Caprice Bourret's sons have never "experienced" her life "in the public eye".
Caprice Bourret admits her sons have never seen her life in the spotlight first hand
The 52-year-old model – who has 10-year-old sons Jax and Jett with husband Ty Comfort - has never tried to hide her past from her boys, and she admitted they only really see her as "mum".
She told OK! magazine: "I believe that if you don't experience something, you don't know the full impact of it.
"So they haven't experienced my life as 'Caprice in the public eye', they've just experienced the loud mum shouting on the sidelines at their football matches - the loud American one!
"So they just know me as 'mum'. The mum who meets them at the bus stop after school, the mum who takes them home and cooks horrible food for them - I'm a terrible cook, really terrible - so that's who they know."
Although her sons are sometimes curious if a fan calls out to her in the street, she explains that they "probably read about me yesterday in the newspaper".
Caprice has always been keen to avoid putting her kids "into the public eye", admitting it can be "daunting".
She added: "I signed up for it but they didn't. I've never taken them to premieres or even talked about them much.
"In the last 11 years, I can count the amount of photoshoots on my left hand.
"I'm sure some judgemental people think it's because I don't care, but it's been my job as their mum to protect them until they made that decision for themselves."
Caprice also pointed to the way things have changed from her time in the spotlight, and noted she is fiercely "protective" of her family.
She said: "And let's be real, these days are very different from when I was in the press every single day of my life for 15 years.
"My life is now private and I'm so protective of my children, I would never use them to get coverage for myself."