The news came as a shock to fans, who believed she had the picture-perfect life. But those closest to Carrie Bickmore knew her split from long-term partner Chris Walker was on the cards, saying it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
“They had been working on their relationship for some time,” tells our exclusive insider. “I think taking their family to the UK last year was an effort to mend things.”
WATCH: Carrie Bickmore says goodbye to The Project
But the friend doubts whether uprooting their daughters Evie and Adelaide, and Carrie’s son Ollie, from her marriage to late husband Greg Lange, was such a good idea in hindsight.
Even veteran entertainment reporter Peter Ford questioned the decision, suspecting something was amiss when Carrie took a leave of absence from The Project to make the move to London.
“Most people don’t take time off like that – if they’ve got a TV or radio contract, you don’t take an extended break in the middle of the year,” he told news.com.au.
According to our insider, the enviable getaway was just a bandaid solution, and is where things truly began to unravel.
The final straw is thought to have been a headline-making nude Skype scandal involving Chris in May. The senior ABC TV producer unintentionally exposed himself during an online meeting with his colleagues, assuming he’d turned his camera off before disrobing.
Six months earlier a similar incident had occurred, with Chris flashing his “meat and veg” during a work video call of Carrie’s.
WATCH: Carrie Bickmore dancing with her partner
“As you can imagine, Carrie was mortified,” tells the source. “You’d think Chris would have learnt to be more careful!”
Shortly after the Skype bungle, the family returned to Melbourne. Not long after that, Carrie quit The Project after 13 years.
In their split announcement, Carrie and Chris stressed that co-parenting Ollie, 15, Evie, 7 and Addie, 4, is their “sole focus.”
“Telling the kids was one of the toughest things Carrie has had to do” reveals a second insider. “Breaking up a family is never easy. But in order to be the best mum possible, Carrie had to put her own happiness first.
“At the end of the day, she and Chris just weren’t working anymore.”
why she had to ensuring her kids are happy is the mum’s most important project now.
