‘It wouldn’t be my life without another bomb dropping’: Influencer Sophie Cachia breaks silence on pregnancy

She stunned her followers when she announced she was pregnant with her third child. Now, social media star Sophie Cachia reveals bombshell details about personal life.

When blogger-turned-businesswoman and single mum of two Sophie Cachia announced her third pregnancy, she knew her surprised followers would have questions.

But behind the scenes, her four-year journey to this longed-for baby also brought “a lot of sadness and fear”.

Now, the 34-year-old sits down with the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About to set the record straight on why she’s having this baby on her own terms and reveal, for the first time, how falling pregnant led to her falling in love with new partner Madison Prespakis in the most unexpected way.

Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

Earlier this year you announced on Instagram you are expecting your third child. What was it like to tell your loved ones?

My family actually didn’t know I was trying to get pregnant, so it was a very big secret … In saying that, though, my family have known for many years that this has been something I’ve really wanted, so it wouldn’t have surprised them. It was a really happy moment when I was able to say, “Hey, I’m pregnant” – not “I’m trying to get pregnant”, or “I’m going through the process”. That there’s a baby in my belly. Everyone was excited.

Listen to the full interview with Sophie Cachia on the new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About:

And what about telling your more than 280K followers on social media?

It wasn’t [something] I gave too much thought to. My announcement was simply (a photo of) myself and my kids in our pyjamas, eating pizza in bed, watching Netflix. I didn’t want to create a big huff and puff about it because it’s not really anyone’s business. But it was something I knew I needed to announce. I didn’t want it to be a big deal [but] being on my phone every day and owning a business where I’m shooting pyjamas [Cachia co-founded her eponymous sleepwear and loungewear brand in 2017] … I needed to tell them where this big baby belly came from

You took to your Instagram stories in August to address some feedback you received, including the assumption that your ex-husband – former AFL player Jaryd Cachia, who is the father of your older children, son Bobby, 10, and daughter Florence, 7 (the pair ended their four-year marriage in 2019 and Cachia came out as bisexual) – was the father of this baby.

We have a co-parenting relationship and that’s the role he plays in my life and that’s it, so I actually found it quite funny. I was able to laugh it off, but if anything I’m like: this poor guy, he’s got his own private life and he’s been dragged into my news. I did want to hit that on the head, because he does deserve his privacy and that doesn’t include my pregnancy.

Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

As a public figure and queer woman who many people feel they have a parasocial relationship with, you faced a lot of questions about how the baby was conceived. How did you decide what you are comfortable sharing and what you are not?

My own family – my mum, my sisters – they don’t know anything about the donor I chose for this pregnancy because I don’t believe it’s of any value. The way I view it, this child is mine and mine only, and how that child was made or who contributed to that child being made is of no importance at all. They’re an anonymous donor. There is no “dad” title. Where they came from, their background, the donor’s height, none of that stuff is important. There is only one person in this world that knows anything about my donor profile and that is my best friend.

So just to be really clear for anyone considering sliding into your DMs or jumping into the comments on your Instagram, it is not your ex-husband, Jaryd?

Yeah, no. Not at all.

What would you say to someone who thinks that because you’re a public figure, it is fair and reasonable to comment on your life choices?

I’ve always said you have a right to ask questions. You don’t have a right to be an idiot. And I see that a lot. I wouldn’t be doing this this long if it affected me. I am very resilient. I am able to shut it out. When people are saying comments to you, unless you believe them yourself, they can’t hurt you.

When did you first start to think that IVF was something you wanted to pursue?

I have, over the years, weighed up using a friend’s sperm, which I know a lot of people in my community do. That wasn’t the option I wanted to go down; I’ve spent three to four years working on this process. It’s not something I woke up and went, “You know what I feel like doing? I feel like getting knocked up today.” It’s no secret. I’ve spoken about the fact that I did start this medical process back in 2021 and due to various situations, that outcome didn’t come to fruition. Then I needed to go on my own journey as a single woman. It hasn’t been an easy process … It has also come with a lot of sadness and with a lot of fear. The reality of facing life as a single mum is something not a lot of us envisage. I’ve always loved a strong family unit and obviously that hasn’t always worked out for me, so it has taken me a while to get to this point. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m really trying to enjoy it because I do come with that knowledge of knowing: OK, life is really changing when she arrives.

Listen to the full interview with Sophie Cachia on the new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About:

Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

A little girl …

I never found out the sex of my first two children. It didn’t matter to me, I loved the surprise. But Bobby, my son, now being 10 and my daughter nearly being eight, they were just like, “Gender reveal!” The moment I conceived this child, I knew that the insemination had worked and I knew she was a girl. I’ve been able to pinpoint the sex of both of my other children as well. Never once did I picture I’d have such a huge age gap between my children. That’s the beauty of life. If you asked me when I was 20, are you going to see yourself divorced, gay and having a child on your own at 34? No. I was very strict. I was like, I’m not having another baby after 32. I won’t do it, but I’m still young. I’m very grateful I was able to fall pregnant so easily.

You’re somebody who is very agile in adapting to change, and your family dynamic has changed a lot over the years. How do you feel about the thought of potentially incorporating a partner into your family, but maintaining your status as a solo mum?

I’m sitting here giggling because it really wouldn’t be my life without another bomb dropping. But never in a million years did I see myself falling in love during this process. If you’d told me that I was going to fall in love with one of my closest friends [Sophie has chosen to reveal for the first time, in Stellar, that she’s in a relationship with AFLW player Madison Prespakis], I would have laughed at you. My life likes to present me with certain hiccups, and it’s a hiccup that took me a while to embrace. There’s no other way to put it. I’ve prayed for so many years to be loved in the way that this person loves me and I tried to push it away, so hard. I was so committed to having this baby, getting pregnant, and you don’t ever consider dating in that time. I wasn’t prepared to let someone into my inner circle, my journey, my family. I’d let too many people in, too many times and too easily, and this was a time I’d really committed to myself. For the first time since I left my marriage, I’d gone, “No, it’s your turn. This is finally your moment.” And to still have someone there going, “I love you and I love everything that’s going to come with you and I’m prepared to front up and love you however you need me to love you …” How could I push that away? So I do sit here now, a single mum having this child on my own. It’s a very unique situation to be in. I didn’t picture it, but I have a supportive person and she’s been amazing at accepting not just me and everything I already come with. It takes a very special person to sign up for a baby that they didn’t plan, but in saying that, this is my child. It’s not our child. Just like Bobby and Florence are my children. They’re not her children. I’m their mother and she’s my support person and I’m so grateful to have someone that has been able to accept all of this and still love me, because that’s all I’ve ever asked for.

Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

Do you think it was because you learnt to fully embrace yourself and honour what you wanted that allowed someone special to come into your life at this time?

Absolutely. We’ve been friends for quite a few years and you never really see yourself dating one of your friends, but to organically fall into that in the past few months … It was honestly the moment that I posted [the pregnancy] on my Instagram story that I fully committed to myself. I pushed everything aside, loved myself in the way that I deserved and committed to honouring what I wanted to do: to have another baby and give my son and my daughter a sibling. I shut all the noise out. It was the exact moment that all this good just started to follow me, and I thought: Oh, I’ve been doing things so wrong my whole life. I’ve been forcing a lot of things. I’ve been chasing things that weren’t there. I’ve been letting myself down by putting myself in situations that I shouldn’t have been in. And when I finally put myself on the path of what I actually wanted to do, all this magic just started following me. I gave myself so much love, and the love just followed.

Picture: Supplied

Picture: Fiona Hamilton

Listen to the full interview with Sophie Cachia on the new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About:

Is Madison prepared for the attention that may now come her way, and for you both as a couple?

I don’t think you can be. What I love most about her is that she has such an independent life. She doesn’t need anything from me. I don’t need anything from her. We don’t live together. We have no plan to live together. She’s just bought her own home. She has a wonderful career, a wonderful job, wonderful family – so we’re simply there to complement each other. It’s a big call to make, but I truly believe I’ve found my person, and she believes she’s found hers, too. So what we’ll face, we’ll face. There are going to be many, many things said but we know who we are. We know what we’re doing and at the end of the day, we’re so happy.

You launched your popular blog, The Young Mummy, at the age of 23 in 2014, when you were pregnant with your son Bobby. Do you have any plans to revive it a decade on?

The Young Mummy in a slightly altered version will be returning. I think it’s quite interesting for people to read what it’s like to do it 10 years later. I’ve always had a passion for writing. That’s probably my greatest strength, so to return to that has been exciting and it’s obviously something I can still do while being at home. This baby is just going to get all of my time and all of my love. I felt a lot of pressure after Florence, my second born, to rush back to work. I thought I was walking around with a crown on my head because I returned to work four weeks after having my baby.

I look back with a lot of regret because I don’t really remember the first six months of her life. So I’ve had to take learnings from that and go, “This child is going to get me for as long as I’m able to financially stay home from work.” I’m running Cachia, my sleepwear business, and a lot of side things in the media landscape. I’m not due for a while but my job next year in 2025 is being a mum to this little baby. And I’m so excited for that.

See the full cover shoot and interview with Sophie Cachia in the latest issue of Stellar, out on Sunday via the Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), Sunday Telegraph (NSW), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as ‘It wouldn’t be my life without another bomb dropping’: Influencer Sophie Cachia breaks silence on pregnancy