Rove McManus recalls shutting down when asked about dying wife Belinda Emmett’s health

The beloved TV host has reflected on a trying period in his life while trying to put on a brave front in public.

Rove McManus has admitted it was tough being in the public eye and putting on a brave front when his then-wife Belinda Emmett was battling cancer behind closed doors.

The TV personality dominated prime time television between 1999 and 2009 with his self-titled variety show, Rove Live, and was a favourite among viewers.

However, being invited inside living rooms across the country every week came at a price for the star.

“Everybody’s had sadness – everybody has had sadness in their life. I’m no different to anybody else,” the 49-year-old said on The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show podcast.

Rove McManus and Belinda Emmett met in 1999 and were married in 2005. Picture: John Grainger

“At the time, it was difficult because you’re trying to juggle what you’re dealing with in life with what you’re dealing with at work. And again, having to do promotion which is part of the job as people want to know what you’re doing.

“But then people want to know what’s happening at home. It’s none of your business what’s happening at home!” he added. “I’m not here to talk about what’s happening at home. If you want to know, you need to be a friend of mine. But if you’re a stranger on the street, you’ll get, ‘Fine, it’s good.’”

McManus and Emmett first met in 1999 at the opening of Fox Studios in Sydney, one year after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, aged just 24. They went on to date at the height of McManus’ career and were married in 2005.

Rove McManus with Belinda Emmett at TV Week Logie Awards in 2004. Picture: Getty Images

Sadly, the former Home And Away actress died the following year after an eight-year cancer battle. She was just 32.

“I found it very tricky to navigate without getting mad at people for prying,” he said when asked how he coped with the interest from both his show and his wife’s illness and subsequent death. “When my response is, ‘Well, how do you think? It’s not good.’”

The TV host said he understood the business and knew people were just curious, but he “honestly would just shut down” when asked about Emmett. There were often no-go zones and topics when it came to his celebrity interviews, and he wishes his request for privacy was also taken into account at the time.

“If you don’t respect that, you understand that maybe the response you get is not going to be a good one. And that’s the roll of the dice that you take,” he said. “Either you’re able to navigate around that or just be prepared that you might have someone whose been bubbly and effervescent and forthcoming who then closes down – and that was exactly what I would do.

“I would close down and then maybe give a warning, and then I would have times where I would literally sit there with my arms folded and say, ‘I’m just not going to talk about it.’ That’s the only way that you could get through it.”

Rove McManus married actress Tasma Walton in 2009. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for AFI

McManus is now married to Aussie actress Tasma Walton, 49. In 2009, they tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Western Australia – his home state.

“Rove McManus and Tasma Walton are pleased to confirm that they were married on Tuesday June 16 in a private beach ceremony in Broome, Western Australia,” a statement from the couple read at the time. “They celebrated the day with a small group of close family and friends.”

As it turned out, it was the former Blue Heelers actress who popped the big question.

“It was Tasma who proposed to McManus, having first asked his mother for her blessing,” the statement concluded.