Belinda Emmett’s grieving parents discuss their relationship with Rove McManus

THE grieving parents of Belinda Emmett have opened up about their ongoing relationship with her widower husband, Rove McManus.

Belinda Emmett and Rove McManus at the TV Week Logie Awards in 2006.

THE grieving parents of Belinda Emmett have opened up about their ongoing relationship with her widower husband, Rove McManus.

The late actress won the hearts of television viewers as Rebecca Fisher on Home and Away, a role that earned her a Gold Logie nomination in 1999.

But the 32-year-old tragically died in 2006 after a battle with breast cancer, just eighteen months after tying the knot with McManus.

The couple wed in January 2005.

In an interview with New Idea, her parents Michael and Laraine Emmett revealed they are still in touch with the TV and radio presenter, who is now remarried with a three-year-old daughter, Ruby.

“Rove’s got his own wife and we respect that, but we stay close,” Michael said.

“It’s nice to have the little ones around ... It’s lovely to have [Ruby] in our lives as well. It’s not in a huge way, but it’s pretty wonderful.”

The couple, who live on the Central Coast of NSW, are still struggling to come to terms with Emmett’s death.

“She never smoked in her life, and only occasionally had a wine. For her to be struck down is probably the most remarkable, ridiculous thing. She did all the right things, ate the right foods. For her to be struck down is a travesty of justice,” said Michael.

“But she did more in her 32 years than most people do in 90.”

In a coincidental twist, McManus’ new wife Tasma Walton once told New Idea that she had actually been the one to play matchmaker for he and Emmett back in 1999.

“We were all at a Fox Studios opening (in Sydney) and I had obviously worked with Rove on his show, (and) worked with Belinda, (and I) thought they would be an interesting couple and introduced them,” she said.

After Emmett died, Walton and McManus eventually fell in love, and became engaged in 2009.

Walton and McManus after the birth of their daughter, Ruby.