LAI UTOVOU ‘OUR PRIVATE STRUGGLE’
After leaving his family behind in Fiji – including five siblings – at the age of 21 to come to Australia to study, Lai Utovou has always dreamt of starting his own family. Speaking to WHO, the 33-year-old reveals he and wife Rachel recently suffered a personal loss. “When the show came out we were pregnant. We’ve suffered two miscarriages in six months.”
The pair, who met by chance at a musician’s bar have been together since 2011, travel Australia performing gigs together and would love nothing more than to have a little bub they can share their love of music with.
Inspired by his late uncle and successful Fiji musician Sakiusa Bulicokocoko, Utovou hopes his children will discover the same confidence and love of music that it gave him. “Our kids won’t have an option, music is ingrained in us.”
Admitting the couple went through a stage of blame as they came to terms with their grief after they fell pregnant in February then miscarried, Utovou tells WHO it wasn’t long before he discovered they weren’t alone. “One in five pregnancies usually end in a miscarriage and we learnt people around us had also had miscarriages.”
And despite their heartbreaking struggle behind closed doors, the Brisbane local says he’s grateful for the opportunity to keep doing what he loves. “I’m just trying to make the most of this experience.”