Weltnachrichten – AU – Carrie Bickmore: « I don’t have a midlife crisis! »

When Carrie Bickmore cut her hair short for the first time in 23 years and then immediately gave her her first tattoo, her mother asked Jennie on an experimental basis if she was having a midlife crisis.

« She asked me how I would feel when I turn 40. I said: ‘I don’t have a midlife crisis!’ « Bickmore recalls with a laugh. « I was in lockdown just long enough that I was glad to be released so I could do a few things. «  »

The tattoo, she says, pays homage to her family, while the short hair suggests she has finally overcome the horror of her schoolgirl crop. « If I take the photo of my 12th. Seeing great, I can see why it took me so long to have short hair again, « she reveals.

« I’m the daggy girl with braces who looks at my partner and hopes he’ll give me a pash by the end of the night, but there was no chance! »

If you try a little more, however, it soon turns out that the snipping and coloring – not to mention the willingness to pose in bikini for our shoot – is perhaps a little more symbolic than the mother of three and popular host of The Project would believe us to let.

While it’s just a haircut and the tiniest tattoo, for a woman who admits she loves structure and the status quo, the audacity of both is a symbol of a major change in Bickmore’s life.

In fact, it is only when she speaks to Stellar that she realizes that these external changes are an expression of an internal determination that has existed for years.

« It’s probably why, without thinking about it, I just want to be a little more carefree about getting the tattoo and cutting my hair, » she says. « I don’t throw caution to the wind very often and I would like to do that a little more. «  »

After years of coping and moving on, the TV and radio host is now experimenting with living a little lighter and looser (she admits she stepped out of her comfort zone and took an « ah, whatever » approach to this photo shoot ). .

When her 20s were marked by caring for her first husband, Greg Lange, through his battle with brain cancer, her 30s began newly widowed and raised with a young son. Only now, when she is 40 years old, enters into a partnership again and has two more children, does she feel sufficiently free and unencumbered to take on the airy life that she missed in her youth.

« In my 20s, when everyone around me was pretty carefree, I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, » she reveals.

« I grew up faster than most people. I already had one child in my 30s and had two more much later. As my career and family life build, I view all of my 30s as exhaustion. Now I just have to take a few more risks, be a little more carefree, and see where life takes me. «  »

There is no doubt that 2020 was a big year for Bickmore. She was born on 3. December not only 40, but also 20 years after graduating as a journalist. However, since she is not going to party for her 40th birthday due to COVID. Birthday, she postpones it until she is 41 years old.

I love parties and I want to have all of my friends and family together but some are in Western Australia and South Australia and couldn’t leave. It won’t be comfortable if I’m not with people I love, so I’ll be staying for another year 39. «  »

She had low expectations for her two-decade career after graduating from Curtin University in Perth in 2000. She also studied public relations in case she needed a backup plan.

The following year, she moved from Perth to Melbourne to work on the radio before starting television as a newscaster for Rove Live. Years later, as jobs drop and veteran TV presenters become unemployed, Bickmore is busier than ever, with a stunning portfolio that reflects not only her talent but a healthy dose of ambition.

While watching « everything that happened happened by chance, » she also admits that she skillfully demonstrated her skills with diversity and agility.

Aside from The Project, she has her Hit Network radio show with Tommy Little, there’s her extensive charity work including Carries Beanies 4 Brain Cancer which raised nearly $ 18 million – oh, and there’s her 736. 000 strong Instagram fan base who need feeding as regularly as their family of five.

« I’ve never used the hashtag #blessed, but I 100 percent don’t assume I have work, » she says. « I keep trying to add new strings to my bow because I know one will fall by the wayside. It’s also about constantly learning new skills. «  »

To see Bickmore in The Project is to watch a woman at the top of her game. As the only presenter to appear on the show since its launch in 2009, she not only ushered in a fresher and funnier news and time format, but also made it an integral part of the Australian television landscape.

Over the years she has worked with a number of hosts including Charlie Pickering, Dave Hughes, Rove McManus and now Waleed Aly, but unlike many comedy shows, she was never the female sidekick, always the lead actress.

« I just feel very lucky to be on a show for so long, » she says. « It suits me well. I love messaging, but I also love talking and chatting. I love comedy after starting at Rove Live, which clearly wasn’t a comedian, but I loved the energy of comedians and I just loved being with them. «  »

She is also grateful to have reached 40 at a time when aging is less of a hindrance for women. « I still think there are some hangovers that haven’t gone away, and women’s and men’s experiences on TV are different, but it’s a long way, » she muses.

« I think I should bow to the women who came before me because they paved the way for my career. «  »

She pauses before adding, « It makes me pretty angry to think I was that age and it was, ‘time to mix it up. “I’m just getting started. I can’t speak for other women, but I feel like I’m just finding out who I really am. Thinking about all those years women missed out on something is just so crazy. «  »

It would be easy to attribute Bickmore’s popularity – cemented when she won the Gold Logie in 2015 and put on a hat to raise awareness about brain cancer – to the « girl next door » factor.

There is no doubt that she has a sunny, self-deprecating Jennifer Aniston-style ease, but her appeal is greater. Suffering has made her empathetic – she says she gave up not crying on live television – while grit and gratitude are her ethos, both at work and at home.

Living with partner Chris Walker, 39, and children Oliver, 13, Evie, 5, and Adelaide, 2 may look like a picture of domestic cuteness, but it’s not without its challenges.

She has posted pictures of Sharpie drawings on the sofa, admits she forgot birthdays and is currently taking turns with Walker to sleep on her youngest daughter’s floor. « At the moment it’s about survival, » she admits.

« Addie has a lot of words, but she is an absolute shock when it comes to sleep. We joked that we might have to drag a bed into her room permanently. Right now we’re sleeping on pillows on the floor and it doesn’t help any of our osteo-bills. « She laughs, » By your third you know it will be over. «  »

She is also honest about the challenges of Victoria’s prolonged lockdown and shows that a slower life was imminent initially. « I’m not good at just being, but I had to be quite a bit, » she explains.

« I can’t play well either, but I just had to play. Our family is a very busy family so it was oddly a reset that I badly needed even though I wouldn’t have asked for it. «  »

Most of the time, she was worried about her parents, who divorced at a young age and now live alone. She could go for a walk with her mother, but she couldn’t hug her. « I was still working and didn’t want to bring anything back so I felt like I couldn’t give her the love she needed and the touch and closeness. «  »

Jennie Bickmore-Brand explains to Stellar that her daughter’s love was always apparent, regardless of obstacle. « Carrie spent the first five years of her life as an only child, but when she became part of a mixed family she quickly learned that things didn’t always go their way, » she says.

There was often drama and tension, as in many families, and she watched how everything was handled. I think she learned the power of love and commitment under all circumstances. Carrie’s own personality can brighten up a room. I am very proud of their resilience and generosity. «  »

Emerging from lockdown quickly became overwhelming, especially as she found that her family had grown closer and that her children had, she believes, benefited from boredom. When she asked Ollie to tell her the best lockdowns, he replied, « All the time I have to spend with Evie. « Bickmore was touched, but also amused.

« Most of the time, they annoy each other. But they only had to play with each other. . . so they did. «  »

Regarding her relationship with Walker, Bickmore says they make a great team. « He’s such a good sounding board, always has good advice, and is always encouraging. I know he has my back which is a great feeling. «  »

The family has decided to have « stress free » fish and chips on the beach on Christmas Day and Bickmore hopes to find time to play the piano during the summer break to expand their repertoire beyond the Coldplay hit « Clocks ». .

« I played the piano as a kid and when I watched my son play I wanted to get involved, » she says. « Every now and then I sit down for 10 minutes and ring the bell. I love the sense of achievement, but I won’t be playing in the opera house anytime soon. «  »

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Carrie Bickmore, The Project, Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, Greg Lange, Chris Walker, Midlife Crisis