Weeks after Simone Holtznagel gave birth, her relationship fell apart.

Before Simone Holtznagel fell pregnant with Gia, she was living the high life.

The former Australia's Next Top Model runner-up spent 15 years modelling across the world, gracing the cover of Playboy, starring in Guess campaigns and even dabbling in TV presenting.

In 2022, she started dating her now ex-partner, and things were good.

But sometimes, life has other plans. No one knows that more than Simone.

Listen to Simone's birth story on Mamamia's Diary of a Birth. Post continues below.

The unexpected twist.

Holtznagel was celebrating her 30th birthday in the Maldives in 2023, when everything changed.

"On our last night, I had this cocktail called the 'Cocomelon' (coconut and watermelon)... And I posted it on my Instagram story and I was like, 'This is the only 'Cocomelon' I'm interested in at the moment'. Next day, I found out I was pregnant," Simone said.

"We got home from the airport, and I was at baggage claim, and I was like, 'Oh gosh, I feel very sick'. And my ex-partner, he was like, 'You always do this at this part of the trip'.

"And all day, I was like, 'I feel really sick'. I just thought it was flying and whatever. And then I did a pregnancy test, and I was like, 'Oh my god', really excited."

Simone and Gia. Image: Supplied.

Starting a family had been on the table for the couple — it was something they'd spoken about — but it wasn't exactly a 'now' thing for Holtznagel and her ex-partner.

"It wasn't necessarily planned," Simone admitted to Mamamia's podcast Diary Of A Birth. Opening up to the podcast, Holtznagel said that the pregnancy changed things.

"Our relationship was really good, And then when I got pregnant, I think there was a lot of freaking out, as some men tend to go through, so I'm told," she said.

As Simone's pregnancy progressed, she found herself spending more and more time alone.

"Honestly, I've kind of blocked it out because it wasn't the most stress-free pregnancy," she said. "I spent a lot of time by myself."

During this time, she tried to focus on giving back to herself, rather than "dealing with other unexpected things."

"The day that I actually went into labour, I was not at my house because I did not want to be at my house," she said. "So obviously, very high emotions. I was with my mum and dad at my family-friends place, which I am very lucky that I have somewhere to stay at when I'm in Sydney."

Holtznagel also said she was quite nervous about the process of giving birth.

"I really wanted to be completely knocked out and then just wake up and the baby was there. But in 2024, you can't do that yet, which is insane to me," she said.

"I don't know why that's not an option. All I knew was, I'm such a baby, I don't even like getting needles."

Once Gia was in her arms, Simone was all smiles. Image: Supplied.

Welcoming little Gia.

As her due date approached, Simone tried every old wives' tale in the book. She ate spicy pizza, went for long walks, even tried an Aperol Spritz.

"I was like, 'Get out'," she joked.

"I was sitting at home, texting my sister, my little sister Madeline, saying, 'How funny would it be if my water broke while I was sat here', and then I stood up, and I was like, 'Oh, I think my water just broke."

Labour, though? Not exactly like the movies.

"I have the worst pain threshold. I could not stop throwing up," Simone said.

Watch the trailer for Diary of a Birth. Post continues below.

After a very stressful car journey, Holtznagel arrived at the labour ward and was able to get the epidural. It was a huge undertaking for someone afraid of needles.

"It was the scariest moment of my life," she said. "My partner was there, but I told him to get out of the room because of mum. They said you could only have one person in the room while you're getting an epidural.

"I was so scared, and I was just holding my mum. I'm not a religious person — my mum is — I think we were saying Hail Mary's."

Not one to waste time, her ex-partner spent his time outside the labour ward ordering McDonalds for her. Eventually both he and Holtznagel's mum fell asleep on the floor, they were so exhausted. Even Holtznagel got a quick kip in.

When it came time to push, Simone realised she was completely unprepared.

"Pushing is a lot harder than what you actually think it's going to be," she said. "Had I known, that's something I would do differently, I would go to a women's physio and learn how to push properly, because I had no idea and I couldn't do it, and so I ended up pushing for about two hours."

Eventually, doctors stepped in with forceps to help bring baby Gia earthside.

"She just grabbed onto a little noggin' and gave her a little tug, and then she was right there," Simone said.

"I just remember I was so happy. I just had the biggest smile on my face. And I cried a little bit, but I was just more like, 'Oh my God'. So excited.

"To think back on it's really such a blur, but every photo I have, my face is smiling. Even thinking about it now, my mouth hurts from smiling."

Simone chose to drink her placenta. Image: Supplied.

Battling postnatal concerns.

After birth, Simone made an unconventional decision — she drank her placenta in a smoothie.

"I did that because I was really concerned about postnatal depression. I dealt with anxiety and depression and stuff years ago, so I was really worried about that," she explained.

Given her turbulent relationship with her partner at the time, she was even more cautious.

"Because my at-home life, relationship wise, was obviously very new for both of us. I was concerned about that level of support from my partner."

As for whether it worked? Simone said she felt great, but conceded maybe it was just a placebo effect.

"I've never had another baby so I don't know what the difference would be if I didn't do it," she said. "But, 10 out of 10 would recommend. I stopped bleeding after three or four days, which, like, apparently that's unheard of."

Navigating single motherhood.

Motherhood came naturally to Simone, but becoming a single mother overnight wasn't part of the plan.

"I was left as a single mum when she was three weeks old, when my partner went away on a boys trip," she explained of the first time her ex-partner left them alone.

"And then I was left as a single mom when my partner went to Thailand because he was 'tired', when she was seven weeks old," she said.

"So it was an easy decision at that point," she said, regarding officially calling the relationship off. "Because I'd already been doing everything by myself anyway.

"So, what was the difference if I just made that decision?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Simone Holtznagel (@simoneholtznagel)

Forced to face the reality of raising Gia as a single mum, Simone had a choice. To live in despair, or get on with it.

"It's one of those things where if you don't laugh, you'll cry," she joked on Diary Of A Birth. "I was like, this will make a really funny book one day.

"I've had many life experiences that I'm just like, this is just another chapter. For me, the whole baby thing, looking after newborns, comes very naturally to me.

"It didn't feel completely scary. Of course, there's the moments when you first get home and you're like, 'I'm a mum, I've got to keep this thing alive.' But I wasn't going in blind."

"I was pretty fine emotionally the first few weeks but any time my mum left I would just bawl my eyes out. And obviously, your hormones are all over the place. But I think back on that time, and I'm like, was that baby related? Or was that because I knew that I wasn't being supported the way I should be once my mum would leave," she said.

"And I wasn't," she added.

Since welcoming Gia, Holtznagel has moved in with her parents in Woollongong, with three generations now in one home.

And while it wasn't how she imagined motherhood, she wouldn't change a thing.

"Obviously this is not how I planned for it to be. Young me, when I would think about my life when you're older, you're like, 'Oh, my God, I'm gonna be married by the time I'm 20, and I'm gonna have seven babies and a house'," she said.

"I never thought that I'd be firstly, having a baby before I was married. 

"I didn't plan for it to be like this, but turns out it is actually probably the best outcome."

For more Diary of a Birth stories, visit here.

Keep up with Simone Holtznagel, here.

Feature image: Supplied.