“We’d been trying the year before, then fell pregnant, then had a miscarriage,” Hawkins revealed to marie claire. “I went and saw a specialist and they wanted to test for endometriosis. I came up as having Stage Four, so they cleared it out. It happened over a two-year period, which felt like a lifetime.”
The 36-year-old had previously spoken about suffering a miscarriage in 2017, saying it was the toughest year of their lives.
Now, Hawkins has said that the reason she chose to share her story then was to create discussion around the tragic topic. “It wasn’t like I wanted to come out and be the poster girl for miscarriage, because I know a lot of women go through it,” she told marie claire. “For me, when I was going through my miscarriage and endometriosis, talking about it with my loved ones really helped me.”
Ultimately, the experience brought Hawkins and Wall closer together and the former Myer ambassador found an inner strength she didn’t know she had.
It’s that new-found strength – and the experience they’ve shared as a couple – that has enabled the new parents to feel so much gratitude through the crying and sleepless nights.
“There have been some really difficult times, particularly with sleep deprivation when you’re just trying to do your best and you’re exhausted,” Hawkins told marie claire.
“It makes everything hard some days. But I feel like because we’ve gone through so much to have her, I just snap back to thinking, “Oh my God, I get to do this, I get to do this”. I’m not saying it hasn’t been hard, but the gratitude overrides everything.”
Watching Wall become a dad has also brought new levels to the love they share. “Our connection has just catapulted to another level – I have so much new respect for him,” Hawkins gushed.
In addition to her husband cooking her breakfast when she’s been up all night breastfeeding, Hawkins said that, above all else, she and her husband are truly a team.
But as business co-founders, partners and now parents, do the duo ever take some time off for themselves?
According to Hawkins, they make it a top priority! However, it’s not expensive dinner dates or weekends away that the couple indulge in; it’s simply spending good old-fashioned time together after little Frankie has drifted off to sleep.
“We put her down at night and then cook dinner or watch a movie,” Hawkins shared.
To read more of her story, marie claire’s May issue is on sale now.
