Brooke McClymont is the first to confess she doesn’t lead the healthiest of lifestyles.
And while some of her campmates struggled with what they couldn’t have, Brooke welcomed being forced to give up cigarettes and alcohol, and live on small portions of food.
“I went from 8000 calories a day to 800 calories a day,” she says.
“It was probably the healthiest I’ve ever been. It was like a rehab facility for me. I think I need to do this more often.”
Brooke was put through intense trials on the show.
(Network Ten)Together with husband Adam Eckersley, Brooke has quit smoking on many occasions, in particular leading up to the birth of her two children, Tiggy, nine, and two-year-old Elroy.
“I had every intention of [weaning myself off], then the night before, I sat up and smoked a whole pack.
“But then I went in there and just did it. I want to be clear: there’s no smoking, no drinking, no extra food. So I just sucked it up.
“That was one thing I realised about myself – how mentally strong I was.”
That said, as soon as production finished, Brooke welcomed the opportunity to light up.
“It was the best one I ever had,” she says with one of her characteristic big laughs.
Although Brooke took the reduced food intake in her stride, the same cannot be said of Beau Ryan and Joey Essex, who had a meltdown about how little there was to eat.
“Each to their own – we were all starving, but obviously some suffer worse than others,” says Brooke, 40.
“When Beau was [doing that], you go, ‘Oh, what’s going on? Is he really losing it? Is this a joke?’
“You’re just not sure because you don’t know everybody at this stage and everybody’s experience is so different. He was really suffering.
“But the great thing about Beau and Joey is that they own up to everything they do.”
As for Joey and Maria Thattil’s romance – or is that showmance? – Brooke is non-committal.
“I don’t know, what do you think?” she teases. “You know what – I pretty much slept through all that stuff, so I have no idea.”
While being away from her young family was difficult, Brooke is loving watching the series with Tiggy now on their 40-hectare property in Wang Wauk, NSW.
But with two years of COVID restrictions, there have been times when musicians Brooke and Adam have worried about how they would hang onto their farm.
Brooke smiles with husband Adam Eckersley.
(Instagram)“The music industry has been completely decimated,” she says. “But in desperate situations, you go, ‘I don’t want to lose the farm. What are we going to do?'”
The couple then came up with a smart idea – organising glamping and intimate concert events on their property called Hang At The Wang.
“It’s our little business at home that has completely gone nuts,” says Brooke.
“I mentioned it the other night on the show and since that aired, we’ve sold out until August.
“It’s unbelievable – we took a destitute situation and turned it into something that’s just saving us.”
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