Confusion
Amanda turned to the monitor, confused. Was that the inside of her own home on the screen? Three strange men appeared. Feeling a mixture of fear, shame, and indignation, she watched the camera move over her untidy kitchen.
She just knew this had something to do with him. Then, one of the men strode over to her oven and opened the door. When she saw what was inside, she shrieked.
Seemingly Perfect
Amanda never imagined arriving at such a low point in her life. She had a beautiful house in a great neighborhood and a husband she loved with her whole heart. When she finally fell pregnant with their first child after years of trying, she couldn’t have been happier.
All signs pointed to a beautiful life ahead, full of love and everything she’d ever wanted. Then, one day, she woke up and everything was gone.
According To Plan
For three long years, Amanda and her husband were trying to get pregnant. They went through a lot together, and Amanda thought that it only made them stronger. But she was very wrong.
The house they had been renovating for the past two years was finally done. And with a baby on the way, the timing couldn’t have been better. Amanda couldn’t contain her happiness as her life moved forward. Or so she thought.
Snatched Away
Delighted with the direction her life was taking, nothing could have prepared her for the bombshell that came next. Her world shattered and all her dreams and hopes were snatched away.
The unfairness of it all grated her to the bone and destroyed her confidence. But, even worse, the man she thought loved her was about to devastate her.
Checking On Her Best Friend
When Anna got the call from her best friend, she immediately walked up to Amanda's house. She noticed the flower beds that Amanda had tended to so lovingly were withered and dead.
Had someone ruined the garden? She knocked on the door six times in their secret rhythm. When Amanda finally answered the door, Anna took a step back.
Something Had Happened
Amanda had always kept her makeup pristine, even throughout her pregnancy -- there was never a fleck out of place. But today, mascara had been pushed from her eyes to her temples. Her nose was red and there were dark circles around her eyes.
She retired to the couch. Anna ran to the kitchen to run a cloth under the sink. "What happened?" She returned to her best friend's side and gently patted her face. Amanda pushed her hand away. "Amanda... where's John?" Anna asked.
The Truth
“You know how we’ve been trying for three years now, Anna?” Amanda choked. She couldn’t hope back the tears any longer. A stream cascaded down her cheeks and onto her neck.
“Well, it's all over,” she sighed. Her sleeve was drenched from wiping her eyes. “I don't know what to do.” Her voice shook as she explained what he had done.
Abandoned
Totally unexpectedly and completely out of the blue, Amanda's husband had suddenly and matter-of-factly informed her that he was leaving. Without any hesitation, he followed through.
Amanda was left utterly confused and broken as he disappeared out the door and out of her life. Like waking up from a nightmare, Amanda was all alone, 36 weeks pregnant, and buried in the bills that were quickly piling up from their house renovations.
Why?
Amanda had put her life savings into their house -- the one that they had chosen and renovated together. They'd even picked out all the new fittings together to build their dream home. She didn't understand.
But, most of all, she was deeply, deeply hurt. There had been no outward sign that her husband had been unhappy. They were living their dream... weren't they?
Numb From Shock
Numb from shock, suddenly broke, and with a baby on the way, Amanda found herself completely shattered and clueless as to what route to take next.
Struggling to process the fact that her husband callously left her for a younger woman and also left her with a mountain of debt, she desperately tried to come to grips with her situation. She turned to her best friend.
Heartbroken
Anna struggled to hold back her own tears. She had been there for Amanda through her first heartbreak, her first fight with John, her nerves the day before the wedding. But none of those compared to this.
Amanda hid from the world. She would only get out of bed to use the toilet or eat or watch television. Even Anna couldn’t lift her spirits. For five weeks, Amanda refused to leave the house. But Anna wasn’t going to leave her to suffer alone.
Emotional Support
It was very fortunate that Amanda had her friend Anna for emotional support. Anna was there for Amanda every step of the way. She would drag her from the bed to the bath and bathe her. She fixed her favorite meals. She painted her nails as she lay lifeless in bed.
And then, Anna came up with a plan. Although she had an unorthodox idea about how to help her friend, it might just be what she needed to get up and get on with her life.
An Unorthodox Idea
Anna decided to do something rather underhanded and devious, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. She had the connections to make her plan work. She dragged her friend out of bed one last time.
Suddenly, a bewildered Amanda found herself in a room full of strangers, numbly broadcasting her pain and feelings of betrayal to the world on live television. Then, Anna told Amanda to turn around, gesturing to the monitor behind her.
Recognition
Amanda turned to the screen behind her, confused. She wasn’t sure what Anna was doing or what they were trying to show her, but being in such a strange situation helped to take her mind off things.
She watched the screen trying to figure out what was happening. They were entering a house. With horror, she realized it was her house.
Distrust
She instinctively put a protective hand on her belly when she recognized her own home on the screen. In her heart, she knew this had something to do with her husband. What was her friend planning?
She had blindly trusted her up to this point but now, it felt like she'd gone too far. Was she on his side? Was she trying to embarrass her? She didn’t trust anyone anymore.
Disarray
The men boldly opened the front door and began to walk down the hallway, documenting the disarray for everyone to see.
The camera panned over the mattress leaning up against the wall and across the boxes scattered all over the floor of every room -- she had been so devastated when her husband had walked out that she hadn't been able to bring herself to unpack her things in the home they'd bought together.
Embarrassment And Confusion
She watched the strangers on the monitor saunter through her home and felt a mixture of fear, embarrassment, and distress when she saw how untidy her kitchen was. Why didn’t her friend warn her?
Then, one of the men walked over to her oven and audaciously opened the door. When she saw what the camera revealed inside, she suddenly knew exactly what was happening… and she couldn’t contain her tears.
Inside The Oven
Sitting right in the middle of the oven, neatly bound together, lay a great wad of cash. Amanda almost fell off her chair. But what was going on? And who had hidden the cash inside her oven, and why? Did this have anything to do with him?
Anna smiled shrewdly when she saw Amanda’s reaction. Her plan had worked.
Oblivious
It was Anna who came up with the idea to write to the local radio station, KIIS 1065, and ask the presenters, Kyle and Jackie O, if they would possibly give Amanda a chance to appear on their “give back” segment.
Learning about Amanda’s story, the radio show had decided to get involved and help. To Amanda's relief, it had nothing to do with the man that devastated her life. Of course, Amanda had been oblivious.
A Special Announcement
Amanda and Anna were invited to their studio to be guests on the show, but Amanda had no idea about what was about to happen. Upon arriving, the hostess announced that they have a special “Give Back segment,” which Amanda was unaware of.
Her friend Anna was welcomed and introduced as the one who wrote to them and had made this possible.
Telling Her Story
Listeners were briefed on Amanda’s situation and the unfortunate difficulty she had with conceiving. Amanda was given the opportunity to tell her story, and as she spoke to Jackie O and Kyle she told them that the worst part was the total uncertainty of it all.
Amanda said: “It’s been about five weeks since it happened,” referring to her husband leaving her. “And the biggest thing is just the shock, I guess because it wasn’t really what we planned, or what I planned.”
Uncertainty
Jackie's words were a Godsend to Amanda, who had suffered such a horrible trauma so late in her pregnancy. "I really wanna keep the place and raise my child there, but..." Amanda had said.
The 'but' was her indicating to the hosts that she wouldn't be able to afford the house on her own. It was a heartbreaking situation.
Surprise!
The radio hosts had realized that, on their own, it would be hard to help Amanda. So they had approached local businesses to contribute and make this seemingly disastrous situation a little easier to handle. What followed made this amazing show possible.
It turns out that the Middlesex Academy learning Centre generously gifted $10,000 towards Amanda’s mortgage. She didn’t have to worry about having a roof over her and her baby’s head for a good few months to come! But there were still more surprises to be revealed.
Generous Gifts
To Amanda’s total surprise, they entered the front door and Amanda was presented with a Vacuum cleaner sponsored by Scrubb Online Cleaning Service.
This symbolized the cleaning of her house and they had set up to keep the house cleaned for the next 6 months so Amanda doesn’t have to worry about the cleaning side of things.
No Empty Tummies
Continuing through the house, they go to the kitchen and open the fridge.
To her amazement, the fridge was stocked with meals provided by Eat Fit Foods, who will thankfully be supplying and delivering fresh meals daily for the next three months. All the groceries will be taken care of so that will be one thing less to worry about.
Baby Gear
Continuing with their tour Amanda was surprised with a table stacked with baby gear. It was $4000 worth of goods including a stroller, car seat, change table, baby monitor, the works. As if that wasn’t enough, Baby village even threw in a $1000 voucher for a baby photography session.
By this time Amanda was totally speechless and sat with a huge smile on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks. She had the feeling of an immense weight being lifted off of her burdened shoulders.
The Turnaround
By this time Amanda is in tears but fortunately, it’s happy tears of joy. For the past five weeks, she had been stressing about how she was going to cope as a single young mother. She had no means of supporting herself or her new baby.
She had no idea when she woke up that morning that her life would be turned around so dramatically.
Special Friend
Sitting next to her friend was Anna, who was looking just as excited as Amanda. She felt very blessed to have been part of this. She took the initiative and orchestrated this special occasion to help make what was meant to be a happy time in her friend’s life possible.
And with the help of the radio station and local businesses, Amanda suddenly felt excited about the future.
Amazing Relief
Overwhelmed with emotion and with great big tears rolling down her face the only words Amanda could muster was: “I can’t tell you how much this means to me…”
“This means I don’t have to move!” Amanda managed to exclaim through sobs.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
This is definitely not the year that Amanda had imagined for herself or even hoped for. However with the help and generosity of complete strangers this young mother to be had a new and bright future ahead of her.
She could finally unpack and move her furniture around to settle in her home and plan a life with her and soon-to-arrive baby.
Kyle And Jackie O
The Kyle and Jackie O Show is an Australian breakfast radio show hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 in Sydney. The duo is famous in Australia for their "givebacks."
When Anna approached them by writing a letter about her friend Amanda's predicament, they were more than happy to help the newly-single mom.
A Viral Story
Amanda's emotional reaction to the unexpected help was captured on camera. The video was released by Kyle and Jackie O on Youtube and quickly became a viral sensation.
The video was released back in 2015. To date, the heartwarming video has had over five million views. "When we heard about Amanda's story we had to give her a Giveback she would never forget," the video caption explains.
Tragic
"Amanda and her husband were trying for a child for 3 years with many failures. Finally, she managed to conceive and she is now 36 weeks pregnant with her first child."
"They purchased their first home and finally moved in around 2 months ago after renovating," the YouTube caption continues.
It All Came Unstuck
"Everything was looking up for Amanda and her young family. However, it all came tragically unstuck about a month ago when her husband left the marital home. What did Amanda discover when we put a camera in her home..." the caption reads.
But how did viewers of the video and listeners of the original broadcast react to Amanda's story?
Reactions
The reactions to the video all share one thing in common: Amanda's tears of gratitude upon realizing that she won't have to lose her home is absolutely gutwrenching.
Most people say that the video brought tears to their eyes. But joy isn't the only emotion that this video elicits. Some other users had other questions...
Anger
"What kind of sorry excuse for a man tries for so long to conceive a child and then, after 36 weeks of finally conceiving, leaves her with a mortgage she can't even begin to pay?" One angry user wrote.
"What was it? Did he realize only after 36 weeks of pregnancy & renovating a house for 2 years, that he wasn't fit to be a father? So many questions!"
Taken Care Of
There's no doubt that Amanda would still have been shaken up by her husband leaving her, but at least she could now relax in the knowledge that she had everything she needed for her precious baby's arrival.
And who would have thought that such a life-changing surprise would be hidden somewhere as unexpected as an oven?
A Little Kindness
What to some appears like not a big deal can mean the world to someone in need. We take so much for granted that we forget others could appreciate.
At the end of the day a little human kindness, generosity, and paying it forward can make all parties feel just that bit more human! You never know what someone else could be thankful for.
A Friend In Need
It goes without saying that good friends are worth their weight in gold -- and that was certainly the case for Amanda! Amanda's best friend Anna was so determined to do something amazing to support her in her time of need that she made it happen.
For Amanda, she pulled off something unimaginable: Anna arranged for people, who were essentially strangers, to help her friend out of the desperate situation she was in.
A Thought For Everyone
Nobody ever expects to be left high and dry in their time of need or when they are most vulnerable. As much as we all wish it wouldn’t happen, we all need to stand together and form a support group from those around us and for people in need.
One day we may find ourselves in a difficult place and needing help from our community.