{"id":697530,"date":"2026-05-27T08:55:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/697530\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T08:55:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:55:23","slug":"some-stuff-going-on-rebecca-gibney-reveals-private-family-heartbreak-on-social-media-as-beloved-mum-and-pet-battle-health-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/697530\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Some stuff going on’: Rebecca Gibney reveals private family heartbreak on social media as beloved mum and pet battle health issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Gibney has revealed the private family struggles that prompted her recent social media break, sharing that both her beloved mother and family dog have been battling serious health issues.<\/p>\n

The 61-year-old New Zealand-Australian actress took to Instagram on Wednesday to reassure fans she had not “disappeared”, posting a heartfelt collage of personal photos including a smiling selfie and an image of her 91-year-old mother Shirley in hospital.<\/p>\n

“Hello friends, just a wee update. I haven’t disappeared – there has just been some ‘stuff’ going on,” Gibney wrote in the lengthy caption.<\/p>\n

\"Virginia<\/p>\n

“Firstly- Mama Shirl is in hospital and has been dealing with a few issues but is doing well – anyone that follows me knows and loves Mum so thought I should share that – please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she climbs yet another mountain.”<\/p>\n

The former Packed to the Rafters star also revealed her “wee pup Lolly” had been dealing with health complications, but assured followers the dog was now recovering well.<\/p>\n

“She’s had a few health issues,” Gibney explained, before adding that “the drugs are awesome” and that Lolly was “well on the road to recovery”.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficult period, Gibney said she had been finding comfort in spending time gardening, being with her husband Richard Bell and catching up with her older brother.<\/p>\n

Still, the actress admitted she had been struggling with the state of the world around her.<\/p>\n

“I think the world is a bit nutso right now and it feels like we’re in a version of The Truman Show sometimes,” she wrote, referencing the iconic 1998 film centred on a man who discovers his entire life has secretly been a reality television show.<\/p>\n

“But there are still good good people out there, nature is awesome and if you focus on doing a wee bit of good every day – you’ll feel better. Even if it’s pulling some weeds away from a tiny native tree\u2026”<\/p>\n

The emotional update comes just weeks after the Marlborough-based mother-of-one announced she was taking a break from social media to “reconnect” with herself and her family.<\/p>\n

In an earlier Instagram post shared on April 3, the actress admitted she had become overwhelmed by constant scrolling and negativity online.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been spending way too much time staring at my phone looking at either bad news, products I don’t want, snippets from peoples lives that I don’t know,” she wrote at the time.<\/p>\n

“Apart from the funnies – which we all need – I\u2019m finding it all a waste of very precious time. I have stopped fully living in the present and I need to reconnect with my hubby, my dogs and myself.”<\/p>\n

Gibney also addressed the public reaction to her recent revelation that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism later in life.<\/p>\n

The actress, who appeared on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly in March, thanked fans for their overwhelming support following the announcement.<\/p>\n

“Thank you for the overwhelmingly supportive response to my recent post around my adhd\/ASD diagnosis,” she wrote. “I have read all the comments and am very appreciative of the kindness.”<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

However, the actress also took aim at critics who dismissed her diagnosis or accused her of “jumping on the bandwagon”.<\/p>\n

“Alas there has also been a little backlash so I just wanted to say to the people that responded with ‘get over it’, ‘it’s not cancer’, ‘stop jumping on the bandwagon’ and ‘nobody cares’- just a wee word of advice.<\/p>\n

“If you don’t know the full story of someone’s life – please don’t make assumptions or fire off petty comments,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I have lived most of my life misdiagnosed with severe anxiety (45 years of it) I was raised in a home with extreme domestic violence and I have suffered depression so to tell someone to ‘get over it’ is really not helpful.”<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n

Gibney said she hoped opening up about her experiences would help others feel less isolated.<\/p>\n

“I have shared my story so that people who are struggling know they are not alone,” she explained.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the actress also spoke candidly to Woman’s Day NZ about stepping into the hosting role on Network 10’s Millionaire Hot Seat, admitting she initially battled self-doubt over taking on the high-profile job.<\/p>\n

“I had impostor syndrome,” she admitted.<\/p>\n

“This is not my wheelhouse. I’m not a game show host \u2013 I’m an actor. As much as I’m masking it and pretending that I know what I’m doing, I’ve got no idea.”<\/p>\n

But Gibney said it was ultimately her mother who encouraged her to embrace the opportunity, telling her: “Darling, this is an opportunity for you to give back to all those people who have supported you over the years.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rebecca Gibney has revealed the private family struggles that prompted her recent social media break, sharing that both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134,150004],"class_list":["post-697530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-rebecca-gibney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}