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I’ve learnt so many lessons during these past few years, most of them the hard way. Is there any other way, come to think of it?

Rule number one: When someone cheats on you, don’t get back with them, because if they loved you, they wouldn’t have done it in the first place… once a cheat, always a cheat.

And rule number two: You need to nip it in the bud straight away.

I do agree with giving someone a second chance, but that has to be it. If the same thing happens again, you have a serial offender on your hands, and these people never change. You can’t keep giving the same person more and more chances. You’re just lining yourself up for more hurt in the long run, and it’ll take you longer to recover. That’s all I’m going to say. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Lots of people still think of me as a really angry person, and I can’t blame them, but the truth is, I’ve calmed down a lot just in the last year. All the things that were making me so angry seem to have gone away. I know that’s easy to say, but it’s true.

Looking back, it’s simple to see what was going on. The bullying had a massive effect on me. The breakup with The Dip was a big part of it too, and the other dickhead exes along the way didn’t help. I was around negative people in the Essex scene, who were constantly bringing me down. And I wasn’t doing my music full-time.

But now I’m finally doing what I love – writing, recording and touring. And to top it off, I’ve built my first house in an area I always dreamed of living in, and I really am loving life.

I do realise how harsh I can come across on the TV, and I reckon that’s why so many people are wary of me. I’ve never been able to cry softly on camera. It was always angry crying – you know the look I mean! – and saying really nasty stuff. I know it makes good telly, but it’s why people have got me so wrong. When I get emotional, I just don’t know how to express it, so it comes out as anger – in fact, it’s actually because I’m sad, hurt and vulnerable, all the same feelings that everyone has.

People can still be very wary of me when they first meet me. Only the other night, I was out, I met some new people and we had a laugh. In the cab on the way home after we’d had a great night, one of the boys was slightly drunk, and he said, ‘I got you so wrong, Meg.’ I said, ‘Thank you.’ He said, ‘You’re proper normal.’ I said, ‘I know.’ Ha ha.

You do need to be a really strong character to go on any kind of reality TV show. I know loads of people are queueing up to go on them, but you need to know what sort of person you are before you get in there, or it will break you. I’m strong, and it nearly broke me.

Another little life lesson I’d like to share is: Don’t think that drinking will help you escape your demons.

They’ll chase you. All that alcohol was my get-out from being hurt. It gave me a confidence I was lacking. It still gives me confidence, but it’s not the answer.

I shouldn’t have needed confidence. My family gave me confidence; having those big dreams gave me confidence. But the bullying and heartbreak knocked it all out of me and I’m still recovering.

I do sometimes think, ‘Why do people give me such a hard time?’ My mum always says it’s jealousy. From when I was really young, I’ve always been able to do my own thing – I was always up to something, ever since I was performing in assembly, belting out a tune. Maybe my life would have been easier if I’d blended in with the crowd, but that’s not me. My dreams are big, and fortunately I never gave up. That was because of my family supporting me and believing in me.

I do think now that, if I’d had it easy, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. All these dramas I’ve gone through have definitely made me stronger and more ambitious to do something more with my life. So I would say to any younger person who’s feeling unhappy or isolated or unsure of themselves: KEEP DREAMING.

I never stopped thinking about what I wanted to happen. I would say to that little girl, ‘Even though you feel like shit now, even if you’re at the lowest point of your life, things ALWAYS get better.’ And I say that as a girl who was at school, eating her lunch on the stairs, because her special food was getting caught in her braces and everyone was laughing, so you have to believe what I’m telling you.

I’ve sometimes felt confused, like I don’t really know what I want to do any more, but things just always seem to sort themselves out. Something always comes up.

Every time I’ve got a bit confused, it’s because I’ve been distracted and lost sight of the big picture, so I say as well, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THOSE DREAMS. Me, I got side-tracked by bad relationships that hurt me, friendships that failed and worries about what people thought. It was only when I got back on track and focused on my music that I started feeling happy again. This was around the time of my tour – after Nashville, after TOWIE. I didn’t have any friends to fight with and a lot of people I thought I loved were no longer in my phone, but I was on the road, singing my music, and that was what did the trick.

Now I know who my true friends are as well. Friends I thought would be there forever have gone, but new ones have come along. The list has been cut in half, and I can probably count the people I totally trust on the fingers of one hand, but that’s okay. They know who they are, and they’re everything to me.

As far as love goes, what can I tell you? Looking back, I was always too scared to be on my own. I thought I needed someone for security. Hopefully, that’s changing now. I’m definitely a lot more independent these days, and I’m definitely not prepared to put up with the kind of shit I have in the past.

I’m now with someone who makes me his number one. My exes never did that for me, and it made me go a bit mad. But equally, it was my fault for not leaving before I did. Oh well, we live and we learn.

Now I’m only prepared to spend time with someone who makes me feel good about myself, one who makes me feel very special. Only then is it worth sharing my heart, and it’s worth waiting for, even if it feels like it’s taking a while. I can confidently say to anybody else who might ever feel like giving up, ‘Don’t go looking for love, trust me, you just never know what’s around the corner.’

I’m really happy with my life. That’s not something I could have said only a couple of years ago, but now I’m in a better place and it’s definitely true. There’ve been some bumps along the way, but I can’t say it’s been boring and it’s all been part of the rollercoaster ride. And as my granddad always used to say to me… all together now… ‘Everything happens for a reason, Megan.’