After fertility struggles and IVF, these sweet baby photos prove Jackie Gillies was born to be a mother
We couldn't be happier for our favourite Real Housewife!
By Alana Mazzoni
Ever since she first hit screens on The Real Housewives of Melbourne back in 2014, Jackie Gillies has earned herself a legion of fans who have followed along her inspiring – and at times, heartbreaking – pregnancy journey.
At the time, the professional psychic and her husband, Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies toyed with the idea of having kids. Years later, Jackie suffered a devastating miscarriage that left her wondering if she would ever become a mother.
Jackie took to motherhood like a duck to water.
Then in May 2021, after a two-year journey and seven rounds of IVF, Jackie shared the heartwarming news that she was not only pregnant, but expecting twins!
At the time, the 41-year-old said the news made her “bumpy IVF journey all worth it”.
Jackie and Ben finally welcomed her miracle twins boys named Bonham David Gillies and Rocco Ivan Gillies in October 2021 with proud new mum remarking on Instagram “My heart is full.”
To celebrate the new mum, we’ve put together the sweetest photos of her pregnancy and her boys.
They grow up so fast! On April 28, 2022, Jackie shared a new photo of Bonham and Rocco looking more identical than ever before.
“My little gorgeous gum-nuts say GOOD MORNING 😍” she captioned the post.
Bonham and Rocco looked like the perfect combination of their famous parents in this sweet snap from April 14.
“My beautiful babies are growing up so fast! How did all the mums out there get everything done when your babies nap, where do I start!? 🤣” Jackie captioned the photo.
No tears here! In January 2022, Jackie shared a photo of her boys kicking back in her car.
“We’re getting the hang of transporting this precious cargo. Moving around is a mass operation,” she captioned the post.
The twins’ first Christmas!
“Merry Christmas 🎅Love from Bonham, Rocco, Jackie & Ben . We love you! 🤗❤️,” Jackie wrote on Instagram alongside this cute pic of the bubs.
“They’re here 😍👩🏻🍼🧑🏻🍼 OMG they are so cute 🥰 My heart is full,” Jackie wrote alongside this birth announcement photo in October 2021.
Jackie and Ben named their sons Bonham David Gillies and Rocco Ivan Gillies. Both middle names were chosen in honour of Ben and Jackie’s fathers, respectively.
“Bonham came from the last name of the late John Bonham [from Led Zeppelin], who was a very large influence on me in my musical journey,” Ben said on Jackie’s Shine It Up podcast.
“It was actually Jackie’s suggestion to call one of the boys Bonham. And we decided some time ago, when we found out it was boys, that we would have our fathers’ names as the middle name. And I think Rocco was one of the names we just had in a hat.”
Jackie added: “For me, Rocco is just a beautiful name.”
“Oh my god, this mum life. I didn’t know what to expect, but bloody hell,” Jackie said of life as a new mum.
“I feel like today is running into tomorrow and tomorrow is running into the next day and I’m just taking it one day at a time. It’s still so surreal that these are my boys and that I’m a mother.”
Jackie took her Real Housewives of Melbourne castmates along every step of her pregnancy journey, and in one episode held a gender reveal at her baby shower.
“I’m so blessed to have shared this moment on the Real Housewives of Melbourne with all the fans who love watching the show, particularly with people that have followed my journey throughout the years,” she said.
“To actually finally get here after such a long journey feels so surreal and I do pinch myself every day with how lucky I am, and to share it with all of you makes my heart sing.”
Jackie’s best friend and former RHOM co-star Chyka Keebaugh threw the psychic’s baby shower, which aired on an episode of the reality show.
Jackie was heavily pregnant and looking more fabulous than ever for this Foxtel cover shoot alongside co-stars Janet Roach and Gamble Breaux.
After announcing her pregnancy in May 2021, Jackie admitted she had almost given up hope that her IVF journey would result in a positive pregnancy test.
“I’ve gone through over seven rounds of IVF, egg retrieval and transfers. A lot of ups and downs and it’s been emotionally challenging but to get to where we’ve got to has been so rewarding. You’ve got to keep pushing forward and having faith,” she told The Herald Sun.
“There were times where my faith was completely and utterly tested, I won’t deny that. There were times I cried, saying ‘why is this happening’, ‘am I meant to be a mother’, ‘is this ever going to happen’,” Jackie previously said of her IVF journey.
The proud parents of two have long wanted to have children, and Jackie revealed on her podcast that she’s had ‘good’ and ‘not so good’ days emotionally since giving birth, thanks to her fluctuating hormones and sleep deprivation.
“I have to say, every day… I feel like every day when I wake up I get so excited to see them – between the feeds, that is – after I’ve had a good sleep I’m going ‘oh I miss them already’,” she said.
In August 2020, Jackie shared a picture from her hospital bed before a previous egg retrieval procedure on her Instagram.
In her caption she sent a message of support dedicated to other women going through IVF, she wrote, “This is how pre #eggretrieval looks like #IVF 💪 Ladies, you got this, for anyone out there going through IVF!.
This article appears on Now To Love and is republished here with permission.
