1 / 9The grieving girlfriend of champion snowboarder Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin has revealed the bittersweet news she is pregnant with their child, almost a year after his death. 2 / 9Ellidy Vlug, 29, made the heartwarming announcement to her 57,000 Instagram followers through a series of photos of her baby bump3 / 9Her late partner and three-time Olympian Alex Pullin, 32, tragically drowned in a freak diving accident at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast in July last year. 4 / 9The snowboarder was spearfishing when he suffered a shallow water blackout and drowned, with his distraught partner arriving on the beach as the tragedy unfolded. 5 / 9The couple had been trying for a baby before his death, prompting Ms Vlug to seek out IVF treatment in the hope of keeping his memory alive. 6 / 9'Bubba Chump coming this October', Ms Vlug captioned the post, receiving well-wishes from pro-surfers Mick Fanning and Alana Blanchard in the comments. 7 / 9'When my love had his accident, we all held onto hope that I'd be pregnant that month. We'd been trying for a baby', the 29-year-old model wrote. 8 / 9'IVF was on our cards but it wasn't something I ever imagined I'd be tackling on my own. Bittersweet like none other, I've never been more certain or excited about anything in my entire life.'9 / 9The news comes after Ms Vlug spoke candidly of the intense heartache she feels a year after the loss of Pullin, which she describes as feeling 'surreal'. On the podcast she co-hosts with friend Chloe Fisher, the wife of international DJ Paul Fisher, 'Darling, shine!', she admitted to still feeling 'like a robot'. 'I miss him. I want him back. 'I just can't believe he's not about to walk in the door any day', Ms Vlug said.