‘Nothing glamorous about shooting sex scenes!’ Former Home And Away star Sarah Roberts addresses reality of on-screen sex

Former Home And Away actor Sarah Roberts explains what it’s really like shooting intimate scenes, as she confirms she is in a new relationship after her high-profile divorce.

Former Home And Away actor Sarah Roberts says shooting sex scenes on a TV set is in “no way glamorous”, as she confirms she has found love again after her high-profile divorce from ex-husband, James Stewart.

In a new interview with the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, Roberts discusses the role intimacy co-ordinators play in racy scenes – and how it’s nothing like real sex.

As she unveils Make It Look Real (a documentary about the topic), Robert recalls one instance where “there weren’t any crazy sex scenes; they were more kissing scenes with an actor that I hadn’t worked with before,” Roberts tells Something To Talk About, in a new episode out today.

“It was about, ‘How are we going to film this kiss? Do you want to use tongue? Do you not want to use tongue? Where are you going to put your hands? Where should I put my hands?’

Sarah Roberts has revealed the weird reality of shooting TV sex scenes on a new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Listen to Sarah Roberts on the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, below:

“There’s absolutely nothing glamorous about shooting intimate sex scenes or kissing scenes in front of a massive crew,” she adds.

“My first kissing scene on Home And Away was with my now ex-husband [James Stewart, whom she married in 2019].

“No-one had walked us through what we were doing. It’s hard. Having an intimacy co-ordinator just make it all so much cleaner; it takes the stress away.”

Former couple James Stewart and Sarah Roberts pictured together in 2023, prior to their divorce. Picture: Getty Images

Meantime, after a turbulent period of her life – including the loss of her beloved brother in 2019 and her divorce from Stewart last year – Roberts has some happy news: she’s found love again.

“I love two people now: I’ve finally found a love for myself, which I know now in retrospect I didn’t have for so long,” Roberts told Something To Talk About.

“I am still finding myself, but I have beaten myself up for a long time because I stayed in something that wasn’t healthy. But now I have found this love for myself – and also fallen in love with a man. I’m so in love.”

The actor and DJ also revealed she used to be a ‘yes girl’ with “absolutely no boundaries.”

“Now that I’m 40, I look back on my life so far and it would have been great to have some boundaries and some respect for myself as well,” she said reflectively.

“I would sometimes bend over backwards so far that I would break my back and I got very sick for a moment in time.

“Now I feel very confident walking onto sets. I feel more confident in my day-to-day life as well in relationships. I know what I’ll stand and what I won’t stand for.”

Listen to Sarah Roberts on the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, below:

In terms of her personal life, Roberts and Stewart met in 2017 on the set of Home and Away and married two years later. Stewart is now dating his co-star, Ada Nicodemou.

Speaking to Stellar, Roberts said it was difficult to navigate heartbreak and her marriage breakdown in the public eye.

“I imagine dealing with a divorce is hard enough,” she said. “Dealing with it all in the spotlight – and then everything that came out in the media after – absolutely ripped my heart in a million little pieces,.”

Make It Look Real premieres at the 2025 Sydney Film Festival, June 4-15. For details, visit sff.org.au

Listen to the full interview with Sarah Roberts on the latest episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, wherever you get your podcasts. See the shoot with her inside the latest issue of Stellar, out in the Sunday papers today.

Originally published as ‘Nothing glamorous about shooting sex scenes!’ Former Home And Away star Sarah Roberts addresses reality of on-screen sex