Benji and Zoe Marshall’s ‘miracle’ pregnancy after miscarriage

Zoe Marshall says she was so sick with her latest pregnancy she wasn’t able to get up or leave the house for 16 weeks.

Zoe Marshall feels torn about detailing her difficult pregnancy.

The wife of Rabbitohs rugby league star Benji Marshall is pregnant with the couple’s second child following the birth of their son Fox, and a subsequent miscarriage.

Marshall, 36, suffers from endometriosis and spent years trying to fall pregnant the first time.

“I wasn’t able to get up or leave the house for 16 weeks,” Marshall told Confidential.

Zoe Marshall, wife of NRL player Benji Marshall, with son Fox at the Salvos Store in St Peters. Picture: Toby Zerna

“It is pretty debilitating and no one talks about that part because we should be grateful and sickness is a sign of a healthy baby.

“It is very isolating and difficult on the mental health of expecting mothers. You can’t tell anyone in that time either so you are suffering in silence.”

She continued: “You are sensitive because for women like myself who have suffered to fall pregnant or even miscarried, to then hear someone say how hard it is, I get the two sides of the coin.”

“But if you are wanting to throw up all day apart from when you are asleep, it is a very heavy energy to not share. It is very complex.”

Benji Marshall with Fox and Zoe in 2019 after playing his 300th match. Picture: AAP Image / Joel Carrett

Marshall, who on Wednesday met volunteers at the St Peters Salvos Store, fell pregnant naturally this time after seeking help from controversial Chinese medicine specialist Shuquan Liu with Fox.

She is now 23 weeks and while she and Benji have found out the gender, they are keeping it a secret for now. The couple describe both pregnancies as miracles.

“I feel like, if I can be honest, I also know that there are so many women in exactly the same situation that feel like they are isolated or alone too,” she said.

“It is just nice to feel like there is a community, even if it is a secret society. It shouldn’t be but it is a societal norm now so I don’t know how we undo that structure.”

Zoe Marshall and Fox at the Salvos Store in St Peters meeting volunteers. Picture: Toby Zerna

Marshall, meanwhile, has teamed up with Salvo Stores to encourage Australians to volunteer to support the charity, which has more than 330 shopfronts nationally.

“Everyone initially goes to give the Salvos their stuff and that is great but they also have an immense amount of stuff, like 10 tonnes a day,” she said. “And what they really need is people’s time. I didn’t even know that was an option.”