Even after 12 years together, it takes some nerve to propose. And rugby hero Christian Cullen admits his heart skipped several beats as he waited for his partner, Mandy Fawcett, to say yes after he surprised her with his mother’s vintage diamond ring one evening last September.Mandy (29), who was pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time, was just fishing their toddler son Cole out of the bath when she momentarily ducked into another room. Christian (34) says he knew he had to seize the moment – he had been formulating a plan for several weeks and had even had a special T-shirt made up for the occasion. “I wanted to do something different for her – something she would remember – rather than just getting down on one knee. And I wanted to involve Cole,” he explains. So Christian hurriedly got a clueless Cole (19 months) ready, dressing him in his new top, which read “Mummy Will You Marry Daddy”, handed him the ring box (“which he chewed the edges off!”) and waited for his future wife to return. “It was so romantic,” says Mandy, making tea at the pair’s Paraparaumu home. “I was so shocked! I screamed, then I cried, and then Christian asked me properly, and I said yes, of course!”
It was a huge relief for Christian, who says he had always intended to marry Mandy, “but I’m a procrastinator – and I needed to build up the courage. And when the guy at the printing place said to me, ‘Good luck, mate,’ I suddenly thought ‘Gosh, I hope she actually says yes.'”Mandy, though, had no doubts. The couple, who have travelled the world with Christian’s rugby commitments, say their relationship is solid – that they’re best friends. And proposing during Mandy’s troubled second pregnancy was a ray of light during a difficult few months.
Mandy, who carried Cole without incident, suffered from a condition called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction throughout the later stages of her pregnancy with baby daughter Dillon, now 12 weeks old. The joints in the pelvis, which soften during pregnancy, had become too loose, and the pain was unbearable. “Mandy would be doubled over – she could barely do a thing,” recalls Christian. “I’ve dealt with some pretty bad rugby injuries but nothing like what Mandy went through. She couldn’t take care of Cole, she couldn’t even bend over to pick him up!”
At first, Mandy remained at home with the family, wearing a brace and using crutches to get around. “I had a TENS machine (a natural pain relief system that delivers electric pulses to the body) but sometimes I needed codeine to cope as well. I remember crawling on my hands and knees if I had to go the bathroom then crawling straight back to bed – those weeks were really hard on me. But,” she adds with a cheeky smile, “nothing compared to a contraction!”Eventually Mandy was admitted to Wellington Hospital on full bed rest, and Christian willingly took over caring for Cole with the help of his parents who live nearby. But at 39 weeks, with the discomfort too much to bear, doctors made the decision to induce labour.
As with Cole’s birth, Dillon’s arrival was extremely speedy and, after just one hour and 20 minutes, she emerged with a head full of dark hair, into a rapt Christian’s waiting arms. There had been little time to arrange pain relief – much to Mandy’s distress. “I remembered the hideous pain of childbirth from the first time around – this time I was determined to have some help,” she laughs. The anaesthetist was called, “but,” says Christian, “after he put the tube in, Mandy had a contraction and it got knocked out. He told Mandy to sit up and they’d do it again but she had another contraction and the baby started coming. It was too late.”Christian looks over at Mandy and grins. “obviously childbirth hurts,” he says with a playful wink, “but I feel sorry for the anaesthetist who then had to listen to Mandy’s choice words!”
Their newest bundle, whom they named Dillon Patricia Kika Cullen, arrived on 11 November weighing 3.6kg (8lbs), and has been thriving at home ever since. Her names are a tribute to Christian’s mother, Patricia, and his Samoan grandmother Ana who passed away last year and whose middle name was Kika. Already Cole is smitten. “He’s quite caring,” says Mandy with pride, “although he’s a bit boisterous around her at times and doesn’t really understand how small she still is!”Christian and Mandy, who hope Cole will be the ring bearer at their wedding later this year, are already planning the next addition to their family. “A people mover,” laughs Mandy. “We want another two children after we’re married.”
Although they’ll probably be home-births, she says. “After a one-hour labour with Cole and another with Dillon, I’ve been warned by the specialist that I might not make it to the hospital next time.”However they arrive, Christian says he can’t wait for more. An adoring and affectionate father, now that rugby is more an occasional pursuit than a full-time job, he says he enjoys devoting every spare minute to his brood. “When I played professionally I was under a lot of stress,” he explains, “and it kind of rubbed off on everyone around me. Now, there’s not that same pressure to perform.”He smiles at his fiancée, who has Cole in her lap, and Dillon napping nearby. “All I have to worry about now is this lot, and I love it.”
