Aussie model Megan Gale opens up about ‘year from hell’ following brother’s shock death

Australian businesswoman and model Megan Gale has opened up about her year from hell after her business collapsed and her brother died tragically.

2020 was a year of exceptional hardship for Australian businesswoman and model Megan Gale.

First, her brother Jason was found dead after going missing for a week. And to add to the heartbreak, the pandemic brought its own set of challenges, including the possibility that she might not be able to attend her brother’s funeral in Perth.

The sudden loss of her brother left the 47-year-old actor feeling devastated and overwhelmed.

“All of this upheaval with the business was happening at the exact same time I lost my brother,” she said in an interview with the Courier Mail’s QWeekend.

“2020 was easily the worst year I’ve ever had in my life.”

In the same year, Megan’s business, Mindful Life, which she had launched in 2019, suddenly collapsed, causing her further heartache.

Megan Gale detailed the closure of her business, Mindful Life, on an Instagram video

She said she had she ‘trusted the wrong people’.

The natural skincare range for babies and children was a labour of love for the actor and was inspired by her own kids.

However, in a candid post on Instagram in September 2020, she announced the closure of her start-up business after she “trusted the wrong people”.

“It was tough. It was a business I worked really hard on and I started it myself from scratch. I self-funded it, and looking back now, I was really proud of what I did,” she said.

“It was breaking my heart just letting it go and to think everything I built up and worked for was going.”

As she struggled to come to terms with her loss, Megan realised that she needed to take some time for herself to grieve and reassess her priorities. “I just went, ‘I’m done’, I’m going to take some time out because things were a bit full on,” she said.

“At that point, I didn’t have the mental capacity to think about how I was going to save the business because all I needed to do now was grieve.”

Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Shaun Hampson and Megan Gale attend the NGV Gala 2022 at the National Gallery of Victoria on December 10, 2022 in Melbourne. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

During this time, she focused on being with her family and grieving for her brother.

“There was nothing else I could sink my energy into except for being with

family and grieving,” she said.

“I said to myself I was going to take the last three to four months of 2020 off.”

Eventually, Megan found the balance she needed to move forward.

“Once I decided to stop and step back, I had a couple of really good opportunities that came up for us,” she said.

Through this dark period, she remained strong and resilient, using her experiences to inspire others who may be going through similar hardships.

Megan Gale shared this photo in September 2021 with the caption: ‘Blissfully oblivious to lockdowns, pandemics, riots and protests and completely absorbed and obsessed with unicorns, rainbows, ponies and Lego.’

Jason Gale’s sudden death was a shock to Megan and her family. He was last seen buying petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store on July 14, 2020, 160km southeast of his Perth home.

Despite a week-long search by family, friends, and police, he was found dead in bushland next to his 1999 Honda CR-V SUV.

Jason Gale was reported missing from his WA home in 2022.

He was tragically found dead after a week-long search.

Although the death was not considered suspicious, it was a tragic loss for those who knew and loved him.

The Daily Mail reported Belinda Murray, a friend of Jason Gale, remembered him as an industrial mechanic who was fond of “going bush”.

According to her, Jason was deeply affected by the tragic death of a man he witnessed at a wastewater plant in 2018.