Turia Pitt is a true inspiration to Australia and manages a lot in her day-to-day life. Not only is she an athlete, a mining engineer, an author and a motivational speaker, she’s also a mum to two young boys.
Most Australians are familiar with Turia’s story, but watching her on the most recent series of Celebrity Apprentice, we’re also getting a real sense of her strength and determination.
In 2011, Turia was competing in an ultra-marathon when she was almost killed in a bushfire which left her with burns to 65 per cent of her body.
As she was placed into a medically induced coma, it was unknown how well Turia would recover. All the fingers on her right hand were amputated, as well as two on her left.
Across two years and 200 surgeries, Turia was able to make a full recovery, and continue her life mostly as normal alongside her partner, Michael Hoskin.
Michael proposed to Turia in 2015, when the pair had been together for around five years. However, he had been holding onto the ring he would eventually propose with, having bought it while Turia was still in intensive care after her harrowing experience with the bushfire.
“When Turia was in intensive care after her accident, I went out and bought a diamond ring,” Michael explained to The Australian Woman’s Weekly in 2015.
“I showed it to my dad as we stood by her hospital bed and said, ‘If she lives, I am going to marry her’. Dad just looked at me and said, ‘Good on you, mate’.”
Thankfully, Turia’s full recovery meant the pair could not only continue their lives together, but start a family, too.
Turia’s first son, Hakavai, was born in December 2017.
‘Hakavai’ translates to ‘dance of the water’ and was chosen in honour of Turia’s mother and their Tahitian heritage.
Turia explained the meaning of the name on Instagram, posting a photo of her mother holding baby Hakavai in early 2018.
“So nice to hear her speak in Tahitian to Hakavai (although he really needs to work on his linguistic skills),” she joked.
The little family grew once more with the arrival of their second son in February 2020.
“Maeva i te ao nei! Welcome to the world Rahiti 💙,” Turia captioned a photo of herself and her newborn.
She soon posted a photo of Hakavai holding his little brother.
“Hakavai now offers head massages at his salon. Only $460 a pop. Poor baby is racking up quite a bill,” she wrote amusingly.
WATCH: Turia Pitt announces she is expecting baby number two.
While the new parents were stoked to have their little family unit, Turia has often reflected on how hard it can be to be a parent.
Taking to her blog, Turia shared how hard it was to parent the boys alone while Michael worked interstate for six months.
“About seven months ago, Michael got a job as a helicopter pilot in Queensland,” she shared.
“He got the job on the Tuesday, and by the following Friday, he was in Cairns. I stayed home with the two boys. For six months.”
However, she admitted that by the end of the experience she found it empowering.
“For so long, Michael’s been my cocoon, my safe space,” she wrote.
“We’ve been together since 2010. And he’s been with me through every surgery, every long night, every dark time and every good time, too.
“He’s so present that, over the years, I’d come to believe that I wouldn’t be able to survive without him around. So, I’ve found the past six months of solo parenting challenging and relentless, but also really bloody empowering,” Turia shared.
“I can do it. I did do it.”
But just like any parents with young kids, Turia and Michael have to work to keep their partnership strong, too.
“I don’t know how we keep the spark alive, I don’t even know if that spark is there right now,” she laughed to 9Honey in 2021.
“The reality is we have two young kids, I’m sleeping next to Hakavai, he might be with Rahiti, someone sleeps on the couch.
“We might be tired, irritable, and cranky. It’s really hard.”
However, their love has not wavered over the years they’ve been together, and after all that they’ve been through.
WATCH: Turia Pitt reveals the things that make her confident.
“I feel like the version of me that Michael likes best is ‘Turia the mum’, and the version I like best is ‘Michael the dad’,” she said.
“I really admire his parenting and I love seeing him with the boys. And I know he feels the same about me.”
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