Celebrities Split: Chantelle Houghton is showing the strain of Alex

By Emily Sheridan

PUBLISHED: 15:56 EST, 14 September 2012 | UPDATED: 15:56 EST, 14 September 2012

She's getting used to life as a single mum following her split from fiancé Alex Reid last week.

And while things are far from rosy for Chantelle Houghton, the reality star is at least trying to dress upbeat.

Although the Celebrity Big Brother was showing the strain of her recent troubles with her facial expressions, she made an effort with her clothes in a pair of floral leggings and even wore her fake eyelashes.

Showing the strain: Chantelle Houghton shows off her curves in a pair of rose leggings and black vest as she leaves her Essex home

Accompanied by her three-month-old daughter Dolly, Chantelle visited her mother, before going shopping at Mothercare with her brother.

The former glamour model showed off her post-baby figure in the leggings - her style staple since becoming a mother - which she teamed with a black vest and cardigan.

She stepped out exactly a week after she ended her 17-month relationship with Alex.

Just you and me now: Chantelle carries Dolly in her baby travel unit to the car

High-maintenance: Despite her glum demeanour, Chantelle is upholding her beauty regime with her fake eyelashes and lipgloss

In her new! magazine column this week, she wrote: 'It's true that I ended my relationship with Alex last week.

'As you know, things have been difficult for a while and I tried my very best to make it work. I'm really hurting.'

Chantelle announced the couple's split via Twitter on September 7, saying: 'Unfortunately I have no option but to end my relationship with Alex.'

Sad: Chantelle is getting used to life as a single mother following her split from Alex last week

The couple's rocky romance has certain been a whirlwind since they got together at the Fate Awards in Belfast in April last year.

By August 2011, they had moved in together, followed by Alex's proposal on a live TV show in Ireland in October.

After just seven months together, Chantelle confirmed she was pregnant with their daughter Dolly, who was born in June.

Curvy: The clingy Lycra outfit showed off Chantelle's post-baby figure

However, the couple started experiencing trouble 11 months into their romance, when Chantelle was six months pregnant.

She was furious when he found out Alex had been speaking to his ex-wife Katie Price's model protogee Amy Willerton on Twitter.

In May, she briefly moved out of their home after an argument, before returning a few days later.

Chantelle admitted she was 'hurt and humiliated' when a drag queen jumped on-stage and groped Alex as he performed his pop single Stardust when Dolly was two weeks old.

Splitsville: Alex was spotted with his car full of his personal items last Friday following their split

The former Paris Hilton lookalike also admitted to suffering from anxiety in recent months and during her pregnancy.

She has admitted her fears of dying young and what would happen to Dolly.

She was briefly hospitalised in March when doctors found out she had an irregular heartbeat - Supraventricular Tachycardia, which is a relatively common condition during pregnancy.

Just two weeks ago, Chantelle admitted the couple's relationship had been 'strained', so their split last week was hardly a surprise.