since her first appearance on the show she has received hundreds of messages from both men and women saying they have also been sexually abused as a child.
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