Trigger Warning: This article deals with the topic of pregnancy loss.
Chrissy Zaremba has already made a name for herself as one to watch on Australian Survivor, though the rising star admits her three children initially said she would be “s**t” if she went on the challenging reality TV show. Kids, hey?
WATCH: Australian Survivor 2022 | First Look
Chrissy revealed her children’s initial reaction in a new interview with Mamamia, where she opened up about her experience of miscarriage and revealed a radio ad had inspired her to adopt years ago.
Now, 15 years after hearing the radio ad, Chrissy is now the proud mum to 13-year-old Mia-Moana, 10-year-old Essie and seven-year-old Lulu.
Telling Mamamia that all she had ever wanted was to be a mum, the 42-year-old contestant spoke of the heartache of experiencing multiple miscarriages with her husband, Toby.
“I said to Toby, that’s seven [miscarriages]. How many more of these can we pay for and mentally go through? How many more babies can I miscarry… And then an ad from ‘Adoption Services Queensland’ came on,” she said.
“It said if you’re interested in looking into adoption then be in Brisbane and enlist in a program. And I just looked at Toby and said ‘that’s it, we’re done, we’re going to go do that’.”
The couple signed up to become adoptive parents, with Chrissy acknowledging the process is “intense” because you “put your life in their hands.”
“We can’t control anything, they choose the kids, they choose the best family. I think the biggest fear is just how long it’s going to take because lots of people wait for years,” she revealed, saying it was “surreal” the first time they met and took home their first daughter.
“I just remember looking at her and she was so scared. And I was so scared,” she said.
Chrissy told the publication that they now call themselves a “rainbow family” and take care to honour their unique dynamic. Each year they celebrate their daughter’s arrival days and spend time reflecting on their birth parents on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
“We are really passionate about making sure that the girls never have secrets and no one knows anything more than them,” she said.
Her daughters also recommended she apply for any other reality TV show than going on Survivor with their uncle, NRL legend Michael Crocker. But Chrissy decided then and there she had to go on the show and prove to her kids she could do it.
Of course, now they couldn’t be more excited to watch mum as she tackles challenges. But it wasn’t easy to be apart from each other.
“They thought I’d be pretty bad at going on the show at first, but now there’s all these promos coming on the TV at the moment and it’s like Christmas for them, the kids are loving it,” Chrissy tells WHO.
“My daughter’s all over her Instagram and posting stuff, they’re so excited and they think it’s cool.”
On Instagram, Chrissy dedicated a moving post to her children by sharing a video from when she said goodbye before heading to Survivor.
“Was it selfish to be leaving them? Or would they be forever proud? What if we embarrass them? What if I’m too loud?” she wrote in her caption.
Will they resent us, leaving them? Do the Pros outweigh the Cons? Will they be sad or mad at us? The Doubts list, was so long! Their little faces broke our hearts! We underestimated the pain, now we had to face the facts- it was time, to play this Game.
“We hugged them tight and kissed their cheeks, this was our ‘Now or Never,'” she signed off the message.
WATCH: The moment Chrissy Zaremba said goodbye to her kids before Australian Survivor.
If you or someone you know is affected by the topics in this article, you can call the SANDS 24/7 bereavement support line on 1300 308 307 or visit the website.
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