Emma Watkins reveals grueling ordeal that left her unable to get off the floor just before taking to stage with The Wiggles
Emma Watkins has revealed she almost had to cancel a show due to debilitating pain while on tour with The Wiggles.
The 34-year-old children’s entertainer has previously spoken about her crippling battle with endometriosis and has now opened up about how it has affected her career.
Endometriosis occurs when cells in the uterine lining are found elsewhere in the body and symptoms include pain, heavy periods and fatigue.
Emma has been open about her struggles with the condition, recalling how she once couldn’t get off the floor for a Wiggles show in Adelaide due to the pain.
She talked about how she was in pain five minutes before she was due to take the stage and thought she might have to cancel a show for the first time in her career.
Emma Watkins (pictured in June 2020) has revealed she was almost forced to cancel a show while on tour with The Wiggles due to debilitating pain
The former Yellow Wiggle told it news.com.au: “I remember looking at the clock and the show was at 10:00 and I think it was 9:55, and I couldn’t get myself off the floor.”
She continued, “It’s like my body knew that if I do a show, it’s going to be okay, disaster could happen, and that’s okay, but this was the only time I was sure. [not]. Horizontal in the dressing room, complete, so much pain.’
However, Emma bravely managed to start the show just 10 minutes behind schedule and admitted she became ‘used’ to enduring the pain.
She explained, “I think I was so used to just pushing through, and then the show happened, and it was fine, as soon as the show got to the end you were like, ‘Okay, I have to sit down ‘ , but that was really bad, I remember it was terrible at the time.’
Emma has previously told how she was diagnosed with endometriosis ten years too late and thought her debilitating period pain was ‘normal’.
Emma has been open about her struggles with endometriosis, recalling how she once couldn’t get off the floor for a Wiggles show in Adelaide due to the pain.
Speaking on Channel Seven’s House of Wellness in September 2022, she said: ‘I didn’t know for a long time.
‘I was touring the world and was so busy. I didn’t understand the pain until it was far too late.’
“As women, you don’t realize the pain you’re in,” she continued. ‘During high school I was very sick and in terrible pain, but now I know that wasn’t the case.
‘I got to the point where I was bleeding every day for a long time. “Eventually I thought ‘hmmm, that’s not quite right’ and I actually discovered it.”
Emma admitted she ‘didn’t know’ if she would be able to have a child due to her struggle with endometriosis, which can also affect fertility.
Emma first joined The Wiggles in 2010, but split from the iconic children’s performance group in October 2021 to take her career in a new direction.
She told the Daily Telegraph she was “quite realistic” about her chances after her long battle with the disorder, saying: “If it happens that would be great, if it doesn’t that’s OK too.”
Emma first joined The Wiggles in 2010, but left the iconic children’s performance group in October 2021 to take her career in a new direction.
Since then, the entertainer has created a new character, Emma Memma, who uses sign language to communicate.
Emma previously told how she hopes her alter ego will inspire children to learn Auslan – the form of sign language most commonly used by Australia’s deaf community.