‘Traumatised’ Tina Arena reveals her family ‘fell apart’

In an emotional new interview with Stellar, Tina Arena opens up about private upheavals that left her “very unhappy” and seeking therapy.

She’s long been an outspoken critic of Victoria’s tough Covid lockdowns, and in a new interview, singer Tina Arena says they left her “traumatised” and had a very real impact on her family.

In the latest issue of Stellar magazine and on this week’s Something To Talk About podcast, Aussie pop legend Arena again tackles a thorny topic that’s made her a surprisingly divisive figure in recent years.

She broaches the subject in a wider discussion of the familial changes she’s gone through over the past few years: Namely the breakdown of her relationship with longtime partner, French artist Vincent Mancini, and her 18-year-old son Gabriel’s decision to leave Melbourne and live in Paris.

“My son isn’t with me. My son lives in Paris. He’s been there for the last three years. Gabriel ultimately decided to leave Victoria during lockdown because, like many young children, he didn’t cope being locked up at home. None of us did,” Arena told the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About.

“We were supposed to put up and shut up. I still struggle with that, and that’s why I was also very vocal. It was a heartbreaking time for the family because the family fell apart.”
Arena said that she and Mancini, Gabriel’s father, split up almost five years ago, and while they are “all fine now,” it was “brutal” at the time.

Tina Arena for Stellar Magazine.

Arena says her split from longtime partner Vincent Mancini was “brutal.” Picture: JIM LEE

The relationship breakdown coupled with her teenage son fleeing the country left Arena feeling “very unhappy.”

“When your only child decides to leave because he needs to be able to walk the streets and have a sense of freedom and be a young boy and learn, it made me really angry with the state, with Australia and them being so compliant. I’m quite traumatised by it.”

Arena revealed that the trauma was so great she ended up seeking therapy, and still attends regular sessions.

Arena also opened up about a mysterious illness that saw her cancel the remainder of a national tour last year, just one day before she was due on stage for her next show.

Arena (right) back on stage for a recent high-profile gig: Duetting with Katy Perry at the AFL Grand Final. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/Getty

At the time, she said simply that it had been a “hard decision” and that “health always comes first.”

The illness was in fact a kidney infection that landed her in hospital. Arena told Stellar she was “very sick.”

“I really do believe that’s a manifestation of the trauma that happened in 2020, 2021 and 2022 … I’ve had to slowly work my way through it with the love of my friends and family. It’s not over. Some days are really great and some days are tough, but I’m doing much better,” she said.

Arena blasted the lack of support for the arts during lockdown in this fiery 2021 TV appearance.

Arena became something of a spokeperson for frustrations about the Victorian government’s handling of the pandemic when, during a live segment on now-defunct morning show Studio 10 in 2021, she delivered an extraordinary smackdown about the lack of support given to the arts and entertainment industries.

“I’ve really struggled, and I’m comfortable in saying that. I’ve had a very difficult time, like many people. I’m profoundly against being locked up – the injustice is too much,” Arena began.

Studio 10 host Angela Bishop noted that various large scale music events had been cancelled at short notice during this pandemic, “but never the footy match”.

“That’s a categoric disrespect,” Arena said.

“I’m sorry, that’s rude, disrespectful, and shouldn’t be at all allowed to play out. Never, ever silence an artist – we play an important role in the social fibre of any country. It’s freedom of expression, and I’ll fight for it until the day I die,” she said.

Arena is this year marking the 30th anniversary of her hugely successful 1994 breakthrough album Don’t Ask, which went 10 x platinum here in Australia and scored her five ARIA Awards including album of the Year.

Read the full interview with Tina Arena inside the latest issue of Stellar, via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA). For more from Stellar, click here.