Married at First Sight Australia 2019’s Michael Brunelli has shared intimate details regarding Martha Kalifatidis’ ongoing illness stemming from her pregnancy.
On September 5, the couple announced they were expecting their first child; however, it had not been smooth sailing, with Martha revealed to be suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.
On September 6, Michael took to Instagram to give fans some heart-wrenching insight into the debilitating sickness — that causes severe nausea —and started when she was just five weeks pregnant.
“I watched Martha go from enjoying a holiday to nervously celebrating a new stage in our life, to moaning in pain for hours and days on end,” the 31-year-old said.
“She has spent the best part of the last ten weeks in bed 24 hours a day, dehydrated, nauseous, vomiting, restless, tired, anxious, fatigued and unable to properly sleep or eat.”
Michael then revealed his 34-year-old fiancée was still “suffering through” many of the symptoms, despite “multiple hospital visits, medications and medical opinions”.
Michael also admitted he felt “completely helpless” at times.
“I think about all the times she grabbed my hand and said ‘babe, please help!’ knowing full well I couldn’t do anything more for her, and it absolutely rips my heart out,” he said.
The former reality star described Martha (and anybody else “diagnosed with HG or any pregnancy-related condition”) as a “f*cking warrior”.
Michael Brunelli Shares “A Glimpse” Into His and Martha Kalifatidis’ Past Few Months
Michael shared a trigger warning for the content he shared, explaining it was a “glimpse into what we’ve been through, to show what pregnancy can look and feel like with hyperemesis gravidarum.
In the video, Martha told Michael that she “didn’t know” if she was “going to survive”.
She questioned whether she wanted to continue the pregnancy because she was in so much pain.
Michael rarely showed Martha in the videos, mostly filming his tired and concerned expression.
In one clip, Michael explained that Australia didn’t have one of the medications she had been using to help her sleep.
“Having to make that call to tell her that I can’t get it is actually f*cking heartbreaking because I haven’t heard her sound like that – with just a voice of full defeat,” he said.
The couple decided to share more of their private experience because they wanted to “show that you don’t always have to love your pregnancy to love your baby”.
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 211 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
Know something that we don’t? Spill the tea here! Get the tea first!
Follow So Dramatic! on Instagram and tune in on Mondays to get your reality tea fix with the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto.
