When Edwina Bartholomew met her husband, Neil Varcoe, she knew she was interested, but it was not initially meant to be.
Starting off as work colleagues, their relationship eventually blossomed into something more. Since then, they have only gone from strength to strength and started a family of their own.
Read more about their love story below.
Why do Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew and her husband live separately?
In 2024, Edwina revealed she and her husband sleep in separate beds.
At the time, the popular news presenter, 41, shared that not only do they sleep in separate rooms, but they started sleeping in separate homes.
“I have only spoken about it publicly once, and the reaction was extraordinary. Hundreds of women slid into my DMs admitting they do the same. (Some men slid in, too – but that’s a conversation for another time),” she wrote in Stellar.
“For some women, snoring sent them packing; others wanted a sanctuary filled with throw cushions, [but] their partners did not. Now our family has taken things to the next level. My husband lives in the country with the dog and I live in the city with the kids. Each weekend, we traipse back and forth between the two or meet somewhere in the middle, Cameron Diaz-style.”
Edwina has been sleeping separately from Neil, for many years now – she said that this arrangement helps her value the time they do spend together and with their children.
“It feels like a Love Actually airport reunion every time we come together with a slow-motion embrace and those newlywed feels,” she said. “Was it Shakespeare or maybe Hallmark that coined the phrase ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’? Regardless, they were onto something.”
Speaking to the Australian Women’s Weekly, the Sunrise star said her husband’s move to the country town of Carcoar was due to his health. He was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, and Edwina said the change of scenery has been healing for him.
“That was a decision we had to make for ourselves a few years ago because what we were doing clearly wasn’t working. It wasn’t working for him, it wasn’t working for our family, it wasn’t working for our marriage. And it’s been the best possible thing for us,” she said.
“It seems kind of strange. He lives here, three hours away from us, and we see him on weekends and holidays and back and forth, but it’s been the best thing, and probably the only way we would have survived as a family. It meant he could prioritise his health and have space and time, but then, when he’s with the kids, he’s 150 per cent switched on.”
While they are dividing their time as a family between the city and country, she told the publication they planned to make the move to the regional town as a family.
How did Edwina Bartholomew meet her husband?
Judging by Edwina’s Instagram, which is filled with gorgeous photos of her life as a mum, you’d think the journey to playing happy families was an easy one.
But although she is now enjoying a rock-solid marriage to Neil and both are smitten with their two kids, the couple’s relationship almost wasn’t to be!
In fact, Neil initially rejected Edwina’s advances after they met while working together on radio station 2GB over a decade ago.
“I asked him out on a date and he said no, which he maintains was a miscommunication,” she told OK! magazine in 2017.
“I thought, ‘Well, you’re a bloody idiot, aren’t you? A girl asks you out for a drink, and you say no?”
Despite their romance almost crashing down before it even had a chance to blossom, fate fortunately stepped in and corrected course.
Edwina said she knew they had something special from the get-go, explaining: “Anyway, we eventually did go out on a date and we’ve been together ever since. I literally went home that night after that date and said: ‘I’m going to marry him’.”
Luckily for the breakfast TV stunner, Neil was just as keen to make Edwina his wife, and six years after they began dating, he popped the question in 2017.
Speaking to whimn, Edwina shared details of the proposal, which took place on Warramba, their property in New South Wales’ Blue Mountains.
“We went for a walk up our drive at the farm. He’s not a down-on-one-knee-type guy. He’d spoken to my dad – he did it the traditional way. I had invited my sister up for the weekend, and he was planning to propose, so he had to wait. He actually tried to propose a number of times before, but I would have something on that got in the way,” she told the publication.
“He had the ring. He had it made in consultation with my best friend. He actually had the engagement and wedding ring. It was quite funny as he dropped it on the ground as he proposed.”
After answering “yes” to Neil’s special question, Edwina revealed she couldn’t be happier.
“I’m elated – deliriously happy. Thrilled and excited. I do feel a bit different. You suddenly switch to ‘Wow, this is it’. How wonderful,” she added.
A year later, Edwina and Neil’s big day finally arrived and their wedding’s location held a special significance.
The loved-up couple exchanged vows in front of 160 guests at Warramba – the same place the proposal took place – one year exactly after Neil popped the question.
Edwina wore a vintage dress which has been worn by three generations of her family, including her much-loved grandmother in 1944. The gown was altered by Melbourne couturier Sonia Cappellazzo, of Cappellazzo Couture.
She previously revealed to our sister publication WHO that the dress was not made by a designer, but described the gown as “an old dress, vintage, country romantic.”
The veil was given to her great-grandmother by her sister for her wedding in 1915, and Edwina shared photos of the stunning frock with fans at the time.
“It’s so wonderful to be able to share our wedding photos with all of our wonderful Sunrise viewers,” Edwina told the publication on her wedding day.
“Everyone has been so kind since we announced our engagement last April. We have felt very loved.”
The couple celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary in April 2025, with Neil taking to Instagram to share a sweet tribute to his wife alongside a carousel of photos from their special day.
“7 years today and I’m more in love than yesterday 💓,” Neil penned at the time.
How many children does Edwina Bartholomew have?
In June 2019, Edwina announced on Sunrise that she and Neil were expecting their first child.
“I have a bit of an announcement myself,” Edwina told her colleagues David Koch, Sam Armytage, and Natalie Barr live on air. “The girls already know, but Kochi,e surprise, surprise – we’re having a baby.”
Their daughter, Molly Matilda Christie Varcoe, was born just a few days before Christmas 2019, and Neil and Edwina have transformed into doting parents ever since.
Then, in March 2022, Edwina and Neil welcomed their second child, Thomas Donald Elliott Varcoe, making Molly a big sister!
Where is Edwina Bartholomew’s pub?
While the couple is renovating their dream home in Cacoar, they also bought the Victoria Hotel, which they aim to re-open sometime this year.
Start your journey to find love for FREE today, with eHarmony.
