‘THE TRUTH ABOUT MY MARRIAGE’
After nearly 20 years, the actress reveals her recipe for a happy union
In November, Rebecca Gibney and husband Richard Bell will celebrate a rare milestone in celebrity marriages – their 20-year anniversary! But after two decades together, the actress says the production designer still makes her “go all gooey inside”. And to make their fairytale romance all the more magical, the loved-up pair even grew up on the same street as children!
“In walks this beautiful, tall New Zealander who happened to live on the same street as me when I was five,” says the New Zealand native of meeting Richard on the set of Aussie TV movie Dogwoman in 1999 following her divorce from first husband, Irwin Thomas. “We met in 1999, got together in 2000 and married in 2001 and have been happy ever since.”
After tying the knot on a beach in Th Thailand, the couple w welcomed their son Z Zachary, now 17, in 2 2004 and the Back T To The Rafters star s says the way R Richard embraced f fatherhood has m made her love him e even more.
“From the m moment our son w was born and they lo locked eyes, he has b been the protector,” s she gushes. “He c changed as many n nappies as I did.”
But while the couple have spent the past 17 years juggling parenthood and their careers in the entertainment biz, the 56-year-old says they have never been too busy for date night.
“We work together a lot and quite often we’ll find ourselves in beautiful hotels or amazing places for dinner, so it’s easy to keep the romance alive,” says the Gold Logie winner.
RESPECT IS THE KEY
Rebecca insists respect is just as important as romance though. “You must respect each other... it’s having complete and utter respect above all else and obviously love and being willing to compromise, which is what we’ve always done,” she says,
adding that Richard is “my rock, he’s my everything”.
And it seems he’s her biggest cheerleader, especially as she takes on her latest challenge, whipping up masterpieces in the Celebrity Masterchef kitchen.
“On day two or day three, I called home and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this. It’s too hard.’ Not only are you under pressure anyway in that environment, out of your comfort zone in a pantry that you’ve never been in before, using appliances that you’ve never used before, but you’ve got 50,000 cameras in your face recording every single emotion while you’re doing it,” says Rebecca.
‘I can’t imagine growing old with anyone else’
But the budding chef says it’s all been worth it – especially for Richard and Zac!
“I learned so much, and I came back a much better cook,” she admits. “My husband and my family were so thankful. They were like, ‘Wow!’”
But as far as she’s come in the kitchen, Rebecca’s prouder still of her happy marriage to Richard.
“He gets me utterly, and we’re each other’s biggest fans,” she says. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have issues, but we always work through them because I can’t imagine growing old with anyone else.”