It started with a digital courtship on Skype at the end of 2010, and fast forward to now Megan Gale and Shaun Hampson are happily engaged and parents of two.
“In the beginning it was hard to navigate, I didn’t want my profile to scare him away and as soon as we started hanging out, there was paparazzi,” Megan confessed to WHO in 2019, whilst former AFL player Shaun admits he knew “straight away” that she was something special.
In May 2014, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy named River.
River’s arrival, however, was bittersweet for Megan and Shaun as Shaun’s father Tom lost his battle with prostate cancer a month before. Just 14 weeks after River’s birth, Megan then lost her own dad, Alan, to lung cancer.
“It definitely wasn’t the experience I thought I’d be having with a newborn,” Megan told the Australian Women’s Weekly.
“But while we knew it was horrible, we were all thinking, thank God we’ve got this baby. You’ve got the end of life and the beginning of life …If we didn’t have him there, I can’t imagine what it would have been like.”
In September 2017, the family of three became four when daughter Rosie was born and Megan told the publication that motherhood was “a lot easier” the second time around.
“River was kind of like a gift to get over the grief, whereas Rosie was just unadulterated joy. I had a new business and another child, but I found it a lot easier because I trusted myself a bit more. I didn’t beat myself up about things. I just tapped into me.”
According to Megan, River is “a pretty quirky, pretty cool kid”.
“He feels very deeply. He’s very emotional and he speaks his emotions, which I’ve always taught him to do,” she told The Weekly, whereas daughter Rosie is apparently “like a cross between a wrecking ball and a koala”.
“She’s cheeky, fearless, determined and just a firecracker.”
They may look like they have a picture perfect life but Megan always keeps it real when it comes to motherhood.
“We are living in a time when there is more demanded of us and we fold to that,” she told WHO in 2019.
“We’re trying to do it all, have it all, and be it all. Especially women, because we think we have to be these boss women and be able to juggle it all, to be mums, be career women, have the husband, and the social life.
“It’s great and aspirational, but you’ve got to be mindful that you’re not doing it at the cost of your health.”
In fact, since having kids, Megan’s priorities have shifted.
“Becoming a mum has changed it all. It’s made me slow down and re-prioritise what’s important. Things I used to get upset about, I don’t get upset about any more. Your kids are so special and so precious, you don’t want to waste time worrying about things that don’t matter, or worrying about things that you have no control over,” she told Good Health in 2019.
In honour of Mother’s Day 2021, Megan shared the many ups and downs of what it’s like to have kids and shared a throwback picture of herself, River and Rosie strolling down a beach.
“This is one of my favourite memories as a Mum with my children. But motherhood isn’t always sunset walks on beaches; far from it – it’s a rollercoaster and it’s a constant of hard work, never ending care, unconditional loving, oodles of patience and a heap of learning-as-you-go, selflessness and much more,” she wrote.
“But the rewards are huge and so very worthwhile. And while motherhood is a gift and a privilege, for some it can also be a journey that can sadly end earlier than you thought and for others, it’s a dream that is never to be realised. My heart goes out to you today if that is you.”
Since then, Megan has been sharing regular parenthood updates.
In January 2023, she posted photos of her son and her daughter in their school uniforms, writing: “So I blinked… 👉🏼 and they grew up.”
“Back to school today for 2023. Grade 3 for Riv and first day of Prep for Rosie. So proud of both of these little legends. 🥰.”
She followed it up with two adorable family photos after River and Rosie had finished school for the day.
“Day 1 of school for 2023 done & dusted! 🥰” she wrote.
Since welcoming their little ones, Megan and Shaun’s love for each other has only grown.
“He’s such a loving dad and he’s so supportive of me. He’s very unaffected, and extremely humble,” the mum-of-two said of her partner.
Shaun only had positive things to say about Megan as well, remarking: “Those animal instincts of protecting your young, she’s got it in spades.”
Though they are yet to tie the knot, Megan confessed that she wants River and Rosie to play a role at the wedding.
“I want my kids to be part of it. I want them both to remember the day, rather than looking at photos years down the line with no recollection. But yes, I do want to get married and to be a family in that traditional sense.”
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