In a series of candid admissions, Ajay Rochester tells New Idea that she always expected she would be supporting her son Kai well into adulthood.
“I’ve been paying his bills for years and keeping him in a house, and frankly, I expected to be doing that for some time,” the former Biggest Loser host says.
WATCH: Ajay Rochester opens up on her devastating back-story
“Raising a child with Asperger’s [syndrome], you learn to have different benchmarks to other kids – you really can’t compare milestones,” she explains.
But, after a day on set with New Idea, a task Kai originally dreaded, Ajay reveals her only child admitted for the first time that he’s proud of himself!
“I can’t tell you what it means to hear him say that,” she says, grinning ear to ear. “I’ve been proud of him every day of his life, but for him to admit that of himself after doing something well outside his comfort zone – it’s huge.”
Breaking down barriers and overcoming adversity is something the duo have been perfecting for a long time, and as Kai turns 21, the bestselling author says she can finally see her hard work as a single mother paying off.
In 2019, Kai relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney ahead of his mother, who settled back Down Under last November.
It was a period the 52-year-old says almost broke them. “For the first year and a half that he was alone, he couldn’t get a job! There was one week where he applied for over 100 roles and he didn’t even get an interview. It was really horrible,” says Ajay.
Eventually, Ajay says, she was able to pull a few strings, thanks to her many industry contacts and relationships.
“I didn’t want a handout; I just wanted to be able to prove to someone that he could do it – and we both knew he was capable,” says Ajay.
Fast forward to May 2021 and Ajay has come out the other side of a troubling year in the US, where the pandemic and unsettling election were enough to convince her to come back home – where she says things are finally normal.
“Kai is now working as a video editing assistant for a major US network and he loves it. He is so talented,” she shares.
“He’s earning big bucks and is able to live an independent life, all because someone gave him a shot… he earns more money than me!” she quips.
“I’ve never let our issues or worries get in the way of our life,” Ajay says, admitting that her troubled upbringing meant she was always determined to strive towards “better days”.
Over the years, Ajay has made no secret of the fact she battled a tough childhood, after being adopted into an abusive home, before reconnecting with her birth mother just a year before she died from suicide.
“I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have the past and the worries behind us,” she says.
“For the first time in forever, I’m comfortable and content. It’s all I could have asked for.”
For more, pick up a copy of New Idea, on sale now!
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