Love Island Australia star reveals she's been left 'fighting for her life' during horror pregnancy - just months after announcing engagement
The Love Island Australia star revealed she is expecting in an Instagram post on Monday, but explained that she has been struggling with hyperemesis gravidarum and prenatal depression.
'I was fighting for my life in the first trimester,' the 34-year-old wrote in her caption.
'A year ago I was manifesting my dream life and God delivered. I was blessed with a healthy baby but also a pregnancy that would test every part of me.'
Phoebe explained that she did not want to 'sugarcoat' her experience.
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'For many women, pregnancy isn't all glow and rainbows,' she wrote.
'It can feel like 10 months of Survivor: Vomiting, gagging, nutrient-depleted, mentally broken over the toilet bowl at 3am.'
The reality star added: 'The past few months have humbled me in ways I didn't know possible. I've felt excited, scared, grateful, lost and helpless all at once.
'It wasn't morning sickness - it was all day and night.'
The television personality went on to describe her crippling prenatal depression - a condition she did not understand before she experienced it.
'I didn't recognise myself. I thought I'd be one of those active, glowing, strong mamas-to-be. Instead, I was bedridden and broken,' she wrote.
'Why couldn't I embrace the miracle? I carried guilt for not loving pregnancy. I questioned my worth, my strength, my ability to be a mum.'
Phoebe revealed she is now in her third trimester and doing better, however has continued to face physical challenges.
The television personality went on to describe her crippling prenatal depression - a condition she did not understand before she experienced it
'Watching my body change, expand, not fitting any clothes, it's been a mental trip on a bumpy road,' she said.
'Pregnancy, birth and motherhood is a spiritual initiation. It will crack you open. And no one will fully understand that transformation unless they've lived it.'
Up to three per cent of women suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a debilitating form of sickness during pregnancy.
It can cause sickness dozens of times a day with some women ending up hospitalised with severe dehydration.
Perinatal depression includes that which occurs during pregnancy, classified as prenatal or antepartum depression, as well as depression that persists after birth, postnatal depression.
Symptoms of perinatal depression include sadness, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, irritability, loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies, feelings of worthlessness, appetite changes, physical pain that does not subside with treatment and extreme fatigue that makes it difficult to carry out everyday tasks.
In January, Phoebe announced her engagement to her secret boyfriend.
She shared the exciting news on Instagram alongside a rare photo with her beau as they posed in a bizarre naked photoshoot.
The intimate image saw the loved-up couple lying in bed together nude while wrapped in a white sheet.
Phoebe also shared another image while holding her hand towards the camera to reveal her huge diamond ring.
She simply captioned the post with a ring emoji.
Many of Phoebe's followers flocked to the comments to congratulate the couple on their engagement.
'So happy for you,' one person wrote, while another added: 'Congratulations!!! So stunning!!'
'Congratulations to the luckiest man in the world - the guy who gave you that ring,' a third said.
Phoebe is perhaps best known for coupling up with another woman on season two of Love Island Australia in 2019.
It was the first same-sex couple in the franchise's history.
Phoebe has since embarked on a career as an adult model, launching her own subscription-based adult website.
Her site contains nude photos and videos, which are available to paying subscribers.
In March 2022, Phoebe came under fire for asking people to subscribe to her website so she could donate money to Queenslanders affected by the floods.
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