Tammin Sursok, a former star of Home and Away, has spoken up about her family’s “accidental” return to Australia.
On Channel 7’s The Morning Show on Wednesday, the 38-year-old actress explained how it happened to hosts Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur.
Tammin, her film producer husband Sean McEwen, and their two children had been residing in Los Angeles for some years as Tammin’s acting career grew.
The family returned to Brisbane when COVID struck.
“We were always going to spend just as much time in Australia and America and then COVID hit and we weren’t able to do that, and then it just sort of happened,” the actress said.
“I did a movie in Brisbane, and we kept staying and I kept being able to work here, and so we’ve been here almost a year, so it’s been an accidental sort of semi move to Australia.”
The mother of two daughters, Phoenix, eight, and Lennon, three, described how some of Lennon’s sentences now had a pronounced Australian accent.
“But my three-year-old is starting to say Aussie words so she’ll have her little American accent and then she’ll say, ‘It’s fine, it’s totally fine mum’,” Tammin said in a thick Australian accent.
Tammin is best known for her role as Dani Sutherland on Home and Away from 2000 to 2004, as well as her appearances on the TV drama Pretty Little Liars and the miniseries Joe vs Carole.
I was reunited with my family.
Despite the fact that she and her family have been back in Australia for over a year, due to the Queensland border closure, she was unable to see her parents for months after their return.
In December of last year, the actress sobbed as she reconnected with her parents after a two-and-a-half-year separation.
“My parents are almost at the border. Please think good things that all goes smoothly,” she wrote on her Instagram story at the time.
The actress subsequently shared multiple videos, including a reunion video, in which she explained her emotions over the past two and a half years while holding back tears.
“I feel angry for my kids that they missed out on years of their life, they’ll never have those memories,” she shared.
“And I know that a lot of people are in much worse situations.
“But I do believe that pain is valid, all pain is valid, so we should be careful about comparing people’s trauma or pain, whatever it is.”
Finally reunited, Tammin wrote on Instagram: “After 2.5 years, I’m finally with my family again.
“We couldn’t come into Australia for almost two years and then, when we did, there was a surge and the borders closed the second day we arrived in hotel quarantine,” she said
“I’m never letting them go. If you are in this situation, my heart is with you.”
COVID scare
Along with the border issues, the family has had a terrible year following Tammin’s husband’s COVID struggle.
After testing positive for the virus in January 2021, Sean became critically unwell.
“My husband has Covid. And I’m scared… I felt very out of control,” Tammin wrote on Instagram at the time.
“It was rough and touch and go. All the hospitals are full and his fever of 103 [39.4C] wouldn’t break for days.
“COVID is real. It’s scary.
“I know some people just get a cold, or feel like they just have a cold or the flu, but some people don’t.
“And my husband is really fit and healthy and all the hospitals are full.”
Tammin surprised her family with a 10-year vow renewal after such a trying year.
Her two children, Phoenix and Lennon, were also in attendance, both dressed in white outfits.
The actress wore a lace wedding gown with floral decorations on the train and looked quite calm as she celebrated on the beach.
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