TRUE STORY OF A TV ROMANCE THAT GOES ON AND ON Thorn Birds series gave us 40yrs of marriage
EXCLUSIVE
An enduring true love story lies behind one of the most romantic TV series of all time. The Thorn Birds had at its heart a love triangle featuring English actress Rachel Ward as Meggie, Richard Chamberlain as conflicted priest Ralph and Aussie actor Bryan Brown as Meggie’s future husband, Luke.
On screen, the passion was between Ralph and Meggie, while her marriage to Luke was not the stuff of fairy tales.
But the actors playing them, Bryan and Rachel, did get their happy ever after.
On set they fell madly in love and wed months after filming ended in 1983.
Bryan says: “It’s amazing to think Rachel and I have been married almost 40 years.
“You cannot underestimate how huge the show was all over the world.
“But whatever work opportunities came from that, I will always be more grateful to it for my 40-year marriage and family.”
From the start, he says, there was an attraction between himself and Rachel.
Playing around on set, he read her palm and accurately predicted she would have three children. He laughs: “Yes, I did say that but I didn’t say they would be mine!”
I read her palm and predicted three children but I didn’t say they would be mine! BRYAN BROWN TELLS OF WOOING HIS WIFE-TO-BE ON THORN BIRDS SET
Bryan has enjoyed a long Hollywood career in a string of movies, including Cocktail, Gorillas in the Mist, Australia and Along Came Polly.
And now the 75-year-old has marked a return to TV in mystery drama Darby and Joan opposite
Greta Scacchi.
Currently streaming on Acorn
TV, it tells of two lone strangers – a retired cop and a widowed English nurse – who embark on an epic journey in northern Australia
Rachel, meanwhile, has carved out a career as a director having cut down on acting roles after The Thorn Birds.
Now 64, she has spoken candidly about how publicity surrounding the show – the most-watched series after Roots – left her with a mass of insecurities.
Oxfordshire-born Rachel beat stars Jane Seymour, Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfeiffer and Olivia Newton-john to the Meggie role.
Bryan says: “There was a lot of attention on Rachel – it wasn’t something she could handle. I doubt anyone really would.
“But we had a great time making the show and ultimately we each met the person we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with.
“There is always that balance of good and bad in life. Nothing is ever one thing or the other, is it?”
Rachel has previously revealed her initial attraction to Bryan was pretty basic... it was his pecs that won her attention.
Richard Chamberlain, the fictional object of Meggie’s lust, said he had never seen “two people more in love”.
In typical Aussie-bloke style, Bryan is a bit cooler on the subject, saying only: “I could tell there was attraction on her part and the feelings were reciprocated.”
But their decision to tie the knot came in the most unlikely way. “I was in
London to film Give My Street with Paul Mccart with me,” recalls Bryan.
“We took a week off to had this massive argumen
“I just thought if we’re that, we may as well get m
They wed that year at R home, Cornwell Manor, a
Why Tom is the best bar none
Star of 80s epic says: Show was huge...but I gained so much more
o go to Ireland and
nt. e gonna argue like married.”
Rachel’s childhood
Georgian mansion in Oxfordshire, before moving to Australia. The pair settled in Sydney and their children Rose, 38, Matilda, 35, and James, 30, now all live nearby.
In 2019 they became grandparents for the first time when Matilda had a son, Zan.
Unusually, Bryan was present at the birth, although it wasn’t planned that way. “No one in the delivery room told me to get out so I didn’t,” he explains. It was just supposed to be gran-to-be Rachel at the birth but it seems the labour caught Matilda’s parents off guard.
Bryan says: “We were having dinner with the now Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, when there were lots of messages from Matilda screaming ‘Mum is supposed to be here.’ We both raced to the hospital and I sat behind Matilda, patting her head. I’d seen the births of all my children. I didn’t see why I should leave this one.”
Matilda now also has a one-year-old girl Anouk. At the mention of her and Zan, now three, Bryan’s eyes light up. “I just love playing with them – they are adorable.” Becoming a grandparent meant the separation from family to film Darby and Joan became more difficult.
Bryan says: “I did miss all of them terribly on this shoot.” But with fewer responsibilities, he and Rachel are able to indulge more in their other great passion – horse riding.
Bryan says: “I’ve been riding ever since Thorn Birds but Rachel grew up on horses.”
The pair have galloped off to the hills in Bulgaria, Israel and Canada and are planning a trip a little closer to home in New Zealand.
When not travelling, the couple spend some free time watching British telly via streaming platforms.
So, apart from having the same travel and TV interests, what’s the secret to a longlasting marriage?
Bryan doesn’t miss a beat: “The main thing is to say Yes to your wife all the time and if anything goes wrong say ‘It’s my fault’. If men understood that they’d be happier.”
Darby and Joan is streaming on Acorn TV.