Libby Trickett may be best known as an Olympic swimming legend who won Australia four gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, but out of the pool she is also nailing it at motherhood.
The 37-year-old and her husband-of-15-years Luke share three adorable daughters together, Poppy, six, Edwina, four, and Bronte, two.
Despite sharing a heartwarming and impenetrable bond with her girls, Libby has always been refreshingly candid about her struggles with postnatal depression and everyday mum guilt.
“I don’t think anything can prepare you for the rollercoaster ride of parenthood,” she told Body And Soul in 2020. “It’s true what they say, in that, ‘This, too, shall pass’, but it can be a brutal journey along the way.
“But there is something about sleep deprivation that is cruel and lonely. There is something about your own personal expectations of yourself and your performance as the mother you imagined you would be which can be cruel and punishing.”
Thankfully, the swimming icon has recovered and her kids are thriving. So to celebrate Libby’s relatable, raw and honest motherhood journey, we’ve compiled the sweetest moments she’s shared with her daughters.
Libby and her husband Luke share Poppy, six, Edwina – known as Eddie, four, and Bronte, two.
“Our family isn’t perfect but we work everyday to be better. I’m grateful for my tribe who have certainly made me a better human (even if they don’t always listen to my love language needs,” she captioned this Mother’s Day snap.
“There’s lots of emotions that go on in every family and in everyday life, and I think for me it’s just being on top of it.”
Libby and her husband Luke didn’t find out the genders of any of their daughters prior to their births.
“The pregnancy with Bronte was so different to both of my pregnancies with Poppy and Edwina. It was so bizarre, she came out and she was another girl,” she told Seven News in 2020.
“It’s funny, because I just knew she was a boy, but then she came out and I was like, ‘of course she is’. It was a sense of completion for our family, and it was actually a beautiful moment.”
“It has definitely made me more resilient as a mother, and more patient with myself, and certainly more kind with myself – because the first few days, weeks, and months with a new little one is just so intense and full-on and full of sleep deprivation,” Libby previously said of her postnatal depression.
Libby has been open and honest about her battle with postnatal depression. “Especially for me, knowing that I’ve had a history of postnatal depression, and it’s certainly something we are acutely aware of,” she told News Corp in 2020.
Despite being a supermum, Libby often keeps it real on Instagram with very relatable parenting moments.
“Today, I wanted to put everyone in the bin. Could it be hormones? Could it be the tantrums upon tantrums? Could it be the fact that my house just smells like poo all the time (does anyone else have those days of a poo smell constantly lingering?!) Is Mercury in retrograde?!” she wrote.
Bedtime snuggles are a regular occurrence in the Trickett household!
WATCH: Olympic gold medalist Libby Trickett welcomes third child
To mark Edwina’s fourth birthday in February 2022, Libby shared this adorable snap of her three girls.
“Happy birthday to our glorious weirdo. Our loose unit. Our hilarious climber, who is kind and thoughtful and running full pelt into life,” she penned.
For Poppy’s sixth birthday in August 2021, Libby shared a heartwarming tribute to her firstborn.
“It’s hard to put into words what this last six years has been like. I never could have dreamed of the love and the pride I feel with my girls. But it’s been a huge journey here. Not one that happened overnight or even in an instant,” she penned.
“Our love is a slow burn and I’m still discovering the depths of my heart (and patience). I’m proud of her and I’m proud of me.”
The champion swimmer has previously said she had an “interesting” birth with Bronte, two. “I had a surprise C-section which wasn’t anticipated or on my plan, but I’ve been really lucky with the recovery,” she revealed in 2020.
Libby shared this sweet snap of herself, Luke and their eldest Poppy on her first day of primary school in January 2021.
“And so begins the next stage of the parenting adventure. So much of parenting is repetitive and monotonous,” she wrote.
“But then there are moments like this. Big moments. Moments where you know the next stage has begun. When Poppy was born, this seemed like a world away but here we are on her first day of school.
“She has been so strong and excited that I didn’t think I’d get too emotional but walking home, all of my pride in her just exploded out of my eyeballs.”
Like mother like daughter! Little Bronte looked over the moon during a swimming lesson with her mother.
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