Edwina Bartholomew tells of family struggle after 'disappointing day'
The popular Sunrise star continues to grace TV screens – after recovering from a well-documented health ordeal, opening a cafe and renovating a property in Carcoar, NSW, with her husband which is set to open as a hotel this year.
It’s a lot to take on and, now, the mum-of-two has a down-to-earth admission – Mother’s Day wasn’t what she hoped for her and her family.
Edwina joined the trend of posting an idyllic family photo to celebrate the occasion, but she was quick to point out that all was not as it seemed.
“This photo wasn’t taken yesterday. This was taken on an idyllic day when I was present, caring and relaxed,” she wrote.
Edwina shared this photo for Mother’s Day but said the reality of the day wasn’t like this. ((Credit: Instagram/edwina_b))
“Yesterday, I was cranky and short with the whole family. There were little pockets of Mother’s Day joy but I wasn’t my best self.”
The star explained that she listened to The Imperfects podcast on her way back to Sydney about “parental burnout” and she said “so many points resonated”.
“Often we see the filtered version here of magic moments and perfect kids but we all have disappointing days as parents,” she shared.
“Thank you to the Ninjago Movie and Playschool for keeping me sane. There was more screentime than I care to admit.
“Starting again fresh today.”
It’s not the first time Edwina – who shares children Molly, six, and Tommy, three, with husband Neil Varcoe – has spoken candidly about the challenges of parenting.
In a 2022 interview with Stellar the star revealed it was important to her to be honest about the “beautiful chaos of motherhood”.
“I’ll always be honest because I know how it makes me feel when I see someone else who seems to have everything together all the time. And it makes me think, what am I doing wrong?” she shared.
“There are moments where it all becomes a bit overwhelming. It isn’t a reflection of you as a mother that you sometimes lose it or you get upset about silly things or you can’t do everything.”
In an interview with the same publication two years later, the star revealed how she was pushing back against “mother’s guilt”.
“You know what? I just don’t give a sh*t about mother’s guilt,” she explained. “People ask me about the juggle all the time, and I just say: I get a lot from my work; I love my work. In order to do what I do and provide for my family, yes, I have to work weird hours, travel a bit. I end up with a lot of time with them [the kids] because of the hours I work, so I’m often home by 10am or 11am and get the rest of the day with them.
“I just don’t buy into [mother guilt]. I know I’m raising two amazing kids because they’re funny, they’re delightful, they’re well-mannered most of the time. They don’t always eat their vegetables, but we try. That whole guilt thing … it’s rubbish.”
