Mark & Cherelle Herewini On Life After the Uniform Comes Off | Acts of Service

Time to bless your feed with a new episode of our heartfelt new podcast, Love Stories, from The Australian Women's Weekly. Love Stories is about celebrating and appreciating love in all its forms. Think the stories behind how your favourite couples first met, siblings who have seen each other through thick and thin, parents and children and the deep bonds we have with our pets, and those who've loved, lost and learned to love themselves again. Find, follow and subscribe (or hit the +) to The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories wherever you like to listen to or watch your podcasts: on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and more. There's a gorgeous back catalogue for you to binge on and catch all the feels! Olympic sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell, Georgie Tunny and Rob Mills spill on babies and marriage, Matty and Esther Acton on being 40 year old grandparents, Katie Noonan on the grief of divorce, David and Lisa Campbell on their long marriage, Jess Row and Peter Overton, Julie and Mick Goodwin and so many more!

First, let us introduce you to Mark and Cherelle Herewini , who are part of our special Love Stories: Acts of Service series <3m - made in partnership with our friends at Wounded Heroes. You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice

Content warning: This episode discusses veteran mental health, alcohol use, and suicide. Support is available: Wounded Heroes Australia crisis line 1300 532 112 (24/7) | Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7).

On a 3am car ride home together, Mark and Cherelle Herewini discussed marriage – four weeks later they were husband and wife. Now, after nearly three decades and multiple East Timor deployments, they're still together. But the years right after Mark hung up his uniform were some of the hardest of their marriage.

In this episode, Mark and Cherelle sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about what deployment looked like for a new mum waiting by the phone, the sense of purpose Mark lost the moment he left the Army, and the drinking and distance that crept into their marriage once he was home.

They also talk candidly about what support really looks like for veteran families, why so many people don't reach out until it's a crisis, and how the work Mark does can support other veterans to find their way back to a sense of purpose.

To all veterans who may be watching or listening to this episode, we thank you for your service.

Moments you’ll hear:

• The 3am decision that led to a wedding just four weeks later
• Growing up an Army kid, and the promise Cherelle swore she'd never break
• Racing home from East Timor and missing the birth of their daughter by 12 hours
• The five-minute phone calls, and the letters Cherelle still has
• Mark losing his sense of purpose the moment the uniform came off
• The years of drinking and distance that followed, and how they found their way back
• What Mark hopes people understand about veterans, and what Cherelle hopes for veteran families

Thank you for listening ❤️

Before you leave...

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Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes Australia.

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice

Need help now? Wounded Heroes crisis line 1300 532 112, 24/7, Australia wide.

Credits

Host: Tiffany Dunk

Edited by Leah Porges

Production by Leah Porges

Our wonderful The Australian Women's Weekly team

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.