‘I'M MADLY IN LOVE'

Former Miss World Rolene Strauss recently welcomed her second son and she’s revelling in motherhood despite its many challenges

- MARISA FOCKEMA

IT’S after midnight and the baby has just fallen asleep. Finally, time for bed, she thinks. But just as she’s settling down, her four-year-old wakes up and wants to get into bed with Mommy and Daddy – and half an hour later the newborn wakes for another feed.

It’s a far cry from the world Rolene Strauss used to inhabit – one where glitz and glamour were the order of the day. These days it’s a challenge to get out of her nightie before noon, and manis and pedis . . . what are they, again?

The former Miss World used to juggle interviews and shoots and public appearances with grace and ease. Now a spilt bottle of pumped breast milk is enough to bring her close to tears.

Having a new baby and a small child is no walk in the park, as Rolene (27) can attest – but that doesn’t mean she isn’t loving being a mom of two.

On 10 February she and husband D’Niel (37) welcomed their second son and as challenging as life can be, the joy of parenthood trumps all.

“I’m madly in love,” says Rolene, who lives with her family on the Val de Vie estate near Paarl in the Western Cape. “I can’t stop kissing and cuddling my boys.”

Rolene and D’Niel don’t want to say what they’ve named their sons to protect their privacy but both boys have “strong names that relate to leadership”, they say.

In the pram next to Rolene, the baby is in dreamland, making little murmuring noises in his sleep.

“I can’t get enough of those little sounds,” she says. “Everything about him is so perfect – his little nails, his tiny hands, his soft skin.”