Edwina Bartholomew celebrates ‘beautiful chaos of motherhood’

Sunrise host Edwina Bartholomew on how her return to breakfast television will look different after having baby number two, describing being a mum as “beautiful chaos”.

As a presenter on Sunrise, Edwina Bartholomew helps groggy Australians greet the day with cheer, polish, and enthusiasm. But on drives home to the family farm with two children in the back seat, the journalist is as tired, harried and stripped bare as millions of other mums. And that’s OK. Because, as Bartholomew tells Stellar in this Mother’s Day special, she’s revelling in “the beautiful chaos of motherhood”

Four weeks after giving birth to her son Thomas in March, Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew found herself in a situation that summed up what she calls “the beautiful chaos of motherhood”.

She was driving the three hours north-west from Sydney to the family’s farm in Capertee Valley, NSW – her “happy place” where she and husband Neil Varcoe got engaged and later married; where in the months following the birth of their daughter Molly in December 2019, they adjusted to the rhythms of first-time parenthood.

Bartholomew’s long drive with two young children came with the added anxiety of being the sole adult in the car.

“It felt quite intense to be responsible for two, plus being on the road,” the 38-year-old journalist tells Stellar.

“I just remember from Molly’s early days, we had some horrific times driving, and would find ourselves hanging out in the Macca’s car park rocking her back and forth for what felt like forever. I kept thinking, if this trip goes in that direction, I’m not quite sure how I’ll cope.”

But because motherhood is all about unpredictability, the journey – which, by the way, went smoother than she expected – came with one significant caveat.

Edwina Bartholomew: “It felt quite intense to be responsible for two.” Picture: Steven Chee

“I didn’t go to the bathroom the whole time,” she recalls with a laugh.

“I’m not sure how I would have managed a toddler plus the baby in a public toilet. And while I didn’t go down the road of adult nappies, [the trip was] four weeks after having a baby, so it wasn’t outside the road of possibilities.”

While she might work in the seemingly glamorous world of television, Bartholomew has made it her personal mission to portray the realities of life away from the camera with full transparency – and motherhood is no exception.

“It was important to me to reflect in this shoot that life isn’t a glossy magazine cover or the pictures you see on Instagram,” she says of her playful (and playfully chaotic) Stellar photo shoot alongside her children.

“I’ll always be honest because I know how it makes me feel when I see someone else who seems to have everything together all the time. And it makes me think, what am I doing wrong?

Edwina Bartholomew with her children Molly and Thomas. Picture: Steven Chee

“I don’t blow dry my hair every day or put together a great wardrobe,” she adds.

“There are moments where it all becomes a bit overwhelming. It isn’t a reflection of you as a mother that you sometimes lose it or you get upset about silly things or you can’t do everything.”

And while Bartholomew has certainly had those moments since the arrival of Thomas two months ago, she says that doing things the second time round has allowed her to relax into the experience.

“What’s caught me out this time is the sometime intensity of the chaos,” she admits.

“He’ll be crying and then she’ll be crying and the dog will be barking. In the moment, you’re like, ‘Christ, this is a lot …’ But at the same time, I have this greater appreciation of how fleeting things are and how transient the process is and just how quickly they grow up.”

Watching Molly fawn over her “Baby Brother Thomas” – his “full title” as bestowed by his sister – helps calm things down.

“We knew we were having a boy and I think that made the bonding really nice for Molly,” Bartholomew says, adding that Thomas has been a relaxed baby so far, probably because he’s had to be.

“I’m sure poor Tom cries more than Molly as if to say, ‘Hey, I’m over here!’” she admits.

“But if you want to actually have a shower and maintain basic hygiene standards, you do just have to put up with the mania while you quickly throw some clothes on. It’s a bit more of a juggle.”

That juggle will intensify once she returns to full-time work at Sunrise in August, when the team around her will look a bit different to the one she left when she started her maternity leave: executive producer Michael Pell departed the program in April, and former The Morning Show showrunner Sarah Stinson took over – a major shift that occurred just as Bartholomew was firmly in her baby bubble.

Edwina Bartholomew: “I feel like a kind of warrior woman.” Picture: Steven Chee

“The benefit of having worked in a place that isn’t just telling the news but is also in the news is that you can read about it in [the newspaper],” she quips.

“It’s totally reassuring!”

On reflection, Bartholomew adds, “It’s just such a funny workplace because you spend your life there at weird hours, so any time anyone departs, it really is like losing a member of the family.

“It was emotional to see Michael leave. But on the flip side, I’ve worked with Sarah for decades. And she’s also a mum of two; I had a brief chat with her about coming back to work, and she said, ‘Don’t even think about it yet. Focus on family and we’ll chat about it down the track.’”

And just as the Sunrise team has changed, so too has Bartholomew.

“I feel more confident in my opinions and in my skin – which, strangely, I didn’t expect to feel,” she says of her own growth.

“I feel really satisfied. Particularly in an industry like media where you’re always looking for the next opportunity, I feel really satisfied in this stillness. I love being a mum. I absolutely love it, in all its varied emotions.”

Nonetheless, she’s pretty sure that she and digital media executive Varcoe, whom she married in April 2018, won’t be adding to their family.

“So there’s a lovely feeling this time around that this is your tribe and this is your team,” she adds.

“You’re working and you’re building a life for your family and for these two little kids to rely solely on you. I feel like a kind of warrior woman type mentality – and I wouldn’t suggest that I was a shrinking violet before.”

Edwina Bartholomew stars on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Steven Chee.

However, she will manifest her inner road warrior in order to spend Mother’s Day at their beloved farm.

“So many of our amazing memories have happened there and we try to spend as many of these kinds of emotional moments there as we can,” Bartholomew says.

“There’s so much going on in the world and so many complications with so many people, so it’s a time to just love wholeheartedly the people around you and the two people who have found their way to you.”

But Bartholomew acknowledges that Mother’s Day is also a time to celebrate the aspects of motherhood that may not always be idyllic.

“I feel so content, but then I do catch my appearance in the mirror and realise I’ve just kind of let everything else go,” she says.

“I’m not concerned with leaving the house looking bedraggled. I actually feel quite sprightly and have had a great recovery from the birth. But I’m sure that from the outside, it must look like I’m a total mess.”