“Am I competitive? Not really. But maybe I say that because I never win.” And in that “never,” there seems to be more than a few lost bets with friends.

Aurora Ramazzotti, the daughter of Italian pop star Eros Ramazzotti, has made only a handful of television appearances, but she has always made an impression. At 19, she won over audiences as the host of X Factor’s daily program. She went on to become a correspondent for Le Iene, a reporter for Ogni Mattina and a contestant on The Traitors. Each time she arrived, lit up the screen and then, for some reason, found herself back on the bench.

So she moved to social media, where she tried a different way of telling her story, embracing causes such as body positivity. After three years as a full-time mother, she is returning to television with Ballando con le Stelle, beginning Saturday on Rai 1. This time, she is no longer appearing as someone’s “daughter,” but as an adult woman and mother.

“Or, as I prefer, simply Aurora.”

You don’t like labels?

“They’re limiting. Each of us is a thousand things at once, but none of them, taken individually, fully defines us. I want Aurora to come through. Period. That would be a real achievement, because for years everyone had a different idea of who I was.”

Did you ever feel lost among all those mirrors?

“Growing up in a family of artists, I quickly learned how to navigate certain environments: how to be polite, smile, not take offense at strange requests or the same old questions. By now, it’s almost automatic. But then you ask yourself: Where am I in all of this? Where does the persona end and my true self begins?

“I spent a long time wondering whether the person I had worked so hard to ‘build’ was really me or just a mask I used to hide my insecurities. So yes, it’s difficult not to get lost among the mirrors, because sometimes other people’s image of you comes before your own perception of yourself. But today, things are different.”

What changed?

“Therapy played a role, too. I had a real boost in self-confidence and self-awareness. You can’t — and shouldn’t — try to please everyone. You must find your audience, the people who are looking in the same direction as you.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped thinking about how I’m perceived. I just don’t let it weigh on me anymore. I’ve realized that when people call me a nepo baby because of my parents, they’re projecting their own concerns onto me, or concerns tied to a broader criticism of society. But I know who I am. And today, I’m no longer defined by other people’s prejudice because I’m comfortable with myself.

“In fact, my last name has become my superpower. I almost enjoy it when someone has a preconceived idea about me, because I know I can change their mind.”

You’ve already won over 2.7 million people on social media…

“That’s a different audience from television, where I’ve been away for three years because I wanted to devote myself to my son. I had him because I want to be with him, not to hand his upbringing over to someone else.”

Some people argue that it’s better not to have children in a world that seems to be falling apart. Has that thought ever crossed your mind?

“If it were up to me, I’d have 10 more, but I understand the hesitation. We’ve lost hope. In the past, people had children even under bombs because they believed in a rebirth. Today, the climate has changed: pessimism dominates. We need to reconnect with the here and now, maybe by putting down our phones.”

Is banning phones for minors already a first step?

“It is, and it’s better than nothing. Whether it’s really the right move, only the future will tell us. We’re dealing with a completely new tool, and there’s still so much we don’t understand. We certainly also need to work with families, because much of the content online is generated by adults.”

You married Goffredo in July. You’ve been together since you were 19.

“Exactly. In the midst of so many people describing me in ways that have nothing to do with who I am, he sees me. Like in Avatar. Jokes aside, Goffredo saw something in me when I was just 19. He made me feel comfortable: he’s my home, the embrace where I can let myself go.”

Will Dancing With The Stars mark your return to hosting?

“Television is my biggest dream, but I would need to find a project that fits with managing a family. If opportunities come along, I’ll take them, but I certainly won’t chase them desperately, because being a mother makes me very happy and teaches me so much.”

But is there really room on television for new faces?

“Not much. The apprenticeship phase has disappeared. Now it’s all about taking whatever comes along, with the risk of having a stop-and-start career and having to begin from scratch every time. That’s what happened to me.

“But that’s OK. I was too young on X Factor; I probably would have burned out. There’s a reason certain thing didn’t happen: maybe I wasn’t ready. Today, I am.”