‘Scared and nervous’: Bondi Rescue star’s wife tells of 78 day nightmare

As both a hero lifeguard and firefighter, Trent Maxwell knows a thing or two about what it takes to save a life.

But even countless rescues and resuscitations couldn’t prepare Bondi Rescue lifeguard Maxi and his wife Tahlia for the premature birth of their daughter Sunny in September 2024.

“Seeing how precious Sunny was when she was born at 30 weeks and weighing just 817 grams… she was tiny,” Trent movingly tells Woman’s Day.

Meanwhile, little Sunny happily plays with a toy coffee machine as her dad talks and throughout Woman’s Day’s exclusive photoshoot at their home near Bondi Beach.

HIGH RISK

For Tahlia, becoming a mother wasn’t straightforward. She was born with a complex congenital heart condition that required her to have a high-risk medical team support her through her pregnancy.

In fact, there was even a question mark over whether the couple would be able to have a baby but in the end they got pregnant after their first round of IVF.

“Even knowing a little bit about what to expect, Trent and I were still very scared and nervous,” she tells, revealing that at 13 weeks they rushed to hospital suspecting Tahlia was having a miscarriage.

“There was also the risk of something going wrong with my own health, on top of worrying about having our baby prematurely, which was really scary.”

When Sunny arrived, she spent 78 days in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was kept in an incubator with both Trent, 34, and Tahlia, 33, watching over their little angel every day.

FIRST MOMENTS

“After having Sunny, I was hit pretty hard with a lot of emotion and a lot of hormones,” says Tahlia, who was only able to hold her little girl 13 hours after her birth.

“Having Sunny be taken down into the neonatal [unit] and not be able to see her or feel her in those very first moments was really hard and really heartbreaking,”

One way Tahlia was able to connect with Sunny in those early weeks was breastfeeding by using a hospital-grade breast pump. “That breast pump was literally what gave me connection to Sunny,”

Tahlia says. “It was really the only way I felt I could connect with Sunny when she was in the NICU. Pumping and being able to provide breast milk for her was my holy grail,” says Tahlia who, alongside Trent, is teaming up with the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Pumped for Life Appeal.

They’re aiming to raise $100,000 to provide hospital-grade breast pumps, just like the one that helped Tahlia connect with Sunny, to hospitals around Australia.

DOMESTIC BLISS

Trent and Tahlia were finally able to discharge their precious daughter from hospital just days before Christmas in 2024.

“When that day came, it was pretty surreal to be able to bring her home,” Tahlia says.

“After going back and forth to the hospital each day and seeing other families leaving with their baby… for us to be able to do that, it felt like we’d climbed the biggest mountain.”

Now, 18 months after Sunny’s birth, Trent and Tahlia have settled into domestic bliss.

The pair, who work as a firefighter and hairdresser respectively, reveal they spend as much time at home with blue-eyed cutie Sunny as they possibly can.

“We’re very lucky with our work schedules to be able to be hands-on parents,” says Trent, who also still patrols the surf at Bondi.

“Every day with Sunny is a blessing and she definitely puts a smile on our faces. She’s one of a kind and a miracle too!”

When asked if Sunny could be part of the next generation of Bondi Rescue heroes, Trent says, “She’s going to know how to swim and be confident in the water and have awareness around emergencies. Whatever she wants to be, we’ll support her and give her as much guidance as we can.”

And with Mother’s Day just around the corner, this one will be extra special. “It’s a special day for Tahlia, but we haven’t planned anything yet,” Trent says.

“We’ll hope for sunshine and get down to the beach for some lunch or a coffee together before going to see our own mums.”