Champion snowboarder’s partner considers new love four years after his tragic underwater passing

Australian model Ellidy Pullin has said she is finally open to new love, four years after the shocking death of her partner, Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin.

The Olympic snowboarder was 32 when he drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast in July 2020, but thanks to an incredible IVF and sperm retrieval process, Ellidy was able to have his baby, a girl named Minnie.

Now 31, she is starting a life without Chumpy, her daughter and their beloved kelpie cross dog Rummi.

Ms Pullin said there is still some of her late partner’s sperm available if she wants ‘another Chumpy bubba’, but she is considering other options.

“I can see myself having a baby with someone else one day, maybe in five years, but I don’t really see myself getting married,” she told the newspaper. Gold Coast Bulletin.

The late Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin is pictured with Ellidy and their kelpie cross dog Rummi

Ms Pullin revealed that although she is not yet at the point where she wants to date someone long-term, she has had a number of affairs while on holiday.

‘What happens in Bali can stay in Bali. But I couldn’t imagine bringing anyone home,” she told the publication.

“Right now I’m just really happy with the three of us: me, Minnie and Rummi.”

She said Rummi gave her reason to get up in the morning after Chumpy’s sudden death in the winter of 2020.

The kelpie needed her walks, so they got up at 5am and walked on the beach for an hour, which Ms Pullin said was “therapy and meditation” for her and kept her grounded.

Rummi was Chumpy’s dog, who loved him so much that the model sometimes felt like a ‘third wheel’, but now the kelpie never leaves her side.

She said that part of Rummi, and part of her, is still waiting for Chumpy to come back in and that she even has a recurring dream where that happens.

She recently started a podcast called Darling, Shine! with girlfriend Chloe Fisher, and has signed deals for Covergirl makeup, the LIV golf tournament and even Schmacko’s dog treats.

Mrs Pullin said Chumpy would be very proud of Minnie, the daughter he never knew, and that she looks so much like him.

Just hours after his death, Ellidy’s quick-thinking brother and friends called the process of sperm retrieval, that can take place up to 36 hours after death.

Under Queensland law, semen can be removed posthumously if a designated officer indicates that the deceased would not object.

Before sperm can be collected, permission from the immediate family is also required. An IVF specialist then assists with the process.

Ms Pullin’s recovery process took place through ICSI IVF, where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg for fertilization.

She said she “would love to hear Chump talk about it.” [Minnie]he was so in love with Rummi… that he would have been the best father’.

Her own father, Peter Vlug, died in 2022 from an aggressive brain cancer, which was diagnosed shortly after Chumpy’s death.

Through an incredible IVF and sperm retrieval process, Ellidy was able to have Chumpy’s baby, Minnie. Ellidy and Minnie are pictured

Ellidy and Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin are pictured with their kelpie cross dog Rummi

Ellidy Pullin said Rummi (left) gave her reason to get up in the morning after the sudden death of Chumpy (right) in the winter of 2020

Chumpy and Mr Swift were very close and Ms Pullin said her partner’s death had affected her father physically. “I really think it played a role,” she said.

Ms Pullin said that after some dark times, she now enjoys thinking about what the future will bring.

“I love imagining our lives 10 years from now, when Minnie is 12 and Rummi is 15, and they grew up so close together,” she says.

“I love that she has her protector with her.”

Model Ellidy and her late partner, Olympian Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, are pictured in a field

Ellidy Pullin is pictured pregnant with her daughter Minnie, who was conceived via sperm from her late partner ‘Chumpy’

Snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, who died four years ago, is pictured with his beloved dog

Ellidy Pullin (left) said she would like to hear Chumpy (right) talk about the daughter he never met. ‘He would have been the best father’