By Lucy Neville and Kee Reece Searles Entertainment 07.05.2025

"How To Stay Close When Your Best Friend Has a Baby"

Kee Reece Searles and Lucy Neville prove it's possible to be best friends, before and after babies – and share their advice for staying close through life's biggest changes.

When co-hosts of the podcast I’m Wigging Out, Kee Reece Searles and Lucy Neville, first met in the Mamamia office, their connection was instant. From navigating heartbreaks to celebrating career milestones, their friendship was built on unwavering support and a shared love of life's small joys. But when Kee became a mother, their dynamic inevitably shifted. In this honest reflection, they share what it’s like to remain best friends, before and after babies – and how staying close sometimes means finding new ways to show up, embrace change, and celebrate each other's evolving worlds.

Lucy: Our love story starts in 2019 in the Mamamia office – I was an office manager, and Kee was a Senior Influencer Manager. I was immediately in awe of Kee’s style. She was always wearing something fun, like her loud-patterned Gorman raincoat or her shiny orange trench. We started going to group dinners with other colleagues and getting to know each other more and more – but the real friendship kicked off when I got dumped. Hard. I was hosting a pity party for one when a bunch of flowers arrived at my door with a card that read: “Sweet Lu, life sucks sometimes, but just know you are so loved. Time heals everything, it will get better. Kee x” I’ve still got it.

In the months that followed, Kee took me under her wing. She invited me to be her plus one to Lizzo’s concert at the Opera House where we SCREAMED the lyrics to ‘Good As Hell’, and I spent many an evening at the apartment she shared with her now husband, Charlie, lamenting over my misadventures in dating.

I’m not sure who dialled the first FaceTime, but since we started – we’ve never stopped. Kee has become a lifeline for me and a confidant in every sense of the word.

Kee: It’s so wild, because on paper a friendship between us seems unlikely. There is almost a decade between us but I feel like our meeting was a little bit written in the stars. I just remember Lucy being really funny and ridiculously driven, two of my favourite qualities of hers to this day. You could just tell she would do great things.

Then one day out of the blue she wasn’t at work. After a bit of digging I found out her long term relationship had ended. Even though we weren’t super close at the time, I had this intense feeling that I needed to show up for her, tell her I was thinking of her. So I sent flowers with a little note. She received those flowers with the same amount of love that I sent them with. I think that honestly sums up our friendship. We haven’t been afraid to go deep with each other and because of that we’ve been able to create this amazing bond with zero judgement. It’s such a safe place. I feel so lucky. And age ain't nothing but a number, baby!

Before the baby: "Will having a baby change our friendship?"

Lucy: Kee told me she was pregnant with her first baby, Rue, on a park bench in Darlinghurst. I was eating an overpriced pear and almond muffin which I really hope I put down while she told me the biggest news of her entire life, but I can’t be sure. I just remember being completely overwhelmed with joy. Kee was one of my first friends to have a baby, so I was mostly excited about the prospect of sniffing her baby’s head and having a little hand curl around my finger. Eight months later I took Kee’s maternity photos as I smiled through a covid mask, marvelling at my best friend who was about to become a mother. I never feared that our friendship would change, the thought didn’t even cross my mind. Perhaps that was the naivety of being 25 and yet to see motherhood up close – but our friendship didn't change once Kee became a mother. If anything, we became closer. And most importantly, I became an aunty.

Kee: I remember wanting to tell Lucy as soon as we found out. But with it being our first we wanted to wait and tell people at 12 weeks. I only made it to four weeks before telling her! The muffin really sealed the deal. I still remember her face, full of love.

I’m sure I wondered, us being different ages and stages, what our friendship might look like with a baby in the mix. But honestly, you can’t really imagine what life in general will look like with a teeny tiny plus one! I didn’t fear what the change might look like when it came to our friendship though. The constant, from the moment I told Lucy and still to this day, was her genuine excitement for me to become a mum.

The birth

Kee: We planned a homebirth for our second daughter, Suki and because we’d be in our own space we could choose what that looked like. Knowing we weren’t restricted in any way with who could be there meant that the idea I had about who should be at a birth changed.

Halfway through the third trimester, I floated the idea of asking Lucy to be our birth photographer with my husband Charlie. He agreed immediately.

As the pregnancy progressed, Lucy’s role deepened. I sheepishly floated doing a birthing class, to which I received a resounding YES. I think that’s when I knew we’d made the best decision. What a gift it is to have your best friend alongside you, another support person that knows everything about you. It just felt so natural to have Lucy there. I can't imagine birthing without my bestie now. Although we had planned for a homebirth, we ultimately transferred to the hospital – but having Lucy there throughout made the experience just as special.

Lucy: There’s being vulnerable with your bestie, and then there’s inviting her to witness the literal birth of your child. When Kee asked me if I would photograph her daughter Suki’s birth, my eyes immediately welled up with tears. It was a mixture of gratitude and I suppose it was a reassurance that Kee feels as close to me as I do to her. Kee was incredible from the moment I arrived at 3:30am, to the moment her daughter was born at 9:45pm. There was this power in her, coupled with a composure that I didn’t believe possible thanks to Hollywood depictions of childbirth. To be part of Kee’s inner circle on one of the biggest days of her life is a privilege I’ll never forget. From holding her while tears filled our eyes in the hospital driveway, to seeing Rue meet her sister for the first time, to popping a bottle of Bolli in the delivery suite and cheersing to our new arrival – it was perfect.

What's changed, and what's stayed the same?

Lucy: Kee and I are best friends AND business partners which is certainly unique, but when I think specifically about our friendship, some things have changed – like I know a lot more about Bluey and Elsa than I did a couple of years ago – but the foundation of our friendship has remained steady in the form of multiple FaceTimes a day, an appreciation for champagne and tequila, and the fact that Kee has never made me feel like my life is less important than hers, even though she’s responsible for two actual lives.

She still makes time to celebrate my wins, she acknowledges that while me having a dog is not like her having two babies AND a dog, it can still be stressful. She holds space for the shitty things I want to vent to her about and she lets me into her world rather than hitting me with the ‘you wouldn’t understand’. Because while I may not understand what it’s like to have a baby, it’s a pleasure to be a small part of it.

Kee: After having Rue the friendship started to feel more like family. Lucy was so ready for her role as Aunty and what surprised me was how quickly and deeply she loved and showed up for Rue. And then seeing their little friendship grow! I didn’t expect that part of motherhood where you get to watch your best friend fall in love with your kids. I am so grateful.

We now have to FaceTime in secret otherwise Rue insists it’s her turn and steals Itchy (her name for Lucy) away!

And after Suki, I mean WOAH! Her birth and every day since has really solidified our friendship-to-family arc. My postpartum experience has been so positive and Lucy is definitely part of that.

We now record our podcast from my nursery chair with our third host. She doesn't have a lot to say, but she’s pretty cute! But in all seriousness, it is really special knowing my two girls have Aunty Itchy to guide them.

Advice for someone whose best friend is about to have a baby

Kee: Keep showing up for them. Having a baby brings a lot of change. Pair that with raging hormones and lots of other fun symptoms, the almost 10 months of growing a baby can feel equal parts exciting and overwhelming. The one thing that is constant is your friendship. Check in, include them, support them. And keep up that energy after the baby comes! Often that’s when they need it the most. It’s really hard to ask for help, even from the people closest to you.

So drop over food, if you come in put on some laundry or fold some washing, hold the baby while they have a shower or a nap, hang out with them on the couch or just call them for a chat – you might be the only adult conversation they have that day. And give them a little grace. At times it might feel a little one sided, but it is fleeting and I promise you they will be itching to show you how much they love and appreciate you as soon as they can.

Lucy: When you come to their house, bring them a (large) coffee. And make sure you get it from the cafe they like (one time I brought Kee her first coffee of the day at 1pm, but I didn’t go to her regular cafe and I SWEAR I saw the light drain out of her eyes and she took a sip of that shit, unfamiliar flat white). Remember that while a fresh baby is VERY cute, that baby was crafted in the womb of your best friend who you’ve loved for way longer – hug your bestie first, they need you.

Recognise that while you may be in different seasons and spontaneous hangouts are harder to come by, you can snag precious time by sitting in the front seat as they pick up their babe from daycare, or going with them to baby ballet, or just sitting on the couch watching Real Housewives. It’s just about being together, as friends.