The wives stepping back as Jackie Gillies returns with a new co-star
The hit reality show Real Housewives of Melbourne returns after a covid hiatus. See the stars missing from this year’s cast.
Entertainment
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Real Housewives of Melbourne stars Gina Liano and Lydia Schiavello are out and Jackie Gillies is back.
The glamorous new cast of the Foxtel series also revealed one new face, businesswoman Simone Elliott.
Returning cast members are Janet Roach and Gamble Breaux with the three newbies returning – former TV presenter Anjali Rao, yoga instructor Cherry Dipietrantonio and Kyla Kirkpatrick, a self-made business woman known as champagne dame.
Filming last year only lasted one day before COVID halted production.
Original cast members Liano and Schiavello are surprisingly missing from season five while Gillies, wife of Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies, hasn’t been on the show for three years.
“The reason I’m coming back is I want to inspire people with my IVF journey,” Gillies said.
“I want women to know there’s a voice out there. The emotional turmoil, the crying, will I fall pregnant, is this going to happen. Am I too old. I’m 41 in June.
“I’ve been doing IVF for a year and half and so many people are ashamed and I don’t want women to feel like that.
“Not sure how my hormones will be for the show, I’m just excited to be back.”
Filming started on Monday and the seven cast members met for the first time on Wednesday.
Elliott has a corporate background working for companies such as Ferrero Rocher, Pfizer and L’Oreal and is studying a Masters in business.
“They rang me in January and said would you like to do the show,” said Elliott, a mum of two.
“I started filming yesterday compared to my day job where I analyse data, I had the best day.
“Current status is single. I’m doing this for me. If I look at COVID last year, home schooling two children, studying my MBA in the evening, it was insane.”
Schiavello said she’s quit to spend more time with her family.
“I love the show, I love the girls and all the people involved from Foxtel to the production house Matchbox, however the changes of this world caused me to pause and re-evaluate my life,’’ she wrote on Instagram.
“I will miss the camaraderie the interaction with viewers and the challenges that my fellow cast members presented. I look forward to spending quality time with my husband, family and friends.”
Liano is wanting to concentrate more on her career in law.
Rao moved to Melbourne in 2012 after working at Sky News and Channel 5 in the UK and five years as a news anchor with CNN International.
With Sally Bloomfield, Venus Behbahani and Gillies departing the show, the door opened for the three new glamorous and successful women last year.
Cherry, originally from Southampton in the UK, met husband Andre in Bali at the age of 18 when travelling the world during a gap year with girlfriends. They have three children.
Kyla and her partner Kyri have a daughter Arlinghton-Rose, named after the area of Scotland from which her family originate.
Foxtel’s Brian Walsh said: “I talk about Housewives being an enduring show and Foxtel acknowledges all of the great contributions of the departing Gina and Lydia.
“I couldn’t be more excited, they are an incredible bunch of women.”
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