Advertisement

Happiness After Heartbreak

House Rules' father-daugter team Steve and Tiana Falzon share their story. Photo: WHO

Tiana Falzon remembers the day she woke up, went downstairs and found her family crying. Her mother Danielle, 26, had died of pneumonia, leaving husband Steve to raise Tiana, then 7, and Andrew, 4.

“It was hard to explain that Mum’s never coming back,” recalls Steve, 47. “I wasn’t even right in my head.” The metal fabricator launched himself into work to pay off the house in Sydney’s west and save for his children’s education. Tiana grew up fast, cooking nightly by the time she was 8, and mothering Andrew.

Through her teenage years, her Maltese-Australian dad forbade shopping trips and parties, and some of her friends’ mothers lied on her behalf. Tiana, 26, will not categorise her childhood as a burden. “It has made me a strong, confident person,” she says.

Last year the director of a childcare centre got married in Hawaii. Her father, too, has built a new life, having a second son, Rory, who “gets away with murder,” laughs big sister Tiana. The six-year-old “brought everyone in,” says Steve’s partner, Deanne Hayes. “Rory brought everyone to life.”

For the full story and shoot with House Rules’ Steve and Tiana, pick up the new WHO, on sale now. House Rules airs Monday-Wednesday at 7.30PM and Sunday at 7PM on Seven.