Sonia Kruger may have achieved the professional success that many can only dream of, but she says the biggest achievement of her life is her daughter Maggie.
WATCH NOW: Sonia Kruger celebrates her daughter’s birthday. Article continues after video.
The 58-year-old long dreamt of being a mother, and whilst she did become step-mum to partner of more than 15 years, Craig McPherson’s six adult children, she was desperate to carry her own.
“My career was my focus all through my twenties and thirties,” Sonia admitted to our sister publication Now to Love in 2020.
RELATED || Sonia Kruger reveals her big plans for daughter Maggie
“My sister had kids when she was young and, in a way, because we are so close in age – it was almost aversion therapy!” she laughed.
“I saw her work so hard having three small children all under five. And I thought: ‘Wow! I want to travel and have a good time.’ I had all these grand plans about the life I wanted to live – it was all ‘bright lights and Hollywood’ for me then.
It wasn’t until the Gold Logie award winner was in her late thirties that she felt her attitude towards having children of her own “shift.”
“Because I had been through a marriage breakup and was then in a new relationship, it meant that I was then at an age when physically it wasn’t likely to work out. Bus as it turned out, it did! It’s strange how the universe operates sometimes.”
Unfortunately, as a woman over the age of 45, Sonia’s chances of falling pregnant were slim.
“We tried IVF and it wasn’t successful,” she told our sister publication The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2012.
“The doctors were very clear with me too, that for women over the age of 45, which was the age we attempted IVF, the success rate is zero.”
“You still believe it can happen, and you see stories, and you think maybe that can happen for us, but the odds are definitely very slim.”
Luckily for Sonia and her partner Craig, a close friend generously donated an egg, and Sonia quickly fell pregnant with her daughter Maggie.
In August 2014, the couple confirmed that they were expecting their first child to the Herald Sun.
“It has been a long road, but Craig and I are delighted to finally confirm we are having a baby,” she said in a statement at the time.
Then in January 2015, Maggie was welcomed to the world, Sonia announcing the arrival of her baby girl with a sweet picture of her little feet.
Just a year after giving birth to her daughter, Sonia told our sister publication The Australian Women’s Weekly that whilst she would love for Maggie to have a sibling, she was hesitant.
“It’s been such a joy for me, I’m just so happy,” she said of motherhood.
“I would love to [have another child] but, I really feel like I shouldn’t push my luck!”
That same year, the mum of one reflected upon her first year of motherhood.
“It’s been all I expected and then some,” she told the Herald Sun.
“I listened to people talking about it when I didn’t have children, about how amazing it is, and how it changes your life, but it’s still not until you have a baby that you realise how fun they are.”
She also revealed to our sister publication TV Week that her toddler was “very funny” and entertained her to “no end.”
The seasoned television veteran opened up about her experience breastfeeding as an older mum in a hilarious interview with Women with Drive.
“I woke up in a lather of sweat, after stumbling to the toilet I was making my way back to bed when a chill descended on my body and I could not stop shaking,” she said.
“I was convinced I had contracted an Ebola-like infection that was about to kill me,” she added.
Turns out the discomfort Sonia was feeling was just her milk coming through!
Sonia has also said that she has “no qualms” about her mini-me daughter following in her showbiz footsteps.
“I’d be happy for Maggie to work in the media, or in any field she chooses,” Sonia previously told New Idea.
“She’s certainly getting a good education in all aspects of television, news, and public affairs from her dad, and entertainment and production from my side. She already understands a lot of television terminology.”
Whilst it’s clear that Sonia is head over heels in love with her daughter, she has previously expressed concerns prior to falling pregnant that she wouldn’t be able to love a child that wasn’t biologically hers.
“That’s the beautiful thing about having a child in your life whether you’ve adopted them or had them by surrogate, or it’s a foster child,” she admitted to Stellar.
“You grow to love them and, in my case, it was pretty instantaneous. She grew in my tummy so she’s a part of me and I look at her and can’t imagine loving her any more than I do.”
Whilst Maggie is fast growing up, Sonia says she is happy for her little girl to remain just that, a little girl for as long as possible.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re doing – whether you work in TV, in an office or you’re a stay-at-home mum, we all want to set a good example,” she told our sister publication TV Week in 2020.
“At the end of the day, we want our children to be kind, respectful, and be able to contribute.”
“For me, work has always been a huge part of my life and I’ve always been independent. I left home when I was 17, so she might grow up and follow a similar path. But I’m quite happy for her to stay home until she’s 37!”
“Then again, ask me in a few more years and I might say otherwise!”
In the same interview, she also revealed what career path she hopes Maggie will pursue as she grows older.
“I’m hoping she becomes a professional tennis player, so I can travel the summer circuit!” she said with a laugh.
Reflecting upon her journey to becoming a mother in an unearthed interview with the Daily Mail, Sonia revealed that prior to finding an egg donor, she and Craig had considered adoption.
“[Adoption] is something that we thought about a few years ago but there are age limits that apply in Australia,” she said when she was four months pregnant.
“Unfortunately we would be ruled out.”
Sonia is of course referring to Australia’s current adoption laws which disqualify would be parents over the age of 45.
In July 2023, Sonia was awarded the highly coveted TV Week Gold Logie Award, much to the delight of her almost eight-year-old daughter.
“I just called Maggie my daughter and told her and she was just so excited,” Sonia revealed on Sunrise as she recounted how she broke the exciting news to her family members.
“It made me all teary because, you know Mummy won a trophy.”
In the same interview Sonia went on to reveal that the award itself would likely “live” in Maggie’s bedroom before revealing that she would let her daughter take the Logie to school for “show and tell.”
In October 2023 the mother-daughter duo stepped out in matching pink ensembles for a matinee performance of Wicked the Musical at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney.
“A wonderful day for @wickedinoz!” Sonia captioned the happy snap, her darling daughter all smiles for the photo.
Isn’t Maggie just looking so grown up?
