Sonia Kruger may have achieved the professional success that many can only dream of, but her biggest achievement is her daughter Maggie.
A step-mum to her partner Craig McPherson’s children, the now-58-year-old didn’t consider carrying her own children until later in life.
“My career was my focus all through my twenties and thirties,” Sonia admitted to our sister publication Now to Love in 2020.
“My sister had kids when she was young and, in a way, because we are so close in age – it was almost aversion therapy!” she laughed.
“I saw her work so hard having three small children all under five. And I thought: ‘Wow! I want to travel and have a good time.’
“I had all these grand plans about the life I wanted to live – it was all ‘bright lights and Hollywood’ for me then.”
It wasn’t until the TV WEEK Gold Logie award winner was in her late thirties that there was a “shift” for Sonia when it came to children.
But as a woman over the age of 45, her chances of falling pregnant were slim.
“Because I had been through a marriage breakup and was then in a new relationship, it meant that I was then at an age when physically it wasn’t likely to work out,” she said, telling The Australian Women’s Weekly that she and Craig had been unsuccessful with IVF.
“You still believe it can happen, and you see stories, and you think maybe that can happen for us, but the odds are definitely very slim,” Sonia said.
Luckily, a close friend generously donated an egg – and the former dancer gained the miracle she had been hoping for.
In August 2014, Sonia confirmed to the Herald Sun that she was expecting her first child.
“It has been a long road, but Craig and I are delighted to finally confirm we are having a baby,” she said in a statement.
Five months later, her daughter Maggie was welcomed to the world.
Just a year after giving birth, Sonia spoke to The Australian Women’s Weekly about motherhood.
“It’s been such a joy for me, I’m just so happy,” she told the publication.
“I would love to [have another child] but, I really feel like I shouldn’t push my luck!”
That same year, the mum of one reflected upon her first year with Maggie.
“It’s been all I expected and then some,” she told the Herald Sun.
“I listened to people talking about it when I didn’t have children, about how amazing it is, and how it changes your life, but it’s still not until you have a baby that you realise how fun they are.”
She also revealed to our sister publication TV Week that her toddler was “very funny” and entertained her to “no end”.
Clearly a jokester with a knack for entertaining, if Maggie was to follow in her mother’s showbiz footsteps – Sonia would have “no qualms”.
“I’d be happy for Maggie to work in the media, or in any field she chooses,” the Dancing With The Stars host previously told New Idea.
“She’s certainly getting a good education in all aspects of television, news, and public affairs from her dad, and entertainment and production from my side. She already understands a lot of television terminology.”
While Maggie is fast growing up, Sonia says she is happy for her little girl to remain just that, a little girl, for as long as possible.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re doing – whether you work in TV, in an office or you’re a stay-at-home mum, we all want to set a good example,” she told TV WEEK.
“At the end of the day, we want our children to be kind, respectful, and be able to contribute.
“For me, work has always been a huge part of my life and I’ve always been independent. I left home when I was 17, so she might grow up and follow a similar path. But I’m quite happy for her to stay home until she’s 37
“Then again, ask me in a few more years and I might say otherwise!”
