‘I’m just so happy to be alive’: Cameron Daddo

When Cameron Daddo left a well-established acting career in LA to return to Australia, he and wife Ali faced “challenging, lonely times” — but their careers and family are now stronger than ever.

Cameron Daddo is lucky to be alive.

At the end of last year, he had a CT scan to deal with a tummy issue caused by a parasite – instead, it revealed three aneurisms that if not detected when they were, would only have been discovered post-mortem – sobering words when delivered by your specialist.

In February, he had surgery for stents to be put in so blood would properly flow from his heart down to his legs – it was meant to be three aneurysms, three stents. His condition ended up being more complicated than that, and it was 10 stents for his three aneurisms, and a few days in intensive care.

A month later he turned 60.

With the new decade and his lifesaving surgery, Cam has a new lease on life – a life that for him and wife of 33 years Alison Daddo, suddenly looks very different.

Cameron Daddo with his antique guitar at home in North Curl Curl. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“I’m actually feeling 100 per cent now,” he says, gratefully. “There was a scare last year – and I mean classic timing – there’s a lot of gratitude in there, because it was detected by accident. My femoral arteries had several aneurysms, and they were detected through a CT scan for something else – so I feel very fortunate, because I had no symptoms.

“There was no reason for me to go to the doctor other than I had a sore belly – but that was because I had a parasite because I ingested dirty water at the beach.

“So it was completely accidental. The GP, bless him, he picked it up, sent me to a specialist, the specialist said, ‘You have to get these aneurisms taken care of because there’s a good chance you may not make it through next year.’ “So I did. That was my summer, resting, waiting for a spot in the public healthcare system to get those aneurisms repaired with stents.

“So I’m all connected, I’m plumbed,” he laughs, “and the blood is running the way it needs to and the aneurisms are now all protected and I’m back to 100 per cent health.

“Given that it happened in the last months of my 59th year is pretty amazing because here I am, stepping into a new decade in full health with all these wonderful opportunities and things to do.”

Cameron and Alison Daddo at home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The Northern Beaches parents of three – and hopeful future grandparents – are in a good place, but the ordeal was taxing on Ali too.

“Ever since I’ve known him, he’s barely had a sick day in his entire life, so that was the thing that we were both so shocked by and, as he said, no symptoms,” she says.

“And when I went to the doctor with him and Cam asked, ‘How would I have known if I had these aneurisms?’ and the doctor said ‘We just would’ve found out post-mortem’ … when he died. That’s how you find out.

“So, I just took the immediate route of – this is the best news, we’ve caught this, this is incredible, you’re so lucky – I took that route the whole time.

“And then he went to hospital and they took him really quickly and I walked him up and Cam said, ‘Is this the part where I say goodbye?’

“So we had a big hug and a kiss and I was all smiles like, ‘Yep honey, I can’t wait to see you when you come out’ – and got into the lift and bawled my eyes out. I was like ‘hold it together, hold it together’ – anddddd … you’re out. I just didn’t want him seeing me upset.

“I wanted him to see a really positive face, like you’re fine, you’ve got this, this is so great, this is gonna give you another 30 years at least.”

A month after Cam’s February surgery, along came his milestone birthday. And he could not have imagined a greater gift than good health.

Daddo and wife Alison Brahe at the Logies in 1992.

Cameron Daddo going for a surf.

“And I did mention it in my words to my friends and family who were here celebrating with us – it really has changed my perspective in terms of just really staying in the moment,” he says.

“When the doc answered my question about how would I know and he said ‘Well, you’d be punching your ticket with Saint Peter’ – it was like, this is how quickly it can go.

“And I’ve got a lot of life to live, and a lot of things to look forward to.”

The pair have a lot to be thankful for at the start of Cam’s next decade, and a big year ahead.

Their successful Nova podcast Separate Bathrooms has been relaunched to be aptly named The Heart of It.

It may have a fresh name, but the evolution of the show represents the development in themselves since starting the podcast five years ago – before it was fashionable to have one.

Over their three decades together they’ve navigated a lot – marriage, parenthood, big moves and the inevitable highs and lows of a long-term relationship.

Through it all, they’ve remained deeply curious about what makes relationships work, and The Heart of It will continue to do just that, talking to other duos about ways to help. And they’re excited.

“The Heart of It is the fact that we do it also to be of service as well, so it’s hopefully giving people, couples, whoever – some form of support with their relationships and that’s the part that I love,” Ali says.

“Where you get the feedback from people saying, ‘I listened to this episode and my husband and I are now going to do x, y and z’ – or ‘This has helped me understand that’ – and that’s when I get very excited. When people have taken something away that’s actually genuinely going to help them or help their marriage.”

“We need our help,” Cam laughs.

Cameron Daddo and daughter Bodhi.

“Our intention was quite clear to begin with – and it all sprung from both of us receiving a lot of messages and comments via our social media saying ‘You guys have the best life’ and ‘You’re so lucky’ – what other ones did we get, honey?” he asks Ali.

“Hashtag couple goals,” she responds.

“So (rather than) explain ourselves in a comment, why don’t we, as Ali said, be of service, and create a podcast and talk about the things that we do to maintain our marriage or to grow and push boundaries.

“And then let’s have other couples on that do the same thing, or experts to share their theories and experiences and wisdom with the audience – so it wasn’t that daunting to do it.”

But that’s not all. Cam is about to spend sixweeks filming for Foxtel’s popular Luxury Escapes before hitting the boards with Rebecca Gibney in The Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Circle Mirror Transformation.

He’s also hosting the night show on Nova Entertainment’s Smooth FM, seven nights a week.

Ali has just finished filming Foxtel’s new health and wellness series Gen Well – the hardest and most rewarding work she’s ever done, she admits.

She’s also giving keynote speeches, continuing with her menopause work, they’ve both written books, do the podcast, and parent their adult daughters Lotus, 28 and Bodhi, 19, and son River, 24.

Cameron and Alison Daddo with their dog Curly. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Tired,” the pair laugh in perfect harmony when asked how they are.

“We’re like Cooper’s Ale, cloudy but fine,” Cam continues. “Certainly it takes the work out of it … because it’s just what you love to do and you’re doing it.”

Ali says this year has already proven to be a bit of a surprising – and very unexpected – one.

“I was doing a keynote yesterday at Macquarie University and was getting ready and was just like – how did I get here?” she says.

“Eight years ago when we moved here I was a schoolteacher and had been a stay at home mum – it’s pretty trippy the trajectory that we’ve been on since we got back.”

“And that’s an amazing thing,” continues Cam. “Because Ali has continued to be a teacher as well as write a bestseller, she’s hosting a TV show, she’s hosting a podcast, she’s now doing keynote speaking and she’s running a menopause company as well as being a mum and doing the house – so it’s quite a transformation.”

It’s been eight years since they moved back to Sydney’s Northern Beaches from their years spent living in LA for Cam’s acting career – and after an initial struggle, they agree it was worth it in spades.

“I feel like we’ve really made a go of it since we moved back here – Cam’s always been very much like – ‘just say yes, and then figure out the rest later’ – so that was sort of what I did when I got here,” Ali says.

“I was like, I’m just gonna keep saying yes and then see what happens. And I have been terrified through so many experiences of saying yes – but things start to feel easier and it starts to build a bit more confidence for me.

“I pushed myself to limits (shooting Gen Well) that I didn’t think I even had.

“It’s a non-scripted show about generational health, so I talk to 10 different families about specific health struggles that their families are having and sometimes it goes all the way from little babies all the way through to grandparents in the same family and we send them off for three experiences to support their health.

“It was really lovely – and very much again about how do we help ourselves? Our elders? Our babies?”

It’s a topic not lost on the pair.

The Daddo family - River, Lotus, Alison, Bodhi and Cam.

Ali admits she’s learned a lot – they both have a lot to live for.

“I was someone who did not go to the doctor if I had a pain,” Ali continues.

“I mean the classic one is falling off the ladder when Lotus was about three. I never saw a doctor and came to find out years later I had torn all the ligaments in my wrist,” she laughs.

“I think particularly women tend to push through a lot of pain – and certainly that’s what menopause taught me – I am not pushing through any pain anymore. If there is something that I’m feeling, I’m taking care of it.

“I mean, we’re approaching grandparent years – our eldest is 28, and I just wanna be around. I need to be strong for our grandkids. That’s my thing now. I wanna be around for a really long time to help the grandkids and hike with the grandkids and swim with the grandkids – I don’t wanna be in a rocking chair while they’re running around.”

Cam feels the same.

“I’m just so grateful that I was given this gift of understanding what was going on,” he says of his recent health scare.

“It really basically put a fire in me to encourage people in my age group to go and get checked out.

“The technology that’s out there today – it’s quite cheap to get a full body scan done, and see how your arteries are, your heart is, your brain is – because these conditions they can go unchecked and we often hear ‘Barry passed away, he did three marathons last year what the heck happened?’ It is (sobering),” he continues.

“And my body’s been kicking around for 60 years now and I’ve been very fortunate in my health and very active, so it’s like – why wouldn’t you give yourself the gift of knowing where you’re at?

Lotus Daddo, after she signed with Bella Model Management in 2023.

Cameron Daddo and River.

“The fact is that in today’s world with the technology systems they have in place and the things available to us, a lot of these things that have taken our lives in the past can actually be managed or fixed quite simply.

“And I imagine it’ll be even different in another decade – so I feel very blessed to be going through this sort of thing at this time in history. I’m doing everything that I was doing beforehand. I was actually taking it slower and I said to the doctor I haven’t walked 18 holes of golf yet – and he just looked at me and said ‘why not?’”

So he’s not going to take it easy after all.And he’s excited about that. More than ever, actually.

“I’ve got six weeks booked out to make some shows for Luxury Escapes and then I start rehearsals for the Sydney Theatre Company – I love it,” he says of the stage.

“I love between when a curtain goes up and the curtain comes down – it’s a really lovely place to be because you’re just in the story.

“What’s become more apparent to me when I get these opportunities, is to really focus on being present. And it sounds trite, to be present in the present moment not thinking about something else or where I could be or what people are thinking of me. That’s been a really liberating thing.

“I used to spend a lot of time worrying about how I was being perceived or am I doing good? Am I doing my job? And I think as soon as I start thinking any of those thoughts, I’m not doing my job, I’m thinking about the stuff that I can’t control.”

He says what’s encouraging is how far they’ve come since re-entering Australia after so long, because assimilating into Sydney life brought with it some really challenging times.

“Some very lonely moments,” he continues.

The Sydney opening night of The Woman in Black at Theatre Royal on Thursday 1st August. Picture: Supplied

Launch of Destination Canada collaboration with David Jones.

“But we kept on keeping on. And we leant on each other a lot for assistance and support and it’s really encouraging that a lot of the seeds we planted back then have come to fruition in ways that we could never have foreseen.

“Sometimes you have an idea how things are gonna turn out – and then something completely different, often better, happens.

“So my thing has been – set the intention, and see if you can do it without an expectation. Something will come from this effort. And it’s nice to be in the moment right now, going, ‘wow – look what turning up for that moment and being there and doing the best you possibly can – look where that landed us.’”

Their youngest, at 19, lives with them – their son lives not too far away, near the city, and eldest Lotus is in Melbourne with her partner. The near empty nest brought its own challenges.

“Our first daughter leaving was really hard for me – particularly with Cam having done so much travel and been away for so long and I’ve been always the one at home with the kids – so when she first left, I just missed her with so much ferocity,” admits Ali.

“And I’m now through that, she broke the ice so when our son left, I was like okay, I can handle this. Now, I’ve come to really enjoy just a bit more of the quiet, and time with Cam.”

They’re keen to do that with a new member of the family too – a caravan. Their first trip is up the road to Narrabeen from their Collaroy home, they laugh – then they want to head to Patonga on the Central Coast, but it’s all building to circumnavigating Tasmania and heading north to Broome. That’s “the dream”, interjects Ali – epic journeys ahead.

“Honestly, I feel so fortunate in so many ways – but mostly because we have three incredible kids who are just such good people,” she says. “We love spending time together as a family and, for me, that’s everything. That’s my fortune. Whatever happens outside of that – whether I’m cleaning houses or on TV – all of that just fades away when we’re together with the kids.

“That’s always been the heart of the family, the five of us together, so I always feel really fortunate that we have that.” ■

Listeners can tune in to The Heart of It on the Nova Player, the Smooth Player and all major podcast apps, with new episodes weekly

Originally published as ‘I’m just so happy to be alive’: Cameron Daddo