‘You’re not playing a role’: Real Housewives of Sydney star on the new season and taking fashion risks
Reality star Sally Obermeder reveals her tricks to surviving cocktail showdowns and avoiding pity parties as she returns to the Real Housewives of Sydney.
Stellar
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When Sally Obermeder was approached to join The Real Housewives Of Sydney, the self-declared “girls’ girl” wasn’t convinced she was right for the job.
“I go to work every day,” she says of running health and wellness brand Swiish, which she co-founded with sister Maha Corbett.
“I’ve got two kids. I’m not somebody who goes to a lot of long lunches.
“But they [the producers] said they wanted to do it differently this time … and showcase female friendships and different women doing things their way. So that got me. And I am a risk taker. Life is only a series of experiences, so why not just jump in?”
Cool-headed Obermeder, 51, may not seek confrontation, but she insists she is neither a fence-sitter nor one to sit in judgement of her co-stars’ fiery outbursts, as hard as they can be to witness.
“Sometimes its tough and you’ll see that in my facial expressions,” she says. “That’s fine. “That’s my truth. Likewise, it’s fine for two other people to have that disagreement. That’s their truth.
“Some may ask, ‘Why aren’t you more aggro?’ Or ‘why don’t you get amongst it more?’ Well, I do, when it matters to me,” she adds. “I’m not a believer that I just need to keep screaming to make sure that everyone can hear me. I feel very confident in the person that I am.”
Having been on shows such as Dancing With The Stars, Obermeder understands the time and effort that goes into being camera-ready.
But nothing prepared her for RHOS style standards, so she’s upped her game going into season three.
“On TV, we had a stylist so we would roll in [to the studio] in our trackies and go into hair and make-up,” she says with a laugh of being a The Daily Edition presenter for seven years. “This is not that! These girls take their glam very seriously.
“This year, I was better organised and I worked with a stylist – again, coming back to wanting to take risks with experiences – I was like, ‘OK, let’s actually do different hair, different makeup and different looks’.
“And sometimes I would come home and the girls [daughters Annabelle, 13, and Elyssa, eight] would say, ‘What are you wearing?’”
Obermeder’s 2011 breast cancer diagnosis changed her perspective, meaning she does not waste time sweating the small stuff. “I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone, but I also would not take it back, and that’s a big call,” she says.
“I can’t see the world a different way anymore. I am acutely aware of how finite life is and how precious life is.
“So, what I do with it is really important, and making a difference is really important. That’s why I started a wellness business, because I want you to feel well.”
Now more than a decade cancer free, Annabelle’s birthday – the day after Obermeder was diagnosed – has become one of many dates that carry more meaning.
“If you’re forced to face your mortality, like I was, and you’re told you’re not going to survive, you start to truly think, ‘OK, I’m not going to live to see the kids do this or that’. That’s a very confronting thing,” she explains. “And so, what happens, certainly for me, when [milestone] things occur, you’re really struck by how fortunate you are to be alive and to live to see this day or this moment.”
There’s a big difference between empathy and pity, according to Obermeder.
Being open about her cancer journey doesn’t mean she wants or needs anyone to handle her with kid gloves, but it also means she respects why some choose to keep their health battles private.
“They don’t want to be treated differently,” she offers with a shrug. “But what if your friend got divorced? Or what if their mother died? Lots of [difficult] things happen in life. Would that mean you treat them differently?”
As the emcee of business mogul Bethenny Frankel’s 2024 speaking tour, Obermeder gained insight into what makes the former cast member of The Real Housewives Of New York City a breakout star: “She speaks her mind. You’re not always going to like it, but she doesn’t care.” Did Frankel pass on any tips about being a member of the franchise?
“She said it’s a rollercoaster, and it is,” Obermeder recalls.
“I think you’ve just got to go into it being yourself. Because you can’t hide. People who try to be something they’re not come unstuck because you’re filming for so long. And the relationships are real. The friendships are real. It’s not Home And Away – you’re not playing a role. You are yourself.”
Season three of The Real Housewives Of Sydney starts February 25 on Binge and Foxtel with new episodes dropping weekly. Also available On Demand.
Read the full Sunday Seven with Sally Obermeder in Stellar, inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA) tomorrow.
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Originally published as ‘You’re not playing a role’: Real Housewives of Sydney star on the new season and taking fashion risks
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