For most women, wearing a bikini two months after giving birth would be almost unthinkable.

But when Claudine Keane, wife of Ireland and Celtic football star Robbie, was snapped on a Portuguese beach in a white two-piece just 10 weeks after having baby son Robert, mothers everywhere turned green with envy.

The model and TV presenter put on 2st while pregnant - but insists she neither crash dieted nor hit the gym the moment she left the labour ward last May.

Getting her body back: Claudine Keane's enviable figure (left) as it is now and showing off the smallest hint of a baby bump when she was six months pregnant

Speaking to this week's Closer magazine, she said: 'I was so overwhelmed with being a mum I didn’t have time to think about my figure.

'I certainly didn’t crash diet - it’s so dangerous to starve yourself at a time when you need all your energy and strength to look after your baby, breastfeed and recover from giving birth.'

She adds: 'My friends warned me not to get on the scales after the birth, as you are still filled with fluid for a long time afterwards and it’s not your real weight, so it’s not fair to put yourself through that. Like any woman, I’m self-critical.'

Despite her long peroxide hair extensions, fake tan and huge diamonds, Claudine is not a typical WAG.

She has a first-class degree in Finance and Economics and now has a burgeoning TV career in Ireland.

She is also surprisingly level-headed and, at 5ft 6in and a size 8, confesses she knows that she is 'one of the lucky ones'.

Speedy slimmer: Claudine with husband Robbie Keane in Dublin just two weeks after giving birth

In fact, Claudine admits there have been times when she’s actually wished she was curvier.

'I am sensitive to the fact some other women struggle more than me to stay slim,' she says.

'When I was a teenager I used to envy my friends who had curvy bodies. I felt embarrassed about my skinny legs and hips.'

The 26-year-old former Miss Ireland contestant, who has modelled since she was 15, ate healthily and stayed active throughout her pregnancy with Robert, her first child.

She says: 'My gynaecologist told me I shouldn’t eat for two, but nor did I calorie-count. I ate slightly bigger portions of my usual diet to stop myself being tired, and made lots of fruit smoothies – not for my figure, but to make sure my baby would be healthy.

'I used a vat of Bio-Oil on my bump, which luckily warded off stretch marks.'

She added: 'When I first met Robbie at 18, I lived on junk food. I was young so I didn’t put on any weight, but being married to an athlete means I’ve learned to cook healthy meals.

'I stuck to this when I got pregnant. I sometimes have desserts and I have cake or chocolate every day, as life is for living – I just have a small portion.'

Wedded bliss: The TV presenter and model married footballer Robbie in Dublin in June 2008

After Robert’s birth in a Dublin hospital in May last year, Claudine waited over six weeks before she started running short distances on the treadmill and doing gentle sit-ups twice a week.

'Robbie advises me, although he never puts pressure on me to work out,' she says.

Although Claudine is back in shape, she says her body isn’t entirely back to normal. 'My hair still feels much flatter,' she laughs.

'Apparently, it gets thicker during pregnancy and then falls out after to make up for lost time!'

Having been with Robbie for eight years and married for two, she now takes the WAG label with a pinch of salt.

The full story appears in Closer magazine, out now

She explains: 'Just because I’ve always been into fashion and beauty it’s assumed I’m just another dumb WAG, but I’ve got a degree, I’m very independent with my own career and I spend my own money.'

Footballers are famously followed by women who throw themselves at them, and two weeks ago the WAG world was rocked by the news that Chelsea footballer John Terry had allegedly cheated on his wife Toni with model Vanessa Perroncel.

But Claudine insists she has no insecurities about her marriage to Robbie. 'It is the same with any good-looking man who has money – there will be women who are attracted to that and of course there are women who deliberately target footballers, but I have never let that worry me,' she says.

'Robbie and I have been together for eight years and there is a deep level of trust between us, but like with anything, you never can say what will happen in the future.'

And she also denies that her slim figure and glamorous looks are a bid to keep hold of her man, saying: 'I make an effort because I like to feel good. It’s not to compete with the other girls. Robbie actually prefers me with no make-up and dressed down in Ugg boots and jeans!'

While she concentrates on getting back to work and forging a career in the UK, Claudine has put having another baby on hold. She says: 'Robbie wants a huge family, but while I love being a mum and adore my baby, I’d like to wait and just enjoy being me again for a while.'