MKR winner Jessica Liebich shares shock of becoming pregnant in her late 40s

Reality TV favourite Jessica Liebich thought she was menopausal until her doctor called her “out of the blue” with some unexpected advice.

Jessica and Luke Liebich with children Alani, 14, Leela, 12, and four-month-old Jimi. Picture: Emma Brasier

“I can’t have this baby” was the first thought running through Jessica Liebich’s mind when she found out she was pregnant.

At 47 years old, the My Kitchen Rules winner thought her baby-making days were well and truly behind her.

“I actually thought I was going through menopause,” said Mrs Liebich, who won the hit Seven show in 2014.

In fact, she was so convinced she decided to have a menopause test with her doctor after suffering from hot sweats and an irregular cycle.

After not hearing back for a few months, she simply thought her doctor had forgotten.

“My doctor randomly called me out of the blue two months later to tell me I wasn’t menopausal. I said to her I hadn’t even had a period this month,” Mrs Liebich said.

“She sort of sniggered and said take a pregnancy test.”

With her husband Luke and daughters Alani and Leela, 14 and 12, were waiting in the car, she took the test in a public bathroom.

“I was pregnant,” she explained, saying it was initially a complete blow.

Family life with teens and baby can be pretty chaotic. Picture: Emma Brasier

But little Jimi’s smile makes all the turmoil worth it.

She had just started working full time as a kitchen specialist at Kilkenny Primary School, and was out of the early throes of childrearing, with her daughters now almost in their teens.

“I was in the second year of my dream job. I finally found my calling, and obviously we are older parents as well, and my husband was worried about us financially, we were too old for this,” she said.

Worried about the health risks being a mature mother, if her home was big enough, if they could afford a new baby, Mrs Liebich said she thought about terminating the pregnancy.

“The initial reaction was yes, I can’t have this baby, I’m not having it, but then over time I was like okay, I’m pregnant, this must be happening for a reason,” she said.

“I was thinking why me? Because this just doesn’t happen easily for women my age.”

Her son Jimi arrived on March 16 this year and was named after her late father and the couple’s favourite artist Jimi Hendrix.

As fate would have it, Jimi was born on his late grandfather’s birthday.

For a time, Mrs Liebich, now 48, worried she would “look old” against the other mums at a mother’s group.

“But I’m at the stage now where I really don’t care what people think,” she said.

“Everyone I meet at talk to, when we talk about age and stuff like that they always say oh my god, you don’t look your age.”

Little Jimi’s two older sisters are a great help to mum.

“As I sat in the car and cried, I think they all realised I was pregnant. It was a full-on moment,” Mrs Liebech said.

Mrs Liebech said life raising teenagers and a newborn “can be quite challenging and tiring”.

“They’re going through the stages of finding themselves and their independence … but they are very supportive of me and Jimi,” she said.

“In a way it’s good that I have older kids because they’ve been able to help me quite a bit.”

As life has settled down and Mrs Liebech is on maternity leave, she said the ordeal was all worth it.

“I look at him (Jimi) now and I couldn’t live my life without him, he’s just so beautiful,” she said.

“He was born and it all went perfectly.”

Jimi has been entered in The Advertiser’s 2023 cutest baby competition – nominations are open until July 25.