MasterChef to the NICU with Twins: Sarah Todd & Declan Cleary

Clean

On paper, Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary’s love story looks like a match made in heaven: two chefs meet on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win, he cooks the “marry me” barbecue fish, she makes the French bouillabaisse, and they ride off into the sunset with matching aprons. In reality, it’s messier, braver and far more interesting a story about second chances, blended families and a birth that almost broke them before their twins even took their first breath.

In this episode of Love Stories Tiffany Dunk Deputy Editor of The Australian Women's Weekly, Sarah and Declan rewind to the beginning: the green‑room chats when they were “definitely just friends”, the weekend hangs that became a safe house from the pressure cooker of reality TV, and the exact moment in the elimination line when Declan, convinced he might never see her again, blurted out a date request while she was wearing the black apron. From there, they trace how a friendship forged under studio lights quietly turned into a relationship that had to make room for a child, a dog, two careers and the logistics of building a life in the real world, not just on camera.

But the centre of the episode is the birth of their twin girls: an emergency C‑section that descended into 14 of the longest minutes of their lives, when both babies came out silent and Sarah’s health started to spiral. Declan talks about standing in a theatre full of doctors, thinking he might lose all three of them; Sarah remembers waking up to seizures she couldn’t control, trying to do skin‑to‑skin with cannulas up her arms while her body shook. It’s raw and precise and somehow still full of gratitude: for the surgeon who wrapped Declan in a hug and said, “your three girls are going to be all right,” for the NICU staff who moved mountains to get the twins to her chest, and for the fact that the story doesn’t end in that operating room.

Moments You’ll hear:

How two fiercely focused competitors went from “we’re just here to win” to admitting the butterflies that were there all alongand why Declan chose the most stressful possible moment to ask Sarah out.
The realities of blending a family: what it meant for Sarah, as a single mum, to protect Phoenix’s world while letting someone new in, and how Declan approached being “a good bloke and a role model,” not a replacement parent.
An unvarnished account of a birth trauma: silent twins, emergency interventions, nine days in hospital, and the complicated feelings that come with not being able to give your babies the “ideal” start you’d imagined.
How they found their way back to each other afterward through fear, guilt, gratitude and the slow work of telling the story out loud until it felt like theirs again, not just something that happened to them.

If you’ve ever looked at your own love story and thought, “this is too chaotic, too hard, too weird to be anyone’s happy ending,” this episode is for you.

Thank you for listening ❤️

And just a heads up, this episode discusses birth trauma. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the free services below:

Griefline — 1300 845 745
Support for anyone experiencing loss, grief or loneliness.
Visit griefline.org.au
Blue Knot Foundation — 1300 657 380
Support for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse.
Visit blueknot.org.au
SANE Australia — 1800 187 263
Support for people living with complex mental health issues and their families.
Visit sane.org

Mental health and emotional support services

Lifeline — 13 11 14
24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention. You can also chat online at lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636
24/7 support for anxiety, depression and emotional distress. Webchat available via beyondblue.org.au
13YARN — 13 92 76
24/7 national crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are feeling overwhelmed or having a tough time. Staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters who listen with understanding, without judgement, and in a culturally safe space. Visit 13yarn.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service — 1300 659 467
Free phone and online counselling for people at risk of suicide, concerned about someone, or bereaved by suicide.
QLife — 1800 184 527
Anonymous, LGBTIQA+ peer support and counselling from 3pm to midnight every day. Visit qlife.org.au
NSW Mental Health Line: Call 1800 011 511

If you are outside Australia

Find international hotlines and support services at findahelpline.com, a global directory of free crisis helplines.

You are not alone

Reaching out for help is a sign of strength. If you or someone you know needs support, please connect with one of the services above. The Weekly will continue to share stories of courage, recovery and hope, and we encourage you to take care of yourself while listening

before you leave...

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If you loved hearing Sarah and Declan's story

Their Relationship in pictures

The Twins Girls

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Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary, Baby Claudia and Charlotte

Credits:

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace

Production by Thomas Crnkovic