An Unexpected Journey

When Sharyn Casey had her first miscarriage, she felt alone and ashamed. But in sharing her story, the Dancing with the Stars NZ host found a community who had been there before. She opens up to Phoebe Watt about her path to motherhood

Sharyn Casey had reservations about doing this interview. It wasn’t that she was sharing her story for the first time – she’d blogged about all of her miscarriages. “But I’ve always been in control of the narrative,” The Edge radio announcer told me over a coffee one morning. “I just don’t want to wind up looking sad in a magazine with a headline like, ‘Sharyn Casey’s tears.’”

Not that there haven’t been plenty of those. In the long lead-up to the birth of her son Tyson in January 2018, Sharyn – who returns to TV screens this month as co-host of Three’s Dancing with the Stars NZ – has fought a harrowing physical and emotional battle, the scars from which still run deep. Indeed, I was warned prior to meeting the 33-year-old that she was likely to get tearful during the interview, and to prepare to back off if necessary. Naturally then, I was surprised when she sat down on the couch opposite me and told me I could ask her anything. “Why do you want to do this?” was my first question. Her response spoke to the selflessness that she and her husband Bryce – also a radio announcer at The Edge’s parent company MediaWorks – have demonstrated since the beginning of their baby journey. “When we had our first miscarriage, we felt so ashamed,” she begins. “We didn’t know anyone who’d been through the same thing, so we thought it was just us. And not having anyone to talk or relate to was incredibly isolating. I want people like us to realise that they’re not alone.”

SPEAKING UP