Tziporah Malkah loves her new job as a building site ‘lollipop lady’
It’s a far cry from her days as an in-demand model and fiancee of James Packer but, after a tumultuous few years, Tziporah Malkah has a renewed outlook on life and a surprising new job as a lollipop lady on a construction site.
NSW
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Two decades after stopping traffic as a catwalk model, Kate Fischer is doing it again — this time while wearing high-vis workwear and steel-capped boots.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal James Packer’s former partner, who now goes by the name of Tziporah Malkah, has started a full-time job as a “lollipop lady” with Australian Traffic Solutions.
Malkah said the job — her first in “a very long time” — came after a suggestion from a friend.
“He knew that I was struggling,” Malkah told The Sunday Telegraph.
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“He also knew I was a hard worker and a decent person, so offered me an opportunity.”
It’s a far cry from her days as a model, actor and the partner of one of the country’s wealthiest men, however Malkah said the opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time.
The 46-year-old’s name has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months, with Malkah freely admitting her life was spiralling out of control due to her abuse of alcohol and recreational drugs, combined with her fragile mental health.
The Sirens actor’s situation reached a crisis point in December.
She was unable to pay rent and the police were frequent visitors at her inner-city apartment largely out of concern over a disturbing escalation in erratic behaviour.
“Some people would have thought I was crazy,” she said.
“This was a build-up of pressure that had been going on for the past two years.
“My life was a joke. I had pretty much given up.
“I did not care any more. I was acting out.
“I had the tantrum that was in the making for the past 20 years.”
Being forced to isolate at home due to the coronavirus pandemic gave Malkah the opportunity to “break the toxic cycle” she was caught in.
She emerged from isolation with a fresh outlook on life and some new goals.
Malkah got a job, reapplied for her driver’s licence and has cut the recreational drug use.
While Malkah admits to having surrounded herself with the wrong people, the former I’m A Celebrity … contestant is determined to return to her happy old self.
“I have lived a million different lives,” she said.
“There are people out there rooting for me. They want to see the phoenix rise from the ashes.
“They want to see me fight my way back.”
She is passionate about her new job and says while she might be at the very bottom of the construction industry food chain, the work she is doing is meaningful, honest and has value.
“I love being part of something bigger,” she said.
“I am helping to build Australia. I am back on my feet. I am growing up and I love it.”
Originally published as Tziporah Malkah loves her new job as a building site ‘lollipop lady’