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Six months ago, Carrie Bickmore sat down and wrote an emotional message about her boy, Oliver.
“My son is turning 18 and the tsunami of sadness was something I was not expecting,” the mum-of-three shared, adding a poignant account of how she thought she had more “tomorrows”.
“We’ve had our last school summer holidays together. Our last drives as an L-plater. Friends are more exciting than family,” the radio personality wrote
“They say you have to let them go to keep them close. I’m not ready to let him go. I have raised him to be independent, to dream big (he wants to be a pilot), to cook for himself, wash his own clothes and empty the bins. I did all this for a ‘tomorrow’ that I thought was a lifetime away.
“But it’s here. My little boy is a man. And I wish I could do it all over again.”
It was a moving insight into Carrie Bickmore the mum – and proof of the popular media personality’s unwavering commitment to giving her kids the best start in life.
Oliver is Carrie’s son with her late husband Greg Lange, who died on December 27 2010 aged just 34 after a decade-long battle with brain cancer.
“One of the things we chose to do was have our son, Ollie. I think… it’s probably the greatest thing we ever did together,” an emotional Carrie told Anh Do on Anh’s Brush with Fame in a 2018 interview. “He’s a gorgeous boy and he’s so much like [Greg] in so many ways.”
And yet with Ollie reaching adulthood, Carrie is only all too aware of the precious few years she has left with her younger children Evie, 11, and Adelaide, seven – the kids she shares with her ex-partner Chris Walker.
They are years that will no doubt come with their own distinct hurdles.
“Carrie’s barely had a chance to breathe over her baby boy becoming a man and now the girls are fast approaching teens with a whole host of new fears attached,” an insider tells Woman’s Day.
As a broadcaster, Carrie is privy to more information than most and it’s “enough to keep her awake at night”, the source adds.
Carrie gave voice to those fears on a recent episode of the Carrie & Tommy radio show she co-hosts with Tommy Little.
During an interview segment with Married at First Sight bride Gia Fleur, she took the reality star to task over her “mean” behaviour towards others in the hit Channel Nine experiment.
“When my daughter pops through the room to the kitchen and I’m watching it [MAFS] and she looks up at the screen and she sees what’s going on, I’m going to be honest, I say to her ‘Don’t ever grow up to be like that’,” Carrie told her, leading Gia to admit she was “embarrassed” by her own behaviour.
“Carrie can’t bear how mean young women are to each other and calling out Gia felt important,” the source tells Woman’s Day.
“She knows she’s not going to ‘fix’ the world just in time for her girls’ teenage troubles, but she can certainly draw a line under behaviour that’s unacceptable.
“Carrie’s worked hard to get a voice in this country and she plans on putting it to good use,” the insider goes on.
“The data on teen suicide, depression and self-harm is a horror show for Aussie parents. It’s something she doesn’t like to admit but she does feel more worried about the girls than she did when Ollie hit his teens. Even though she knows what to expect having gone through it herself, it’s a whole new world out there.”
There is, however, an “unexpected surprise” that Carrie has been given amid this latest chapter.
Sources say that not only has her son become a “mature ally who is just as concerned about his little sisters as she is” but her ex Chris has “been amazing” with the kids despite the couple’s 2023 split.
“There’s no bitterness, just genuine support and friendship – and he’s always got her back when things get overloaded,” the source reveals.
“She doesn’t like to rely on him, but she’s juggling an extraordinary load with her many media commitments. Chris knows Carrie’s success is important for the family to thrive.”
If you or someone you know needs support, help is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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