Perth mum Milica Pudney dies suddenly – leaving behind her husband to raise their kids alone

A Perth mum has died unexpectedly, leaving behind her devastated husband to raise their two young children alone.

Mum-of-two and photo studio owner Milica Pudney died on August 25, sparking an outpouring of tributes. The cause of her death is currently unknown.

Her husband Tony is currently making arrangements for the funeral and ensuring that their children, who are five and two years old, are well taken care of.

He’s also arranging to transport her body back to her hometown in Serbia. 

Ms Pudney’s sister-in-law, Molly, has set up an online fundraiser to help with funeral costs and living expenses.

Milica Pudney (pictured with her family)  leaves behind two young children aged five and two

‘As some of you may know, Tony lost Milica unexpectedly last Friday the 25th,’ she wrote.

‘Since then, he has had to come up with the funds to get her back to her hometown in Serbia, along with all funeral costs and living expenses.

‘Since this was unexpected, there was no life insurance in place, which means he is having to come up with the money himself.

‘With his very young children facing a life without their mum, any donation to ease the financial burdens will be very much appreciated.’

The fundraiser has raised almost $30,000 within three days.

Mr Pudney was holidaying in Serbia when he met his future wife at the music festival Exit.

He was a forestry and logging subcontractor, and she was a first-year law student and part-time model.

‘We were totally different people that lived on opposite sides of the planet,’ Ms Pudney captioned their wedding video in 2015.

‘We thought it would be only a summer adventure, while he was holidaying in Serbia, but it wasn’t. Life had a different plan for us. We couldn’t let it go, and we promised each other that we would make it work.’

Milica put her law career on hold to raise a family and pursue her passion for photography

Their summer romance blossomed into a long-distance relationship and they spent the next two years travelling between Australia and Serbia to visit each other before Mr Putney proposed when he arrived at Belgrade Airport for a visit in July 2014.

The couple married the following year and moved to Australia.

Following her son’s birth in 2018, she put her law career on hold to pursue her passion for fine art portrait photography founded Arabella Blue Portraits.

‘My whole life, I thought I would be a lawyer and do photography as a hobby. Now it seems like it is going to be the other way around,’ Ms Pudney recalled in 2019.

‘I wanted to do something that would give me enough freedom to be my own boss, create things on my own terms and have enough free time to spend with my son. I let the creative side of me lead, and I truly found my place!’

Her goal at the time was to become a ‘master photographer’ and expand her business worldwide.

Ms Pudney’s work was inundated with rave online reviews from clients.

Her sudden death has sparked an outpouring of tributes.

‘Why! I’m so very saddened by this news! I’m so glad she spent this past year in her beloved Serbia with her dear ones and explored some of Europe! We were just chatting about it when she was planning it! I’m so sorry… my heart is broken for her little family,’ a friend wrote.

A fundraiser to help support Milica Pudney’s family has raised almost $30,000 within days.