Melissa George
Nature is full of reminders that hardship can result in positive transformation: diamonds are what happens to a lump of coal that has held up under tremendous pressure and stress, rainbows appear only after the rain, and ugly ducklings become swans. And then there’s the caterpillar – it’s only the struggle to shed the cocoon that makes the butterfly’s wings powerful enough to fly.
It’s a timeless metaphor of metamorphosis used frequently in film and literature. But in the stories we tell children, the tragedy of the transformation is often omitted: to become a butterfly, the caterpillar has to fall apart, decomposing until just the essence of its former self remains. Before it can emerge as a butterfly, it must put itself back together, from scratch.
Melissa George hopes her own metamorphosis is finally beginning. The award-winning Australian actor has had a tumultuous 12 months. In September, the mother of two was left bloodied and bruised after a clash with her then-partner, french entrepreneur Jean-David Blanc, landing the pair in court. It is understood the altercation at their palatial penthouse in Paris ended their relationship.
A bitter custody battle followed the separation, which has denied George from being able to take her sons, Raphael, 3, and Solal, 18 months, outside France without Blanc’s consent.
In March, in a final bid to convince authorities she should be allowed to return home with her boys, George agreed to be interviewed by SCT’s Sunday Night. The raw interview recounted the domestic and psychological abuse she alleged she had suffered at the hands of the French millionaire.
George apologised to her homeland for “doing not-nice things” – a reference to comments years earlier that she didn’t need “credibility from my country any more, I just need them all to be quiet”, and that she “would rather be having a croissant and an espresso in Paris or walking my french bulldog in New York City”.
The 40-year-old said she has had to turn down high-profile acting roles to be present for her children, which has crippled her career and forced her to sell her possessions to make ends meet.
The reaction to George’s emotional interview was immediate and divided; trolls reminded us once again how the internet has become a vehicle for the basest form of bullying, responding with Twitter lashings and blame, while domestic violence groups and fans defended the star. Now, almost four months later, how are things for George? “Nothing is changed. Nothing is better,” she says, down an echoing phone line from Paris. “It’s just so tiring, I need all my strength to cook for my kids … I’m still fighting every day. It’s like putting a polar bear in the jungle – I don’t quite know how to survive, but I’m surviving for my kids.”
Her children are still not allowed to leave France with their mother and George says she is not even allowed to share photos of her sons on social media.
“I got so many limitations placed on me in the last few months – I’m not allowed to do this, I’m not allowed to mention that, I’m not allowed to post this, I’m not allowed to put up pictures of my family, my sons,” she says. “I’ve got all these strange rules and regulations placed on me. I would love to share more but I’m not allowed to.”
There is frustration in her voice as she describes the situation like it’s a galling groundhog day, but also a defiant inclination to look on the bright side.
“I am still in Paris, yes, by default. But I’m quite frenchified now,” with a giggle. “I have had to learn how to speak French to communicate with everything going on. Every day you learn