On Mardi Gras weekend, Sophie Cachia proposed to her partner Maddie. She said yes.

To her many Instagram followers, it seemed like Sophie Cachia had a pretty rosy life.

She had a successful influencer career and pyjama business that she had built off her Young Mummy blog, which she'd started after marrying AFL player Jaryd Cachia and having the first of their two kids at just 22 years old.

But like most things on social media, there was a different story happening behind the scenes.

Sophie was starting to question the life and identity she'd built for herself over the years. All of it.

Watch: Australian Survivor and Sophie Cachia. Post continues below.

Sophie and Jaryd first became a couple in 2011, when Sophie was 20, and Jaryd was 19. Jaryd had been drafted for the Carlton Football Club, and was focusing on his AFL career. Sophie was studying journalism at university.

Three years earlier, Sophie had been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, and was told she would have trouble conceiving. But after being with Jaryd for two years, and within a few months of trying, Sophie became pregnant. Baby Bobby was born in April 2013.

That same year, Sophie started her blog The Young Mummy, about becoming a mum at 22. She amassed hundreds of thousands of fans as a result of her honesty about parenting.

In 2015, Sophie and Jaryd Cachia were married, and Sophie wore black to the wedding.

In 2017, she gave birth to their daughter, Florence. 

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A post shared by SOPHIE CACHIA (@sophiecachia_)

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A post shared by SOPHIE CACHIA (@sophiecachia_)

But while in her late 20s, came the life-affirming realisation that Sophie was emotionally and sexually attracted to women. And it changed everything.

"What is happening with me? What is happening with my marriage? What is happening with my life? What is this going to mean for my kids?" Sophie recalled on No Filter. "And then to feel like I have to explain that to Instagram followers: it was suffocating."

In September 2019, Sophie shared with her followers the news. She and Jaryd were splitting.

Listen to No Filter. Post continues after audio.

In a statement on Instagram, Sophie said: "Separation more often than not comes with the assumption of animosity or hatred. Whilst it hasn't always been easy navigating through co-parenting under the same roof this year, we truly appreciate how lucky we are to have each other."

Their relationship was - and is - one that she has described as safe, deeply honest and free. The pair remain very close and co-parent their two kids, Sophie shared with Mia Freedman.

"I live with that guilt every day that I've let my kids down. And I know, as a team, we will work so hard together and we do every day to give them the best life. But it doesn't mean that I don't feel that guilt."

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A post shared by SOPHIE CACHIA (@sophiecachia_)

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A post shared by SOPHIE CACHIA (@sophiecachia_)

As for Sophie's experience of sharing her sexuality publicly, fortunately Sophie's reservations about her children being bullied have so far proved unfounded. 

What Sophie didn't expect, was that 'coming out' would cost her some of her dearest friends.

While their friendship circle usually greeted the news of a new boyfriend with excited questions - Where'd you meet? What's he like? What does he do? Do you have a photo? - Sophie's new female relationships were met with nothing. 

No questions. No invitations. No acknowledgment. Just silence.

"I'm sitting at the table wanting to share with these people my happiness," Sophie said on Sean Szeps' podcast Come Out Wherever You Are. "[I wanted to say], 'I slept with someone on the weekend!' You know, girls' conversations. Or, 'I'm dating, and I love this girl.' No one asked. I was immediately ostracised from a group of friends I'd been friends with for 15-plus years, because of a choice in gender."

Sophie - who now identifies as sexually bisexual but emotionally gay - said that while her friends never said anything explicitly derogatory or cruel about her seeing women, their silence was extremely painful. 

Like many LGBTQI+ identifying people, Sophie found a new circle of 'chosen people' among the community - through sports teams, dating and social gatherings. 

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And through this supportive community, Sophie found her new partner, Australian basketball player Maddie Garrick.

Speaking with No Filter, Sophie shared she now intends to lead a more private life.

"I had previously been so open with every facet of my life. Every little intricate detail and I had a partner at the time who was okay with me doing that. The person that I am in a relationship with comes from a totally different world," she noted at the time. 

"No one knew about her for a very, very long time and it was so, so beautiful. We say our favourite moments together are when it's just us and no one knows what's going on - it's so nice."

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Along with her parenting influencing career, Sophie is also a successful businesswoman. 

In 2017, she co-founded the premium pyjama brand CACHIA.

It's an online Aussie company based out of Melbourne, producing quality yet affordable sleep/loungewear. 

Speaking to the Herald Sun about her frustrations at being boxed into the Instagram influencer stereotype, Sophie said: "People can still view me as an influencer, but the reality is I am now a current CEO, partner and director of three separate companies. My focus over the past two years has been to really diversify my skills and I am loving how much I am learning through business. It's not just smiling with a product for a pretty picture anymore. It's board meetings and consulting."

So with lots of juggling tasks, businesses and priorities, it's lovely to hear that Sophie and Maddie happily co-parent with Jaryd too. 

It's a beautiful arrangement that works perfectly for her family, Sophie says. 

"It's about abandoning what we think or we're told we should be. And that's what I've done, I've thrown that out the window. I respect this man [Jaryd] more than anyone in the entire world. He's still my confidant. He's been my shoulder to cry on during heartbreaks and breakdowns. He's Maddie's biggest fan."

And just recently on Mardi Gras weekend, Sophie proposed to Maddie. And she said yes. 

Maddie captioned their engagement announcement post: "It was always you."

Sophie also shared her own post, thanking Unique Diamonds Australia for creating the ring. 

"Thank you for understanding my vision of three diamonds to represent myself, Bobby and Florence in Maddie's ring. I was originally going to do something different, but the diamond is Maddie's birthstone and I knew she would want something classic and timeless. I took my Mumma along to help me design it months ago and IT FIT which was the hardest part! We are having a ball celebrating - thank you everyone."

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A post shared by SOPHIE CACHIA (@sophiecachia_)

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A post shared by Maddie Garrick (@maddiegarrick)

This article was first published on February 1, 2022, and was updated on March 7, 2022.

Feature Image: Instagram/ @sophiecachia_

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