When Kate Ritchie landed what would become a 20-year gig as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away she was just nine years old, roughly the same age as her adorable daughter Mae Katherine Webb.
WATCH Kate Ritchie opens up about the ‘daunting’ task of motherhood
“My only fear is that I will become a complete hermit and never leave the house because I adore being with her. I want to spend every minute with her and talk to her,” she told the Australian Woman’s Weekly at the time.
As the years went on, Kate’s love for Mae only grew and in a candid chat with The Morning Show‘s Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies in 2015, the former Home and Away star said, “I think she’s divine, she’s the greatest achievement I’ve ever had and she’s wonderful.”
In a heartfelt open letter penned in 2018, Kate, who now co-hosts Nova’s Kate, Tim and Joel drive show, shared her love for Mae and opened up about how much her life changed when her daughter came into the picture.
“I thought the love of my life was Home and Away… Then I met this perfect being,” Kate wrote.
“It’s been a long road but I am so proud and so happy that I gave myself the chance to realise my greatest life achievements didn’t all have to be thanks to Sally Fletcher.”
In fact the seven-year-old has taught Kate things that she didn’t even expect, including how her relationship with her body is rubbing off on her little one.
“[Children] really do pick up on every single thing that you do. It’s been a very good learning curve that we need to be kinder to ourselves,” she told Good Health in 2018.
“I find myself every day censoring what I would normally say about what I am wearing or how I feel about my body, and I think in turn that’s teaching me to love myself a little bit more.”
On Mae’s sixth birthday last year, Kate took to Instagram to share a tribute to the little girl who changed her life.
“Happy 6th Birthday to the most delightful, clever, funny and inquisitive little person I know.. I am the luckiest Mumma ever to have been blessed with this precious soul,” the 43-year-old penned.
“Mae, thank you for choosing me. You bring so much joy to so many people and I can only hope you carry that joy within your heart too, always. I couldn’t be more proud of the person you are growing into. Just don’t grow too fast, okay?” the Nova radio star signed off.
In the snap, Mae’s similarities to her famous mum are more than apparent, sharing the same cheeky smile and warm eyes as Kate.
After Mae was born, Kate made a concerted effort to keep her out of the spotlight, but in recent years has begun sharing dozens of sweet snaps to her social media platforms.
“I think like any parent, you realise you’re just really proud,” she told Studio 10 in 2018 of her decision to share snippets of Mae with the public.
“I think my biggest issue is what I shared – because I am the parent and I’m allowed to share – then became fodder for other people to perhaps write their version of events and that was the thing that kept me back [from posting photos of Mae].”
Kate told Offspring Magazine that parenthood has taught herself a lot about “dealing with it”.
“I do think that we are the parents and are meant to teach and guide her but Mae has equally if not more been a teacher to me,” she said.
“She’s made me more me than I’ve ever been.”
Despite a Home and Away career spanning two decades and being part of a successful radio show, Kate said Mae is “truly the greatest thing she’s ever achieved”.
“I think what I realised about Mae is, she’s the first person in my entire life that I’ve ever met that doesn’t have a preconceived idea of who I am. I’m just her mummy,” she told news.com.au.
“That’s what I love most about her. She loves me purely for me. She really is the greatest thing.
“One of the highlights of my life was when she started making friends at school and her friends would yell through the gates ‘that’s Mae’s mummy’ because I was so used to people saying ‘That’s the girl from the television’.”
Kate has also previously opened up about the struggles mothers, particularly single mums, face while balancing their careers and parenthood.
“At times you can feel as though work is the thing that keeps you from being the mother you want to be – but it is important to gently remind yourself that in some ways your work also allows you to be the mother you want to be,” she said.
“I sometimes feel as though I am now on the outside of the world looking in – rather than being carried along by it.
“On a practical note, it has taught me I can no longer control everything, especially when it comes to my schedule.”
In a heartfelt Instagram post two years ago, Kate said her mini-me Mae is “full of wonder in so many ways” and helps her to simply be herself.
“She also helps me to simply be me, to pat myself on the back, to be patient, to care for other families, to appreciate the value of equality, to make plans, to want to be the best version of me, to realise I can have a go at anything, to accept myself, to count to ten and reassess, to stand up for myself and for girls, to love, to be loved,” she wrote.
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