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It was a three-week trip that Sunrise star Edwina Barthlomew described as “so special”: a “big European adventure” with her six-year-old daughter Molly.
The Channel Seven star took a hiatus from her usual TV presenting duties recently to spend time in England, Scotland and Sweden “gathering ideas” for a new career chapter, and having “the best, best, most beautiful time” along the way.
Edwina and her husband Neil Varcoe separated geographically in 2023 so Neil could oversee the renovation of a boutique hotel the couple planned to create in Carcoar, NSW.
The hotel – named Saltash Farm – will open in May 2027, giving the couple a whole new income stream alongside Edwina’s ongoing commitments with Seven.
As such, Edwina – who also shares a son, Tommy, four, with Neil – has been ploughing her efforts into learning as much as possible from other successful hotel-owners, which is where her mother-daughter trip overseas came in.
“We’re coming back with so much inspiration, so much excitement. We’ve seen so many beautiful things and had just really the most special time,” a beaming Edwina shared in an Instagram video from Sweden on October 26.
“And I’ve been taking notes the whole time, and I’m so excited to finish off Saltash Farm. We’re going to open… drum roll… in May. We’ll set up a waitlist so you can come and stay,” the star told her 237k Instagram followers.
In a separate post, Edwina went on to document more about her recent trip before the long journey home from London to Australia.
“Molly carried her suitcase for the entire three weeks and only occasionally complained she had little legs that couldn’t possibly travel a step further,” Edwina shared.
“We played countless games of snap and listened to Beatrix Potter, A A Milne, Enid Blyton and Lewis Carroll on a storybook adventure around England.
“We also covered some Shakespeare for educational purposes before Mum remembered some of those yarns get a little bawdy,” the star quipped.
“We visited Highland Coos (for Dad), ducks, squirrels, pigs and think we may have spotted a hedgehog in the wild.
“Molly has become a hot chocolate connoisseur and devoted fan of Swedish lollies,” she added.
But it was one final detail about the trip that had the hearts of Edwina’s fans melting on mass – a message sent by Molly to her dad after Edwina let her send a text for the very first time.
In her Instagram post, Edwina shared a screenshot of the exchange between father and daughter.
“Dad, look what I saw. It’s Big Ben. Thanks to Mum and you thank you so much. Love Molly,” the youngster had written in her excited text.
“You’ve travelled so far and grown so much,” Neil told her. “I am very proud of you, Molly. Love, Dad-da.”
Molly then went on to send her own adorable reply – paying tribute to her devoted parents.
“Thank you so much for this lovely life. If it wasn’t for you and Mum I wouldn’t be here,” she shared, before signing off, “Love Molly”.
The beautiful exchange led Edwina to declare her little girl “a delightful travel companion”, before describing their time away as “a trip we will never forget”.
And on social media, friends and fans also shared their delight over Molly’s beautiful message.
“Beautiful manners & gratitude Molly,” wrote fellow Sunrise star Sam Mac, while Today Show star Jayne Azzopardi added, “Beautiful girl”.
“Oh my goodness, you are both raising your children so beautifully, gives me hope for the future,” another fan added, while a fourth wrote, “What a beautiful child you have. This melts my heart.”
Edwina’s new life chapter comes two years after she announced live on air that she was suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer.
These days, following specialist help and daily medication, Edwina feels “really well”, and yet an insider previously told Woman’s Day how her cancer scare changed her approach to life.
“At the end of the day, what matters most is being there for her children. She hasn’t exactly slowed down — she’s still juggling motherhood, her Sunrise commitments and projects like Carcoar — but she’s doing it with her family by her side,” the source told Woman’s Day.
“Looking back, Eddy can see how profoundly that experience changed the way she thinks about life,” the insider went on.
“It gave her the courage to stop putting off the things that mattered to her and Neil and to finally make space for the dream they’d been talking about for years.
“Carcoar has become more than just a project – it’s a reminder that sometimes life’s biggest disruptions can open the door to an entirely new chapter.”
