“I was terrified”: Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary open up on emergency twin birth
MasterChef couple Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary on the traumatic birth of their twin daughters.
Content warning: This article discusses birth trauma and child mortality. If you need support, call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14.
MasterChef Australia couple Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary have shared the emotional and traumatic story behind the birth of their twin daughters, Claudia and Charlotte, revealing the medical emergency that unfolded during delivery.
Speaking exclusively to The Australian Women’s Weekly in its May 2026 issue and on a new episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories podcast, the pair opened up about the high-risk pregnancy and the frightening moments that followed an unexpected diagnosis of preeclampsia at 34 weeks.
Sarah’s difficult pregnancy journey
Multiple births already carry increased risk and identical twins even more so, with Sarah revealing the final stretch of her pregnancy became increasingly difficult.
“I just started getting quite sick and physically in pain,” she told podcast host and Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk. “I seemed to be unwell for a lot of the end of it. I was like, gosh, I don’t remember it being this difficult.”
Hoping to reach 36 weeks, she pushed through the discomfort. “I wanna make it to 36 weeks, and whatever it took, I was gonna get to that point.”
But at a routine 34-week scan, everything changed in December, 2025. Sarah was diagnosed with preeclampsia, her blood pressure continued to rise and her platelet levels dropped, with doctors ultimately deciding an emergency induction was necessary.
“It was all these signs that these little girls are ready to come out into the world,” Declan said. “And by that point it was Sarah that was becoming the health problem. I was f***ing terrified.”
The emergency birth: “It was the longest 14 minutes of my life”
What followed was a rapid emergency delivery that unfolded in just 14 minutes.
“It was the longest 14 minutes of my life,” he said.
Sarah was placed under general anaesthetic as the medical team moved quickly to deliver the twins. From the edge of the operating room, Declan watched on as Claudia and Charlotte were born.
“And the girls were still,” he recalled. “And it was like, God, I’ve got like two dead babies here and mum’s knocked unconscious. And I can’t say anything… they’re going crazy.”
In the midst of the chaos, Declan made a quiet, instinctive choice, to stay focused on Sarah.
“Sarah goes under and I’m just there looking at mum,” he said. “She’s my number one priority now.”
Then, in a moment of calm amid the chaos, the surgeon stepped away from the team, went over to Declan and told him that all three of them would be okay.
“It was just the most liberating feeling in the world,” he said.
But the ordeal wasn’t over. As Claudia and Charlotte took their first breaths, Sarah’s condition deteriorated further. Still under anaesthetic, she went into seizures, with Declan holding her hand as the fear continued.
“I can handle pain,” Sarah said, “but this? I couldn’t handle this. There was nothing I could do to stop it.”
Listen to the Love Stories podcast episode to hear more and pick up the May issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly to read the story in full.
If this story has raised any issues for you, help is available. For crisis support, call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14.
