Reality TV star Jess Wright speaks of 'tough' time after announcing son, Presley, aged two, has rare heart condition

The mum-of-one, took to her Instagram last month to tell her 1.5 million followers that her young son, Presley, who she shares with husband William Lee-Kemp, will need open heart surgery “at least twice” in the future.

The former The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) TV personality first revealed the tot’s health update by sharing a lengthy Instagram post on Monday August 26. In it, she said Presley has "a congenital heart disease called Bicuspid Aortic Valve" and she is coming "to terms with the fact that our son will need intervention at least twice in his life".

The star’s post read: “A few months ago we learned that our son Presley has a congenital heart disease called ‘Bicuspid Aortic Valve’. Something he was born with & happens to a small 1% of us. Essentially, instead of having three leaflets in his aortic valve, like most, he only has two. This condition affects how blood flows from the heart to the rest of the body and will require monitoring & care over time.

"I won’t go into the full details right now, but whilst this is please God not a fatal disease, we are coming to terms with the fact that our son will need intervention at least twice in his life. By intervention I mean open heart surgery. Saying those words out loud physically hurts my soul, hence why for a few months we have been coping with this news & trying to navigate it. We have been, & will be monitoring Presley's heart closely with doctors every 8-12 weeks, hoping & praying every time we go, that we get the results we need. Ultimately, he will then have intervention when necessary, but the older he can be for that, the better."

Speaking exclusively to The Sun at the National Television Awards on Wednesday night (September 11), she said Presley is doing well, but she’s still had to “grieve” for the youngster. She said: "He's good, it's an eight-to-twelve week check up for the forseeable so it's going to be really tough. It's been tough but I've had such an amazing response. When we first found out, we kept it to ourselves.

"We were kind of grieving the news, which sounds really morbid, but it's something you have to accept and forever know that this is going to be life now. But, after that the response we've had. . . it's really nice to know and comforting."

38-year-old Wright, who is the sister of fellow TOWIE alumni Mark Wright, previously said she was “overwhelmed” by the support herself and her husband had received from fans after announcing the news of their young son’s health issue.