Brendan Cole opens up about battle with anxiety since becoming a dad for the second time

Brendan Cole has opened up about how he's been adapting to being a dad-of-two, and revealed that he's been dealing with more anxiety after welcoming his second baby.

Brendan Cole and his wife Zoe Hobbs welcomed their son Dante to the world in March.

The couple already have a five-year-old daughter called Aurelia and dad-of-two Brendan says he coped much better after her birth.

Speaking to the Loose Women panel on Friday, Brendan revealed that in the weeks after Dante's birth he has been struggling with anxiety.

He said: 'Dante is 10 or 11 weeks now. I'm struggling more with the second child. I feel like a bad dad as I'm not really bonding with him.'

Brendan continued to explain that while his little boy is a bundle of joy, it is hard to juggle the sleep deprivation and to get frustrated when he won't settle or sleep.

He explained: 'I feel terrible even talking like this because he's [Dante] a gorgeous little boy but he cries a lot, and I'm walking up and down with him at 3am and I'm going "I just want you to go to sleep".'

Comparing how he adjusted after Aurelia, Brendan explained that he simply wasn't as anxious. He dismissed the idea that he could be suffering from postnatal depression but acknowledged that he has definitely felt more anxious with his second child.

He said: 'I know we all do that as parents. I find it very different with my daughter. It was never an issue! It's not post-natal depression, because that's what women get, but there's a real sense of anxiety with the second one.'

However, researchers have found that up to one in 25 new fathers become depressed after having a baby.

So although postnatal depression is more common in mothers it is possible for men to suffer too.