Axle Whitehead has been through the wringer. A relationship breakdown, multiple back surgeries and a loss of confidence that left the musician and actor searching for a way back to himself.
He found it in the most unlikely of places — in the scorching North African desert on SAS Australia 2026, where he joined six other Australian celebrities to take on seven British stars in the show’s most brutal season yet.
However, after dealing with chronic pain and four back surgeries in recent years, including a spinal disc replacement and spinal fusion, his SAS dreams were cut short when he was forced to withdraw for health reasons.
During episode four, Axle, 45, was told by a medic that he had to leave the bootcamp for good after struggling with neck pain and a tingling arm, which could have signalled nerve damage.
Speaking to New Idea after his exit, Axle admitted he was “gutted” to quit and was surprised by how emotional he found the news, insisting he never would have quit of his own accord.
“I was absolutely gutted,” he exclusively tells us.
“I’d bloody got a couple of bulging discs and my arm had kind of switched off. It was a bugger because I know what that nerve pain is. I knew what was coming.”
A longtime fan of the show, Axle always dreamed of making it to the end, but was devastated not to have his ambition realised.
“I’ve been a fan of the show for such a long time and I knew that my fitness might potentially hold me back but I knew I had the mindset to to go all the way,” he adds.
“I was absolutely gutted. I was surprised at how emotional I became, to be honest, but with the exhaustion and just wanting to complete it, it was really overwhelming, and it really rocked me.”
However, even signing up for the show was a major achievement after he was forced to pull out of the sign-up process just years before due to his health struggles.
Axle has had a brutal few years recovering from four back operations, exclusively telling New Idea that he thought he’d never be able to run again.
“I was sort of out for two or three years and at one point I didn’t think I’d ever be able to run again or ride a horse or do the things I love, like motorbike racing,” he explains.
“Living with the pain [is one thing], but then when it affects your mental game, and you’re in chronic pain, you’re incapacitated, you can’t do the things that you wanted to do, and you don’t know how long it’s going to be, and the injury doesn’t seem to be improving: It’s no joke.”
“That’s probably the hardest part of it. When you’re incapacitated, the physical is one thing, but it’s the mental game and not knowing where you’re at and what you might potentially be losing. It’s bloody hard to be honest.”
Axle had hoped to appear on SAS Australia a few years ago, but failed the medical due to his ongoing back issues, something he admits he is glad of now, because he wasn’t ready for the gruelling nature of the show.
“I desperately wanted to do it, and that would have been a silly decision, so I’m glad I got pulled out [then],” Axle admits.
But this time, after overcoming his health difficulties and going through a break-up, Axle was ready to put himself to the test on SAS.
“I was in a place where I was rebuilding myself,” he tells us. “Being put in really uncomfortable places is a great way to fast-track that developmental process of getting real confidence back.”
“In my 20s and 30s, I had this confidence that I could just walk through walls and anything I imagined or wanted to do, I could get through it, and I could execute and get it done.”
“And I lost a bit of that, through various things. So I was in the process of rebuilding myself [when I joined SAS].”
As well as it being a physical test of strength, SAS also pushes your mental endurance to the limits, something Axle reveals he was prepared for, thanks to his time in therapy after a battle with addiction.
“I have practiced being vulnerable, whether it be through addiction or just being a songwriter or whatever else,” he shares.
“Being open and vulnerable, I am used to, and I feel comfortable with. So that definitely helped [me].”
Despite its challenges, Axle has no regrets about joining SAS and credits the experience with rebuilding his confidence and getting him back on track.
“I’m back in the game, I have my sense of resilience back [and] I’ve overcome fear,” he adds.
Scroll down for everything you need to know about the 45-year-old Aussie star.
How did Axle Whitehead become famous?
Axle first caught Australia’s attention on the first season of Australian Idol back in 2003, before launching a music career that included the top-10 single ‘I Don’t Do Surprises’.
He went on to become a familiar face on Video Hits, where he interviewed the likes of Beyoncé, Oasis and Justin Timberlake, before landing the role that would define him for many Australians — Liam Murphy on Home and Away.
His acting credits also include The Secret Life of Us, Ned Kelly, Neighbours, and US productions Shameless and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as appearing on season three of The Masked Singer Australia, making it to the Grand Final and finishing in third place as “Mullet”.
However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the star. Shortly after a move to Los Angeles, the roles dried up, and he found himself working in a Hollywood dive bar called Brew Dog.
Whitehead told the Daily Telegraph: “I was back working for eight bucks an hour and tips. It had been a long time since I’d worked for eight bucks.”
“If any actor thinks they are going to arrive in LA and just make it happen, they will be sorely mistaken.”
“You’ve got to do what you can to survive.”
“And every actor needs to know how to make a good coffee. Don’t be afraid to do it because at some point you’re going to have to.”
Who was Axle Whitehead in Home and Away?
Axle played Liam Murphy on the beloved Australian soap for four years, between 2009 and 2012, and he looks back on the experience with real warmth.
“It’s such a successful show because it feels like a family,” he told our sister publication, TV Week.
“The crew is unlike any I’ve worked with. You spend 12 to 14 hours a day with these people. And once you become part of that family, you don’t have an ego. You just get the work done.”
Axle co-starred with Samara Weaving on the show, and the pair developed an off-screen relationship, too.
However, after dating for a few months, the pair called it quits in late 2012, with Axle saying they would remain friends.
“Samara and I have a great amount of respect for each other, and I think we’ll always be very close,” Whitehead told News.com.au at the time.
What is Axle Whitehead doing now?
Axle has joined SAS Australia 2026 — though it almost didn’t happen.
He was first approached to do the show a few years ago, but failed the medical after undergoing a spinal disc replacement and spinal fusion surgery. He’s now had four operations on his back in total.
“In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t do it then,” he shared.
When the opportunity came around again, Axle was in the middle of a difficult personal stretch — going through a relationship breakdown, health challenges and a crisis of confidence that had left him at a crossroads.
“I’ve been through a difficult part of my life — a relationship breakdown and surgery and a few other personal things — and I was looking for a challenge,” he said.
“I needed a personal, emotional and psychological challenge. I have a fascination with the mind of an SAS soldier — I’d never come in contact with someone who works in that field.”
The experience didn’t just challenge him; he says it reset him entirely.
“It changed my life. It got me back. It renegotiated my relationship with fear and resilience. And it kick-started my life again. When I returned, I sold all my stuff, got rid of all my possessions apart from my instruments, and moved to Thailand for three or four months.”
Sharing a post to Instagram to mark his time on the show, Axle shared with his followers: “I am struggling to put into words how this experience was for me.”
“A privilege, life changing, honour, humbling, full of laughter and tears, just to say the least.”
Who is Axle Whitehead’s partner?
Axle plays his relationship cards close to his chest.
The one-time Cleo Bachelor of the Year winner announced his engagement to long-term girlfriend Liezl Carstens way back in 2020, sharing a since-deleted, loved-up photo to Instagram at the time with the caption: “Pulled the trigger and got a Yes! Game on!!”
Though he never publicly announced their split, he confirmed that ending his engagement was one of the catalysts for him signing up to SAS.
