MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis battling hyperemesis gravidarum in pregnancy

A surprise pregnancy for Martha Kalifatidis turned from joy to anguish as the MAFS star had to be hospitalised with a severe and debilitating form of morning sickness.

Her time on Married At First Sight was filled with drama, but it was a walk in the park compared to pregnancy for Martha Kalifatidis.

The 34-year-old, who is expecting her first child with on-screen-turned-real-life partner Michael Brunelli, was diagnosed with a severe form of morning sickness called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) five weeks into her pregnancy, resulting in the couple being forced to cut a European holiday short by five weeks.

The couple, who met on MAFS in 2019 and got engaged in December 2021, discovered the unplanned “surprise” pregnancy in Paris, but elation quickly turned to anguish.

“It has been rough, really rough,” said Kalifatidis, who is 16 weeks pregnant.

“It’s like you’ve got gastro, you’re hungover and you’re on a boat. It is getting a bit better, but this is anything but fun.

Former MAFS couple Martha Kalifatidis and partner Michael Brunelli are expecting their first child. Picture: Tony Gough

“When I hit five weeks, all of a sudden I couldn’t do a thing. I was so sick. I wasn’t able to get out of bed, eat or drink anything. Not even one sip of water.

“So I was stuck overseas, severely dehydrated and had to get fluids regularly.”

The reality TV star has been hospitalised during her pregnancy with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Her fiance Brunelli felt helpless, so made himself useful by darting around Paris collecting the only beverage Kalifatidis could stomach.

“It was hard to watch her go from enjoying this amazing trip overseas to being bedridden 24 hours a day, in pain and not having much I could do for her,” Brunelli said.

“We started on the ginger drinks and she could handle that at first, so I made it my mission to clear out every supermarket and shop of their ginger drinks, then she got over the ginger and on to lemon drinks so I did the same to get them.

“But I felt like I couldn’t help her or take the pain away, so that was hard. I was literally trying to force her to drink water and she would take the smallest sip you have ever seen then say: ‘I can’t do this any more’. She didn’t get out of bed to even go to the toilet for almost two days. She had lost 10 kilos.”

Fast-forward 15 weeks and the couple is back home in Australia and trying to plan for the future.

Although Kalifatidis, who still suffers from HG some days, is cautious.

“Our family is so excited, it is all they talk about,” she said.

“But I am still taking it one day at a time.”

As for what type of parents they will be, Kalifatidis reckons her former teacher husband will be the tough one.

“Michael will be the strict parent,” she said.

“He is going to go into Mr Brunelli mode and I will be the fun softie.”

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