This is a story about a woman who had gone through hell for years. The sequence of events that occurred before her pregnancy were enough to totally crush her, but she remained stoic. Then when she found out she was pregnant for the first time, she thought she'd finally found a light at the end of the dark, seemingly never-ending tunnel... until her husband brutally revealed that he'd given up on her and her "delusional" image of a "perfect family". In fact, he ended up leaving her just weeks before she was due to give birth...
The Surprise Of A Lifetime
Having a baby is a life-changing experience; especially if, by no fault of your own, you're left to fend for yourself and your newborn. The excitement this woman felt about the impending birth of her child was replaced with feelings of fear and regret. Just when her life appeared to be falling apart, two strangers invaded her home and told her that something was hiding in the oven...
Infertility Trouble
Before the unexpected oven incident, this mom-to-be from Sydney, Australia was having a terrible time at home with her husband. They both wanted kids, but it just wasn't happening for them which only served to damage their relationship even further. Infertility can often cause problems in relationships, especially if one or both partners feels like their relationship won't be complete if they don't have a child together. That's exactly what happened to Amanda and her husband.
Trouble In Their Marriage
The thing is, having a baby was never going to make all the troubles they'd had in their marriage immediately disappear. And the sad truth was, Amanda's struggle to conceive meant that the couple began to have even more marriage problems. Infertility can often cause problems in relationships, especially if one or both partners feels like their relationship won't be complete if they don't have a child together. That's exactly what happened to Amanda and her husband.
The Cracks In The Relationship
They were, by most people's standards, the ideal couple, all they were missing was a child to complete their family. However, when they realized that having a baby wasn't going to be as easy as they thought, they turned on each other. While they continued to try for a baby, they came up with what they thought was an ingenious plan to help keep their relationship alive...
Their Project
While Amanda and her husband continued to try for a baby, the couple bought their dream home. And you'd have thought this would help matters, that this would be a nice little distraction from their infertility problems, but... Although they now had a renovation project to look forward to, the disagreements became more and more frequent.
They Couldn't Work Together
It gave the couple a chance to bond, but instead of taking the chance to do just that, they spent as much time apart from each other as possible. Secretly both of them wondered whether it was even worth trying for a child when on most days, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room as each other.
It Was Going To Be Their Year
Unfortunately, this story is about to become a whole lot more tragic and was even enough to spark media interest in Amanda's home life. "We’d been renovating the house for the last two years," Amanda revealed in a highly-anticipated radio interview in Sydney Australia. "We put all our money into that and the idea was that [2015] would be a good year [for us]."
Amanda's Pregnancy
Then the unexpected happened... Amanda finally fell pregnant! You'd think the couple would be over the moon after they'd waited so long for a baby. Their dream home was now complete too. It was the last piece of the jigsaw for Amanda and her husband.
The Reaction Of Amanda's Husband
Amanda and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for three years, and then it FINALLY happened... Of course, her very first instinct was that of joy and relief, and she was expecting her husband to have the same reaction. She couldn't wait to tell him, but when she did, she was sure she noticed that although he was excited, there was an aura of uncertainty in the way in which he reacted to the news. She then made the mistake of trying to convince herself that she was just "imagining" it.
The Couple Moved In
The couple had been living elsewhere while they were renovating their dream home. They hoped (well, Amanda hoped) that now they'd finally be moving into their new home, they could make a new start in their relationship, especially as they now had a baby to look forward to... Amanda and her husband moved into their dream home! Truth be told, they did feel that initial spark of excitement went they walked into their newly-renovated home for the first time.
The Silent Treatment
Despite staying together throughout their infertility struggle, when Amanda finally fell pregnant, her husband must have realized that a baby couldn't fix the trouble they'd been having in their marriage... Amanda's husband began being hostile to his heavily pregnant wife, and then he just stopped talking to her completely, knowing all the while that it could no longer go on like this. He'd have to do something to end the toxic direction their relationship was going in once and for all...
Amanda's Husband Left Her
Tragically, Amanda's husband left her when she was thirty weeks pregnant. Less than a month after they had moved into the house they had spent two years renovating together. Pregnancy is an emotional time for any woman, so it's hard to imagine how devastated Amanda must have felt when she realized he was gone. He'd left her and her unborn baby without a second thought, and she was now a broken woman...
Amanda Had Bills To Pay
On top of the inevitable nerves that any first-time mom would be experiencing, Amanda had a broken heart and a newly-renovated house that she was determined to still make into a home for her and her baby... But the mom-to-be was fraught with worry about how she was going to support herself and her baby as a single mom, especially as she now had a mortgage to pay off single-handedly without her husband.
Amanda's Shock
Sudden life changes are always hard to deal with. Amanda must have been feeling so many different emotions when her husband left her. Her world had, quite literally, been turned upside down... "It's been probably about five weeks since it all happened," Amanda said. The interview attracted millions of listeners and an outpouring of calls from members of the Australian public. "The biggest thing was just the shock. It wasn't really what we'd planned or what I planned."
Amanda's Fiercely Loyal Friend
It's often said that good friends are worth their weight in gold and that was certainly the case for Amanda. Amanda's friend Anna was determined to do something amazing to support her in her time of need... Ana arranged for some people who were essentially strangers, to help her friend out of the desperate situation she was in.
The Surprise
Sydney radio station KISS 1065 is hosted by two energetic and sympathetic hosts Kyle and Jackie O. After hearing about Amanda's story from her friend Ana, they arranged an incredible surprise that helped her put her life back together Jackie said: "We would love for you to be able to have this baby and not worry about the financial side of things."
Amanda Was Overwhelmed
Jackie's words were a Godsend to Amanda, who had suffered such a horrible trauma so late in her pregnancy. She was now on the show's GiveBack section which helps out deserving people in need... "I really wanna keep the place and raise my child there, but..." Amanda had said. The 'but' was her indicating to the hosts that she wouldn't be able to afford the house on her own, but the show was about to help.
What Had Been Done?
The radio hosts then point to a TV screen in the studio and Amanda began to giggle. "What do you see?" Jackie asked. Kyle added, "Whose place is that?" It was Amanda's newly-renovated house! A large piece of tarpaulin had been placed over Amanda's front door. Something had obviously been going on inside! "Let's take a tour inside your house," Jackie said.
Cleaning Services
Whilst I'm not a parent myself, I can imagine how difficult a newborn would make everyday tasks. That's why this thoughtful gift was the first thing left for Amanda. She'd be able to relax when her baby was born... The show had arranged for Amanda's house to be cleaned for the foreseeable future. That must have been a huge weight off of the mom-to-be's shoulders.
Ito The Hallway
The camera then moved into Amanda's hallway, and at this point, Amanda was so overwhelmed that her head fell into her hands... "The mattress is up against the wall. You haven't unpacked yet!" Jackie joked. Looking up at the screen, Kyle added, "What's that there?!" Where was the next surprise hidden?!
Prepared Meals
Aside from cleaning, another challenge faced by new moms is cooking. It is very important that moms eat properly so that they have enough energy to properly care for their kids. The camera moved into Amanda's fridge and Jackie said, "See all that food? You're going to be supplied with Eat Fit Food every day. They're going to be delivering your meals for the next three months."
Baby Supplies
When you're expecting a baby, there's a lot of things that need to be bought in advance, especially if you're a first-time mom and don't already have a stroller, but the show had Amanda covered... "[There's] whole bunch of baby gear. $4,00 worth of baby gear from baby village," Jackie said. "Oh wow," Amanda replied. "They're even throwing in a $1,00 baby photography voucher!" Things were finally looking up!
Something In The Oven
After the baby supplies were revealed to Amanda, the camera moved over to her oven. Surely there wouldn't be another surprise in there? After all, Amanda had her meals covered for the next three months! But the camera continued to focus on the oven. "Is there anything else left?" Jackie said, then added, "Let's check the oven!"
Thousands Of Dollars
The show had hidden the last thing you'd expect to find in Amanda's oven. Can you hazard a guess about what it might be? Amanda's worries were going to be over when she received this last surprise... The contents of the oven came into focus and Jackie said, "That is a big wad of cash. We will be helping you out with your mortgage. That is $10,000 right there, in cash." Kyle added, "There's another stress taken away."
Everything Was Going To Be Okay
"I can't tell you," Amanda stammers, overwhelmed. "That means don't have to move." Kyle jokes, "It wouldn't kill you to move that mattress out of the hall though!" There's no doubt that Amanda would still have been shaken up by her husband leaving her, but she could now relax in the knowledge that she had everything she needed for her baby's arrival. Who would have thought that such a life-changing surprise would be hidden somewhere as unexpected as an oven?!
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