Gorgeous mum-of-three boys, Nicky Buckley, still shakes her head in disbelief at the debate that broke out after she wore a figure-hugging dress and proudly showed off her baby bump while co-hosting Sale of the Century in 1997.
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Nicky, now 56, says it was so controversial at the time that Channel Nine’s fax machine jammed up because the network received so many complaints about her “shocking” wardrobe choice.
“I remember it as a great time because I had all wonderful hormones racing around in my body,” she recalls.
“I really was kind of scrutinised for daring to be pregnant and showing my growing belly on telly. But for me, and lots of other women, I had a job and I had a mortgage, so I really just wanted to go to work.”
Nicky’s amazed at just how quickly time has flown by, with her eldest son Cooper about to turn 25 this month, and his two younger brothers, Jasper, 23, and Baxter, 19, also all grown up.
“It blows me away – that little bump that was in my belly is now almost 25!” she exclaims.
Fortunately, society has moved forward massively since that uproar, and so too has Nicky, who recently launched a podcast designed to explore the ups and downs of the ageing process, called Oldie Goodie. The stunning former model is also happy to share some of her ageing secrets too!
“I want to help champion the way to empower others to be better equipped to deal with ageing – both for themselves and us – as well as help their loved ones to deal with it,” she says. “To find the joys and positives in ageing because it is inevitable.”
“I’m equally excited to be here and share my personal experiences that I’ve had with ageing.”
Nicky and her Oldie Goodie co-host, Matt Ferguson, interview a range of experts and guests about subjects ranging from dementia to diet, and what really happens in the bedrooms of older people.
“I really don’t think this topic is spoken about enough, so I’m looking forward to shining more light on this one,” Nicky explains.
“I realise how important it is to destigmatise sexuality and intimacy in older Australians. We’re not asexual and it shouldn’t be taboo,” she says.
It is a project that Nicky hopes will help embolden others to live life to its fullest, regardless of their age.
“Hopefully we can help people in their 60s and 70s with their sexual self-esteem,” she says. “I think it’s really interesting talking about needing to remain curious about your partner and not thinking you know it all.
“I have been with my husband for nearly 40 years, yet I can never really think I know what’s going on inside his head and vice versa,” she says.
Nicky’s husband, teenage sweetheart Murray Bingham, worked by her side as a model on Sale of the Century.
Afterwards, they went on to make several TV shows about parenting and travel together. Nicky says that Murray is still “that cheeky 17-year-old” she met while they were in high school and “still manages to make me laugh”.
The pair just celebrated their 30-year wedding anniversary and have moved into a new home, which their carpenter son Cooper helped build on a large block of land on Victoria’s Surf Coast.
The couple also run a gardening centre and regularly post loved-up shots of their adventures and romantic holidays together, with Nicky admitting it seems “crazy” that their beautiful relationship began 40 years ago.
And while her boys might be all grown up too, they’ll always be her babies. “We are blessed with a beautiful family,” Nicky says. “How lucky are we?”
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