When Ellidy Pullin tragically lost her partner Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin six years ago, navigating the world as a solo mum to their daughter Minnie, now nearly five, felt like her sole focus. But opening her heart to love once more brought an unexpected ray of sunshine into her life in the form of her new partner, Brock Wadsworth.

Speaking at the Love For Mum event in Sydney, hosted by Philips Avent, Ellidy gave fans an intimate look into her modern, blended family dynamics and how Brock gracefully stepped into their lives.

Ellidy admitted that actively searching for a new romance was never on her radar.

“I’m 34, I didn’t think that I would be alone forever and hoped I’d find someone. My cup was pretty full anyway, because of my amazing village, I wasn’t seeking love and affection,” Ellidy shared during her conversation with Julie Chan.

“But he came along, Brock, and he and Minnie just clicked. She adores him.”

While stepping into a relationship with someone who already has a child can be daunting, Ellidy praised Brock for taking on her whole world without hesitation.

“He’s mature enough to take on me and all my… I say ‘baggage,’ but you know, I’ve got a kid, a dog, and a past. It wouldn’t be easy for someone with none of that. And he’s taken it all on. I feel so lucky.”

Ellidy Pullin shares the sweet ways her partner Brock keeps Chumpy’s memory alive

Ellidy said after meeting Brock, she knew she liked him, but she had doubts about cementing their relationship status – until she saw how good he was with Minnie.

“Their bond became something so solid, and I thought, now I’m falling for you tenfold.”

She then said Brock makes a huge effort to keep the memory of Chumpy alive.

“Minnie will come in in the morning and say she had beautiful dreams, and he’ll ask, ‘Was your daddy in the dreams?’ He’s not afraid to face that part,” Ellidy shared. “It takes a lot of maturity.”

She went on to share a heartwarming story about the little ways Brock and Minnie talk about Chumpy.

“The other day we were at the RSL and someone was playing guitar and singing. Minnie’s dad used to sing and play guitar, and she said, ‘My daddy used to do that.’ And Brock said, ‘Let’s put some of his music on in the car.’ It’s just really cute how he embraces so much of Chumpy. I never imagined it being like that.”

Ellidy on her daughter Minnie’s special connection to her dad Chumpy

When Ellidy tragically lost Chumpy six years ago after he suffered a shallow water blackout while spearfishing off Palm Beach in Queensland, she found herself thrust in the spotlight as she raced against time to have the baby she and Chumpy had been trying for.

Her courageous fight to retrieve his sperm after he died made global headlines, and she later welcomed their daughter Minnie Alex, 15 months after the tragedy.

While Minnie never met her dad, Ellidy said there’s many moments where she’ll reference him, sharing that Chumpy and Minnie still share an unbreakable bond.

“On the anniversary [of his death], we were in the car and I turned around and saw her crying. I said, ‘Are you all right?’ I didn’t think she really understood the day, it’s not like his birthday, where
we blow out candles and have cake for Dad. I don’t know how much she understands about the day he died,” Ellidy said. “So she’s crying in the back of the car and she said ‘I’m looking at the sky.’ I said, ‘What are you seeing?’ And she said, ‘I just feel like Daddy’s going to give me a really big, really warm cuddle to keep me warm.’”

Ellidy also said that Minnie has taken to talking to her dad when they’re at the beach.

“The other day at the beach she picked up a shell and was holding it to her ear, and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ and she said, ‘Mum, I’m talking to Daddy,’ and walked away. I
haven’t taught her that, obviously it’s in movies, but I never did the shell thing with her about how you talk and listen to the ocean. It’s so pure. You really see the world through
new eyes when you have a baby,” Ellidy said. “It puts everything into perspective. I was never really a person who believed in that, but I can’t fault the connection she feels with him.”