Content Warning: This content discusses mental health issues, suicide, and peri and post-natal depression, which may be triggering for some audience members. Help is available below.
Just over 25 years ago, Louise "Gidget" Cotton became a mother for the first time. Not long after, she died by suicide after experiencing peri and postnatal depression that those around her didn't recognise in time. She left behind a heartbroken family and an eight-and-a-half-month-old daughter.
In this episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, Tiffany Dunk sits down with Louise's mum, Sue Cotton, her sisters Jacqui and Simone, who co-founded the Gidget Foundation, and her daughter Jasmine to reflect on the woman they lost, the family she left behind, and the extraordinary legacy that grew from unimaginable grief.
They share memories of the vibrant, funny young woman they knew as Gidget, the devastating aftermath of her death, and the moment they discovered there was nowhere to direct donations in her memory, sparking the creation of what has become one of Australia's leading perinatal mental health organisations.
They also open up about the realities of peri and postnatal depression, the importance of recognising the signs, and why they're determined to ensure more parents receive the support Louise never had.
Moments you’ll hear:
- How a family's champagne-and-long-lunches bond set the stage for the conversation
- How Louise and her husband Dave met at a party and became inseparable from their first date
- Why Louise wore a red wedding dress inspired by Kerri-Anne Kennerley
- How Louise fell instantly in love with motherhood the moment Jasmine was born
- Why Louise's quiet plea, "What about me?", still haunts Sue today
- The devastating morning Sue spoke to Louise for the very last time
- The tragic way the family learned Louise had died
- How Louise's nickname "Gidget" came from her bubbly, gullible charm
- Why 200 people and $20,000 raised at the first memorial lunch proved how much this cause is needed
- How The Gidget Foundation grew from one rented house to 45 (soon 50) locations nationally
- The moment Dave finally told Jasmine the truth about how her mother died
- Why Sue's letters to Louise became a source of healing over the years and how grief brought the sisters even closer than before
- The family's tradition of eating Portuguese tarts and wearing red to remember Louise
Thank you for listening ❤️
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised, help is always available. Gidget Foundation Australia offers free perinatal mental health support at www.gidgetfoundation.org.au or 1300 GIDGET (1300 443 438). Lifeline can be reached on 13 11 14.
More support services can be found here: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/health/support-services/
Before you leave...
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Credits
Host: Tiffany Dunk
Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace
Supervising Producers Leah Porges and Helen Smith
Our wonderful The Australian Women's Weekly team
Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain
Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly website
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