Tziporah Malkah’s life looked very different 20 years ago, when the public knew her as Kate Fischer. Along with gracing the covers of the world’s biggest fashion magazines, she was a TV regular and an actress.
Watch: Tziporah clashes with police and demands they call her ‘queen’
Fast forward to 2021, Tziporah is now a proud traffic controller who boasts a ‘tradies tan’ and sports steel-cap boots. But one thing that’s never changed is her incredible work ethic.
Putting life, and the prospect of starting a family, on hold for the sake of a career is a pressure all too familiar for women. However, Tziporah tells New Idea that it wasn’t her booming career that had her reassessing her plan to have “10 kids”.
Instead, she blames her parents’ divorce.
“Growing up in the ’80s and having parents divorcing … it wasn’t common. We were the only kids in the neighbourhood who had split parents. I actually still remember the family court dramas to this day,” recalls Tziporah, who says she never wanted the experience of a “fractured family” for her own kids.
While it’s clear she has no regrets over not having children back then, Tziporah exclusively reveals that she’s finally at a place in her life where she feels content enough to explore the prospect of motherhood – albeit with very strict caveats.
“The past 10 years, up until about the beginning of this year, were perhaps the most difficult, excruciating and painful of my life. It was awful,” Tziporah confesses.
Parts of her journey over the past 20 years have included a high-profile engagement that was called off, being embezzled by a friend and, at one stage, living in a boarding house upon returning to Australia from the US.
“Thankfully, things are much better. I have high hopes that someday soon I will look back and can see how far I came to get out of that dark period in my life.”
At 48, Tziporah is fully aware of the “hurdles” that come with bringing children into the world “at this late stage”.
“I would have to see doctors, I would have to maybe go on a particular diet, really assess things, but I am of course open to it,” she assures.
One thing she is not open to, however, is tackling motherhood solo.
“I mean no disrespect to single mothers, I just couldn’t do it alone,” she says, cheekily revealing there’s “one or two” men in her life who she could perhaps see as prospective fathers one day.
“When I’m out on dates or I’m seeing a guy, I first and foremost ensure we’re compatible. The conversation of wanting kids will inevitably come up,” she tells, deciding to remain tight-lipped about who she currently has her eye on.
Tziporah says her insistence of having children with a partner is purely motivated by her adoration for her father, former university lecturer, Alastair Fischer.
“I recall so fondly spending the summer holidays with him – he is a wickedly funny man, off-the-wall zany. He can make you laugh just by looking at him,” she laughs, aware that she has inherited this trait from him.
WATCH: Tziporah Malkah unveils new body in skimpy blue bikini
After growing up with two sisters, Tziporah says she hopes one day to raise a son.
“I would like to have a baby boy first, if it was possible. I always wanted a big brother growing up,” she explains, joking that she would be better equipped to deal with a girl the second time around.
While the quest for her perfect man is ongoing, Tziporah insists big things are planned for her in 2022 – she even teases a tell-all memoir – but mostly she’s hoping for “peace”.
Read more in this week’s New Idea, on sale now.
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