SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Mawdeelsetine The actress opens up about how her life and career have taken surprising turns
Madeleine West never expected things to turn out like this. It’s not just that last year her iconic Neighbours character, Dee Bliss, came back from the dead (kind of – it actually ended up being evil impersonator Andrea Somers). And it’s not just that in the past 13 years she’s given birth to six children, written four books and landed 13 television roles.
What’s most surprising, is that these days all anyone wants to ask the star of Ten’s new drama Playing for Keeps is her relationship status. “At the end of the day I genuinely think that people ask questions because they’re curious,” she tells WHO. “I like to think most curiosity comes from a place of compassion. The public at large … wish the best for us and so that’s why people ask questions.”
Two months ago, reports emerged that the 38-year-old and her long-time partner, chef and Masterchef judge Shannon Bennett, had split after 13 years together. While neither party have explicitly confirmed or denied if the rumours are true, when WHO spoke with the busy star, things seem to point towards a reconciliation.
“I’ve reached a point where I feel like I’ve said enough, and if you treat those nearest and dearest to you with love and respect then that’s all you could ask for,” she says cryptically. “That’s my position now, just treating those who are near and dear to me with love and respect.” Adding fuel to the fire is the fact West refers to the father of her children as her “partner” when the topic of discussion moves to juggling work and raising children Phoenix, 12, Hendrix, 10, Xascha, 8, Xanthe, 6, and twins Xalia and Margaux, 4. “The way I’ve explained it to my kids [about working], is that I am Mummy – the most important role in my life – but I’m also Madeleine who is Daddy’s partner, and I’m Madeleine who’s an actor, and I’m Madeleine who likes to paint and Madeleine who is an author, and if I don’t give some oxygen to all those parts of me, I can’t be the best person I can be.” She does confirm reports that the whole family – including Bennett – is moving to Byron Bay full time. “It’s the energy that is up here, it suits us all as individuals and as a family,” she says. “I want my kids to be able to walk to school and if they’re in their classroom barefoot, then so be it.” Bennett, 42, and West first met in 2001 but didn’t go on their first official date until January 2005 when she invited him to the tennis. “I moved in the next day,” she recalls. “I don’t muck around. I just knew. We’d kind of played this cat and mouse game for years and it was like, ‘What are we doing? Let’s just give this thing a go!’ ” The couple took the same approach to starting a family when Madeleine fell pregnant less than six months after they started dating.
“I never planned to have six children,” she says, laughing. “The universe had other ideas, or had a very sick sense of humour! We took precautions, and those precautions didn’t work. Nature was having a laugh. They always say on the packs of those things, 99 per cent effective. Well, I’m the one per cent that isn’t.”
In the beginning, it may have been a case of a series of happy accidents, but these days, things are a little more organised in West’s household – and they need to be.
“You learn to say no to more things that you say yes to,” she says. “You learn to prioritise what’s truly important. You learn to organise within an inch of your life and then you learn to let go and accept that amidst the chaos there is calm and if you can find that little nucleus, that little eye in the storm, and accept that things won’t always go right and still be brave enough to jump in, take risks and take opportunities knowing it’s going to be hard. But if I believe in this and I have the energy then anything is possible.”