‘He sacrificed his life’: Gogglebox Australia stars breakdown over diving tragedy

The cast of Gogglebox Australia broke down in tears after watching a heart-wrenching new Netflix documentary: “He sacrificed his life for her.”

The cast of Gogglebox Australia were left in tears on Wednesday night’s episode after watching the Netflix documentary, The Deepest Breath.

The beloved couch critics were speechless as they watched the doco, which tells the tragic story of renowned Irish freediver and safety diver Stephen Keenan, who died in 2017 doing what he loved, for the woman he loved.

Gogglebox - airs Wednesdays on Foxtel and Thursdays on Channel 10 – began with showing the heart-wrenching doco, which introduces professional Italian diver Alessia Zecchini, who later works with Stephen in her quest to conquer the dangerous Arch of Dahab, aka the Blue Hole, in Egypt. This infamous spot has claimed more than 100 lives.

“That is terrifying,” best mates Adam and Symon said, while Dalton family dad Matt, said: “That’s the most stressful sport I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Best friends Adam and Symon were hoping for a miracle. Picture: Foxtel

The dive required Alessia to swim 50 metres toward the bottom of the ocean then under 30 metres of rocks before attempting her ascent back to the surface. All in one breath.

“How’s that fun?” friends Matty and Jad wondered.

To put it into perspective, the narrator of the Netflix doco says freedives are typically equivalent to swimming the length of a skyscraper measuring 70 storeys or more.

Stream Gogglebox Australia Season 18 on FOXTEL. Sign up at foxtel.com.au

Mother and daughter Kerry and Izzy can’t believe what they’re seeing. Picture: Foxtel

Tim calls Stephen a hero. Picture: Foxtel

Jad breaks down over the tragedy. Picture: Foxtel

“I feel like something’s going to go wrong,” Goggleboxer Leanne told her sibling, Tim, who replied: “I don’t like how everything is spoken in the past tense.”

In their household, Jad wondered why “they are talking about [Alessia] like she’s dead”.

As it turned out, it was Stephen who sadly lost his life that fateful day on July 22, 2017.

Despite planning the dive meticulously, a 20-second delay meant he was unable to meet Alessia underwater as they had timed, therefore she couldn’t find the underwater rope he had planted to help them resurface.

Stephen Keenan and Alessia Zecchini. Picture: Netflix

Feeling lost, Alessia swims away in the wrong direction. When Stephen sees her doing this from underwater, he follows her to guide her back to the surface.

He was able to get her back to the surface where they both blacked out due to oxygen deprivation. While she was revived, he unfortunately he was not.

“He could’ve turned around and gone back up, but he chose to stay and find her,” Symon told his mate Adam, who replied: “He sacrificed his life for her.”

“If that’s not the definition of a hero, giving your life for someone else …” a distraught Tim said before getting emotional.

Originally published as ‘He sacrificed his life’: Gogglebox Australia stars breakdown over diving tragedy