Former WAG Nadia Bartel says she’s struggling with parenting in self-isolation

Former WAG Nadia Bartel, 34, who announced her split from retired AFL star husband Jimmy Bartel in August 2019.

And now she’s about to celebrate her first Mother’s Day as a single parent to sons Aston, four, and Henley, one.

Appearing on Bec Judd’s ‘unstoppable mums’ show on Sunday, Nadia said she was lucky to have her children around for the special day, but admitted it wouldn’t be the same as previous years.   

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When asked how she would be spending Mother’s Day on Sunday, Nadia had a bittersweet answer. 

‘It’s so hard, because I’m so used to doing a big family thing on Mother’s Day,’ she admitted, adding that they’d have to resort to doing it over zoom this year.

On a positive note though, Nadia revealed her young sons would be with her on the special day. 

‘I have the boys. Aston has become quite the little chef, so we’ll see what he whips up on Mother’s Day,’ she said with a smile.  

Like most Australians at the moment, Nadia also admitted to finding parenting and home-schooling a struggle while in self-isolation.  

Nadia said she was at times overwhelmed by balancing motherhood with running her businesses.

The former WAG, who founded the clothing label Henne, said: ‘It’s [running her businesses as usual] been a massive struggle actually, more so just because obviously the boys, and with their age gap.’ 

She said Aston’s at-home school program requires a lot of face-to-face sessions with the teachers that she has to work into her busy day.

Nadia said with people turning to online shopping, her workload hasn’t slowed down, which makes managing home-schooling hard.   

‘The middle of the day is hectic. I try to form some sort of routine, but it’s so hard because kids just do what they want to do and the home-schooling makes it hard.’ 

‘I’ve been getting up really early, before they’re [her children] up at 5.30am,’ she said, adding that at night time she continues working after they go to bed at 7pm. 

Nadia added she always prioritises quick bursts of 15-minute exercise blocks during the day to increase her mood and ‘stay happy’. 

Nadia did her first interview about her split from ex-husband Jimmy Bartel in Stellar last month, which saw her fellow WAGs rally behind her. 

In the interview, Nadia admitted ‘every day is tough’ as she adjusts to life as a single mother, saying: ‘This is never what I thought would happen.’ 

Jimmy has since moved on with new girlfriend, Lauren Mand.