Tammin Sursok has opened up about how she is navigating the reality of her father Daryl’s dementia diagnosis, which she first revealed on social media earlier this year.
In an interview with the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About, Sursok gave host Nicholas Fonseca a blunt assessment of her father’s condition.
“It’s not something that is fixable, or that is going to heal itself,” she said. “So I’ve been through all the stages of grief.
“Sometimes it feels like numbness. But I do feel like it’s acceptance because there is nothing I can do.
“All I can do is create some enjoyable moments for him.”
Sursok lives in Nashville with her husband, film producer Sean McEwan, and their daughters Phoenix, who turns 13 on Thursday, and Lennon, seven. But she often returns home to Australia and her hometown of Sydney, where her parents still live.
Listen to the full interview with Tammin Sursok on Something To Talk About below:
Asked how she handles the tension of living overseas while her mother looks after her father, Sursok said: “I almost feel like it would be harder for me to be here full time, and that’s just me being super honest and vulnerable.
“I sometimes grapple with the guilt. I don’t feel guilty going to work and leaving my kids with my husband. He’s the freaking dad; he’s fine.
“But I do feel guilty leaving my mum with my dad. I worry about her. Because with dementia, at some point it’s worse for the caregiver than it is for the actual person who’s got it.”
This past winter, Sursok also spent time in Queensland, where she filmed her upcoming Hallmark movie The Most Wonderful Secret, which is currently slated for a theatrical release in Australia next year.
She admitted that when she first signed on to appear in the popular, feel-good holiday-themed films produced by the American media company she was wary of the content.
“I was like, but I’m a serious actor…,” she told Fonseca.
“I didn’t realise how important these movies were for people’s psyche,” she admitted.
“Not a lot of movies make you feel good.”
Listen to the full interview with Tammin Sursok on Something To Talk About below:
The one-time star of Home And Away, The Young And The Restless and Pretty Little Liars also opened up about how her self-image and her ideas of success and happiness have changed across her career.
“I have always equated success with my career,” the 43-year-old told Something To Talk About. “But my idea of happiness has probably changed.”
She added that when she was younger and making a name for herself in the entertainment industry. “[I got] so addicted to people looking [at me], and the attention.”
“I wanted the male gaze, because I felt like that’s what made me worth it, and that was enough,” she said. “F*** the talent, you know?”
Listen to Tammin Sursok on a new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, out now wherever you get your podcasts.
Read the full article in Stellar via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA).
Read related topics:Think Again