Art imitates life for celebrity couple starring in music video about keeping their marriage alive

Jimmy Barnes has some explaining to do after sharing some secrets about his good friends Troy Cassar-Daley and Laurel Edwards.

Jimmy Barnes inadvertently sparked some marital tension between Troy Cassar-Daley and Laurel Edwards when he shared secret men’s business while spruiking his latest single New Day.

The rocker enlisted the country superstar and his media personality wife to star in his music video as a couple fighting to get their relationship back on track.

Cassar-Daley’s passion for restoring his old EH Holden made him perfect to play the role of a man working on a vintage car as a metaphor for fixing a marriage.

Edwards joked Barnes had some explaining to do after sharing some secrets during interviews for the new song.

Troy Cassar-Daley and Laurel Edwards star in Jimmy Barnes’ video for New Day. Picture: Supplied / YouTube

“I thought the metaphor of the car was a little bit too intimidating at times during the filming because I’m thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this is us!’” she said.

“And then Jimmy was giving away that when Troy is putting in a new carbie or something in the car, he says ‘Just don’t tell Laurel!’ so I’m about to question him about that. Thank you, Jimmy Barnes.”

Edwards’ mock horror contrasts with the couple’s gratitude for the wise counsel and support of their close friends Jimmy and Jane Barnes when they have gone through a rough patch.

The video shows Cassar-Daley man fixing up his car as his character’s past of drinking to self-medicate and his marriage collapsing plays out in flashback scenes.

A torn photo of he and his wife is stuck back together and the final scene is the two lovers going for a sunset drive in the EH Holden.

Reunited and it feels so good. Picture: Supplied / YouTube

“Jim and Jane have always understood when their friends are going through things; they’re always checking in. It’s this total understanding, of knowing every couple goes through stuff and you find, more than counselling or anything else, friends who have been through similar things always have the most poignant and beautiful advice,” Edwards said.

The ups and downs of their marriage – the pair wed in 1996 and share son Clay and daughter Jem – have often played out in Cassar-Daley’s songs.

They’ve been through a lot in recent years. Cassar-Daley lost his father Tony to suicide, after he suffered two strokes, in 2019, the same year Edwards’ dad Ray died. The musician’s mother Irene died in 2022.

Their relationship was tested as both navigated these life-changing losses.

The happy couple on their wedding day in 1996. Picture: Supplied.

“It’s about defying the odds, and perseverance, and it’s not like you ever get to a stage where that’s it, everything rolls along without a hitch,” Cassar-Daley said about working on their relationship.

“It’s a continual maintenance thing. Like that old car of mine in the driveway will need an oil change soon. And if you don’t do it, you can hear it in the motor, it starts to get a bit rattly.

“That’s probably like a relationship, I guess, if you don’t give it the attention it needs.”

Cassar-Daley is compelling in the video with his darkly moody portrayal of a man looking at life through the bottom of a glass. Ironically, he wasn’t drinking at the time of the shoot.

Edwards shared “I was the one that was drinking” as she adjusted to the loss of her radio gig at 4BC last year.

Cassar-Daley plays a man on the brink in the music video. Picture: Supplied / YouTube

“We are forever going through change. Your kids grow up and leave, or your job might change – we’ve had massive change in our lives in recent years, losing parents and I’ve lost my job now,” she said.

“And I don’t like to say ‘lost’ because I feel like I needed time off but that’s hard too. I feel Troy works too much and I’ve got all this time on my hands and when circumstances change, that’s when you’re looking at each other or blaming each other and trying to work out why do we feel this way now?

“It’s just catching yourself in the moment going ‘Oh, okay. That’s what’s going on with us.”

And so they talk. And joke and drive the beloved EH Holden to the beach to clear the air. Cassar-Daley said their drives always offer a new perspective on whatever they’re going through.

“We do have a change of mind when we go for a drive in that old car. We’ve been at our wits’ end at this table here and we’ll go for a drive down to Manly (in Brisbane) and it just clears your head,” he said.

“That’s why the clip looks so natural for us at the end because we do go for a drive, not that dressed up in at sunrise or sunset, but we open the quarter windows and the air comes in and lifts your spirits. It’s not just a metaphor for us.

“By the way, how much do we owe you for this (therapy) session?”

The happy couple staring into the sunset at the end of the video. Picture: Supplied / YouTube

As for Cassar-Daley’s “smouldering” on screen in the video, the musician and his wife joke they’re waiting for an acting offer from their mate Russell Crowe.

“Russell rings out of the blue. But it’s only ever to talk about the South Sydney Rabbitohs,” Edwards said.

Her husband added: “I’m waiting for the offer to be an extra in the bar.”

New Day is the first taste of Barnes’ new record Defiant which is released in June ahead of a national tour while details of all Cassar-Daley’s gigs are available via his website.

Originally published as Art imitates life for celebrity couple starring in music video about keeping their marriage alive