Channel 10
Dating shows run in the family for The Bachelor’s bubbly nanny Tara Pavlovic – whose mum is former Perfect Match co-host Debbie Newsome.
‘I’m very proud of Tara,’ says Debbie, admitting she urged her 27-year-old daughter to audition for the hit reality series following a painful break-up with her boyfriend.
‘She kept saying she didn’t want to do it, because they might get back together. But she was looking after an 11-year-old at the time, who also told her she should try. And that’s what persuaded her,’ laughs Debbie, who became an ’80s TV icon alongside co-host Greg Evans and Dexter the robot.
The 56-year-old showbiz veteran, who still performs her own Janis Joplin Experience show around the clubs, had some simple advice for her Gold Coast-based daughter.
‘I just told her to be herself, because she’s a beautiful, kind person,’ Debbie reveals to New Idea exclusively. ‘I think Australia will fall in love with her. She’s a funny, down-to-earth girl who’ll always stick up for the underdog. She doesn’t have a jealous or bitchy bone in her body.’
As an entertainment professional, Debbie is keeping mum on Tara’s secrets from The Bachelor set.
‘I don’t want to spoil it for viewers,’ she says. ‘But she loved the experience. I think she became a bit of a favourite with the producers – she always loved the camera, even as a little girl. So I reckon she will get another show out of this. That’s my feeling!’
Mother-of-two Debbie found her own perfect match in second husband Mark Learmonth, 59, when they met through mutual friends 20 years ago.
‘It was love at first sight for both of us,’ she recalls from her NSW Central Coast home. ‘He’s a wonderful man who’s been a great stepfather to Tara and my son Troy, so I’ve been very lucky.’
For more on The Bachelor, see this week’s New Idea – Out now.
You might also like…
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
