‘I want to protect him as much as I can’
Sam Frost is used to having her relationships played out in public and now that she has found love shows the same fierce strength in her support for boyfriend Dave Bashford after his brush with the law.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Feuds, leaks and nasty nicknames won’t deter Harry and Meghan
- Jason Donovan’s daughter makes Neighbours debut
Sam Frost is used to having her relationships played out in public and now that she has found love shows the same fierce strength in her support for boyfriend Dave Bashford after his brush with the law.
In the week her Home And Away character Jasmine finally ties the knot with troubled fiance Robbo in a romantic Summer Bay wedding, Frost has spoken about her pain at seeing her boyfriend of more than two years made the subject of intense public scrutiny after he was charged with drug possession in May.
“I want to protect him as much as I can,” Frost tells Insider in a break from the Home And Away set. “I just love him so much and I think, fair enough if it was me, but it wasn’t me and I had nothing to do with it.
“But it was something that happened and now it’s public because of me.
“He spent 10 years defending and protecting our country (as a navy clearance diver) so we can walk around free and safe, what an honourable man. If everyone knew what he did for our country, I’m sure they wouldn’t be throwing out these assumptions about him and I’m really defensive about that and protective of him.
MORE ENTERTAINMENT STORIES FROM MERCEDES MAGUIRE:
Muriel star surfing all the way to top with dream role
Your ultimate school holiday guide
“He’s human, he made a mistake and he’s extremely remorseful and I think it’s unfair that it’s had to play out in the media because he doesn’t deserve it.”
Since Frost rose to fame on The Bachelor in 2014 and The Bachelorette in 2015 she has forged a new path as an actor, thriving at Summer Bay despite having no acting experience when she gained a role on the popular soap 18 months ago.
She was challenged from the start with a storyline that saw Jasmine arrive in the fictional beachside suburb after she was involved in a car crash that killed Kat Chapman (played by Pia Miller). Last year, she received a Logie nomination for Best New Talent.
In her ever positive way, Frost says she will not defend herself against naysayers, choosing instead to work hard at her craft to prove she deserves her place. She has two acting coaches, one for voice and one to help her with script work, and completes short courses at NIDA in her spare time. She even has voice exercises pinned up around her home.
“I don’t like to work from a place of defence,” she says. “I try to work from a place of opportunity and growth instead of defending myself and focusing on the criticism.
“That’s not what our workplace is like either, no one has criticised me and everyone has so much faith and believes in me. They say ‘You wouldn’t have gotten the job if you couldn’t act.’ And a lot of the guys here come straight out of uni and they’ve never had experience on TV or in front of the cameras.
“I feel quite comfortable in front of the camera because of my previous experience. So while I didn’t have some skills, I had others. I was certainly green, but it helped that I felt comfortable in front of the camera and could take direction.”
There’s no denying Frost’s dedication and hard work.
Series producer of eight years, Lucy Addario, who cast Frost, says there was an undeniable talent in her from the start.
“From the very first audition it was so evident that she wore her heart on her sleeve and was able to easily access her emotions,” Addario says. “She had that X-factor and was not afraid to be vulnerable, that’s the main thing that came through her first audition and she absolutely nailed it.
“She blows us away week after week, she has grown so much.”
This week Frost enters a special Home And Away hall of fame when Jasmine marries Robbo. There’s no denying a Summer Bay wedding is a highlight in the storyline. As Addario says ‘We all love a Summer Bay wedding’.”
“I grew up watching Home And Away and the beautiful weddings are something you always remember,” Frost says. “I remember Sally Fletcher’s wedding and when Bec and Travis got married back in the day. We have old photos of Home And Away hanging up on the walls in the corridors at work and I love looking at them because it reminds me how lucky I am to have this job.”
Frost has not ruled out a marriage in real life, though she says she and Bashford haven’t discussed dates or engagement plans just yet.
“We don’t talk so much about engagements and timings, for us it’s a no-brainer that we will end up together, this is us,” she says. “We do talk about if we have children though, and how weird they will be because we’re weird and quirky people,” she laughs.
“I feel more centered as a person, I feel more at peace with my insecurities, I am the best version of myself that I’ve ever been and it’s really exciting because I’ve just turned 30 and I’m really happy with who I am.
“I just think this is who I am and I’m so loved and that’s the best feeling in the world.”
* Home And Away, Channel 7, Monday to Thursday, 7pm