Channel 7?Instagram/Getty
She’s won a legion of fans for being a relatable presence on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Rebekah Elmaloglou hasn’t shied away from sharing her family’s off-screen struggles along the way.
The actress – who rose to fame when she joined the cast of Home and Away playing troubled teen Sophie Simpson in 1990 – broke down as she discussed a “tough couple of years” with her camp mates on the Channel 10 show.
Rebekah has been married to her musician husband Kane Baker for 17 years. The pair wed in an intimate Byron Bay ceremony in 2009 – at the spot where they first fell in love.
“It was everything we had hoped for, exactly what we had pictured,” Rebekah told Woman’s Day at the time. “And the best thing was that it wasn’t contrived at all. Instead, it all just flowed beautifully and we didn’t have to worry about anything.”
Does Rebekah Elmaloglou have children?
Rebekah and Kane share a son, Kai. Now a teen, he has tried his hand at acting already, with a role in Neighbours among others.
But in a candid I’m a Celebrity moment, Rebekah opened up about a secret struggle her family had been going through behind closed doors.
She revealed her husband had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder “out of the blue”.
“We’ve had a very full-on couple of years,” the star divulged. “My husband’s had two very serious psychotic episodes.
“He’s amazing and he’s, you know, incredible, but it’s been a very traumatic couple of years for not only myself, but for Kai, our son, and mostly for Kane.”
Rebekah broke down as she revealed more about what the family had gone through.
“There’s so much stigma still around mental health, you know? And there’s no support. It is a very isolating disease. God, poor guy, my husband is such an amazing person, he’s so beautiful. We just need more support.
“It’s been a tough a couple of years but I feel like there’s light at the end of the tunnel and we’re looking forward to the future,” she added.
Certainly, over the years the family has gone through some upheaval due to the demands of Rebekah’s career.
In 2013, when she landed the role of Terese Willis on Neighbours, the family moved to Melbourne where Kane returned to his trade as a painter decorator.
Rebekah has spoken candidly about how – over the next four years – she gained 10kg.
“I’m five-foot nothing so even if I put on an extra kilo or two, it makes a big difference. On TV it makes you look about 10kg heavier than you really are, it’s even worse. But actually piling on 10kg on top of that,” she told New Idea in 2017.
Why did Rebekah Elmaloglou put on weight?
She said factors including making the move from Sydney to Melbourne and going through menopause had contributed to her weight gain.
“I take my hat off to women who have more than one child and work full time. I just don’t know how they do it,” she said.
“I’m like a woman I caught on TV the other day, who saw herself in the mirror and thought she looked fine — until she saw the family photographs. Oh my God, that’s me.”
In 2022, when Neighbours was axed, the family uprooted for a new life in NSW where Rebekah was keen to be closer to her mum and dad.
“We were just grieving,” Rebekah told the Daily Telegraph of the show’s cancellation.
“I was very much like, ‘I don’t care if I’m not working at the moment’. So I never got that far into thinking ‘What if there’s no work out there for me?’”
The new chapter didn’t last though. When Neighbours was given a second reboot the family moved back to Melbourne again, something Rebekah admitted to the Daily Telegraph, she was a “bit annoyed” about at the time.
Of course, when Neighbours was axed once again, it was the start of another new chapter.
“If you’d said to me 12 years ago, ‘You’re going to be moving to Melbourne and work on Neighbours for the next 12 years I would have been like, ‘Absolutely, no way.’ I was always more than happy to do a stint on Home & Away,” Rebekah told TV Tonight in a 2025 interview.
“If the show hadn’t been axed this time around, I’d probably still be here for another 10 years. It’s really hard work but it’s also very rewarding. I’m so blessed with my character, and having a full time gig as an actress, in Australia.”
Rebekah told the outlet that she was “devastated” that the show was ending once again as the cast were “an incredibly close family”.
“But I’m kind of excited for the future and what that will bring,” the star added.
“If it wasn’t for money, I’d happily retire. I’ve been in the industry now over 43 years. It’s been a long stint, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work.”
Is Rebekah Elmaloglou related to Judi Dench?
It’s perhaps no surprise that Rebekah has seen such on-screen longevity, as the star revealed in January that she’s actually related to Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench.
“Judi Dench is my mum’s cousin,” Rebekah told her campmates on I’m a Celebrity, adding that she’s “quite close” to Judi’s daughter Finty.
If you or someone you know needs support, help is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.
