When Charmyne Palavi pushes newborn Xavier in his stroller along the streets of Brisbane, she is aware people assume he’s her bub. After all, it was only a year ago she was in India undergoing IVF treatment with her then-husband Michael Browne, in a desperate bid to give him the biological child he craved.

But a lot can happen in a year. Today, the beauty salon owner known as the “NRL Cougar” for dating a string of young rugby players is 40, separated from Michael, 24, dating a 22-year-old, and now, a grandmother. Xavier’s mum is 17-year-old Jesse, the eldest of Charmyne’s three kids, and is the result of a “happy accident” with her security guard boyfriend Jeremy Vyner, 21. Charmyne admits the fact her daughter was even having sex was a shock – never mind that she was pregnant at just 16.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, the whole grandmother thing, as most people think the baby is mine when they see me with him,” she says, cradling the bub. “I spend a lot of time with him, as Jesse, Jeremy and Xavier all live with me. Jesse is feeling tired a lot, but I can live with very little sleep, so I take him off her hands. I just love him.” Charmyne was there to help Jesse through the labour – not that the teenager needed it.

“When I had my kids [Jesse, Bella, 13, and Levi, 9] you had to literally beg for an epidural, but Jesse had a few harsh contractions and was given one virtually straight away. I was like, ‘No, that’s not fair!’ I didn’t want her to think birth is a walk in the park. In the end, Jesse slept through most of the labour or was on Facebook, while Jeremy played on his iPad.”

Read more about Charmyne's new life as a grandmother in this week's Woman's Day, on sale February 13, 2012.