I had my husband’s baby 15 months after his accidental death

A woman gave birth to her late husband’s “miracle baby” – 15 months after he died in a tragic accident.

Australian model Ellidy Pullin, 31, was with her partner Alex “Chumpy” for nearly a decade before the Olympic snowboarder drowned while spearfishing at the age of 32.

Ellidy described her final moments with her loved one, the shocking experience of learning of the tragedy, and her decision to consent to post-mortem sperm collection in order to give birth to her husband’s child after his death.

“It was a normal day. We woke up like any other day – the sun was shining, it was a beautiful day,” she recalled on the podcast “Good Mourning.” “Chump said, ‘Am I going surfing or diving today?'”

The couple went for breakfast on the morning of July 8, 2020, before going their separate ways, with Ellidy walking the dog and Alex going spearfishing.

“I saw him that morning – he is the happiest, fittest person – and he just didn’t come home that day,” Ellidy said.

As Ellidy was hanging out at home, her neighbor stopped by to alert her to a Facebook post alerting residents to an unconscious body that had washed ashore near the area while they were watching Alex fishing.

She initially dismissed it because she didn’t believe it could be her partner, but quickly rushed to the beach with her mother when she realized the news.

When Ellidy arrived at the beach, she discovered, to her great misfortune, that the man was actually her husband.

The Olympic athlete drowned after suffering a “shallow water blackout” while trying to hold his breath for too long.

When the reality dawned on her, Ellidy agreed to post-mortem sperm collection on the advice of friends and relatives who knew the couple had planned to have a child.

Although she was initially unsure, the grieving widow underwent her first in vitro fertilization using the sperm six months after her husband’s death. After two IVF cycles, the model gave birth to Minnie Alex Pullin in October 2021.

“She looks like him. (…) I will see him in her eyes,” she said.

“Everything just came together and I think Chump just guided it – I think it was all meant to be,” she said on her podcast “Darling, Shine!”

There are no federal regulations governing the procedure, leaving the decision up to individual institutions. In New York State, a court order is required before sperm can be collected from a deceased man.

Posthumous conception was once a procedure strongly condemned by ethical, medical and religious organizations, but today it is just another option for starting a family.