Noni’s nightmare
The grim allegations against her ex-husband are taking a toll on the national treasure
Noni Hazlehurst has long been one of Australia’s most beloved actresses, but the former Play School and Better Homes & Gardens host has turned her back on the limelight to escape the scandalous court case her ex-husband John Jarratt is embroiled in. John, who shares grown-up sons William, 24, and Charlie, 30, with Noni, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Sydney’s East in September 1976, long before he married Noni. The 66-year-old Wolf Creek star has firmly denied the allegations, saying they are “ridiculous and untrue”, but nevertheless the strain on Noni’s personal life is proving increasingly difficult. While she made a rare red carpet appearance at the AACTA Awards in Sydney on December 5, where she was nominated for best supporting actress, “she slipped in and out of the ceremony very quietly,” an insider reveals to Woman’s Day.
“She’s become even more reclusive and has pretty much has gone to ground since the news [of John’s court case] broke. She rarely leaves her Gold Coast hinterland home and won’t even acknowledge her ex. No doubt she hates that her sons are having to go through all this, too.”
The A Place To Call Home star and John were married for 10 years before they decided to divorce in 1997.
Although Noni, 65, has declined to comment on the allegations against John, she recently spoke out about the harrassment she’s experienced within the industry, following the #Metoo and Time’s Up movements.
“I was the quintessential young blonde,” recalled Noni earlier this year. “I got locked in a dressing room and had to sort of scream my way out – things like that. It just seems so ludicrous to me that we are still fighting for equality and that it is perceived as some kind of threat.” As for John, the former Mcleod’s Daughters actor is still waiting to clear his name, after a delay by prosecutors.
In February he’ll face a readiness hearing, while a five-day trial has been set for July. In the interim, John has claimed, “this is a nightmare for me, my career is disintegrating,” and has even offered to willingly undertake a lie detector test.