TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses miscarriage and infant death. If you find these topics distressing, please contact SANDS on 1300 308 307.
Britt and Taz have included a very heartfelt touch on their property on The Block, which honours someone close to their hearts.
The couple has planted a crepe myrtle tree in their yard, which they affectionately call a Hazel Tree, in honour of the daughter they lost in a miscarriage.
“So this is our daughter that we lost… pretty late on,” Taz explained during Wednesday’s episode (October 15). “So we planted one for her and our home down in Perth.”
For the couple, who had previously shared it with their loved ones before discussing it on the show, it was important to raise awareness about a topic that’s often difficult to discuss.
“To be able to start those conversations with people, I think it’s really a big thing,” Britt said.
According to Miscarriage Australia, miscarriages occur in one in four pregnancies, with 85 per cent occurring in the first trimester.
This isn’t the first time that Britt and Taz have bravely opened up about their heartbreak on the show.
During the episode on August 4, Britt and Taz were moved by Foreman Dan and his wife, Dani, who shared the story about losing their baby girl, Billie, 10 days after she was born, due to birth complications.
“So, we’re actually very grateful for those 10 days; her time was spent at the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) department at the Women’s Hospital in Melbourne,” Dan said.
“The amazing people that dedicate their lives to NICU is just unbelievable, and what they did not only for us, but other families, they do whatever is possible to make your time as good as possible.”
“It hits a lot more people than you expect,” Taz replied.
“For our situation, it was miscarriage, [it’s] not talked about enough, and people feel like they can’t talk about it, and we’re very much under the impression that you should talk about it more, because that’s what we did, and that helped us through.”
Speaking to New Idea before the season aired, the couple said the loss of their daughter was a difficult time.
“…we were around 14/15 weeks and about to announce it to all our friends and family when we lost her, right at the time of going through this, Taz was completing his weapons training in the academy, so we couldn’t really process it and had to focus on getting him through his training,” Britt said.
“We took some time after he had finished the academy to work through it together.”
The couple said the pregnancy loss statistics were “staggering in Australia”, and it was not spoken about enough.
“We want to help break that stigma,” the couple told New Idea.
If you find these topics distressing, please contact SANDS on 1300 308 307.
