It’s hard to believe it was 24 years ago that little Nikki Webster stole the hearts of the nation – and the world – at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Nikki was just 13 when she shot to international fame after playing a major part in the opening ceremony, including performing the song Under the Southern Skies.
Nikki, wearing a bright pink sundress, was strapped into a harness as she flew across Stadium Australia – making her an overnight household name.
After her success at the Olympics, Nikki signed a contract with BMG and her hit song Strawberry Kisses – which has remained popular to this day – reached No. 2 on the Australian singles charts in 2001.
Nikki went on to create her own clothing range in collaboration with Kmart. The ‘Nikki Webster’ clothing and accessories range for girls aged between 5–10 was first released in stores in 2003 and was an instant hit with customers.
Nikki met her now ex-husband Matt McMah, an aviation industry worker, on a blind date in 2007.
Matt proposed to the former child star on a romantic holiday to Fiji in 2010 after two-and-a-half years of dating.
After revealing their plans to wed, Nikki, now 37, told Woman’s Day at the time: “I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together”.
The pair tied the knot in November 2011 in the Sydney suburb of Annandale.
On their wedding day, Matt, 41, gave Nikki the fairytale entrance she’d dreamed of since she was a little girl, surprising the Strawberry Kisses singer with her very own horse and carriage.
“It was so romantic!” Nikki told Woman’s Day in her first interview after she said ‘I do’.
“I did it because her grandmother and her mother arrived at the church on their wedding days in a horse and carriage,” Matt said at the time.
“I thought it would be a lovely gesture, especially since her grandparents came all the way from the UK for the wedding. I looked at a few and picked the one that most looked like a princess carriage.”
The couple welcomed daughter Skylah, now nine, in 2014. A little brother for Skylah arrived in 2017, with Nikki confirming the birth of Malachi during an appearance on Sunrise.
Although she gushes about Skylah and Malachi when given the chance, Nikki has kept their upbringing relatively low-key, only sharing a handful of snaps on social media and taking part in the occasional photoshoot over the years.
But Nikki’s fairytale was not meant to be. Although it’s not known exactly when the couple split, Nikki was first spotted without her wedding ring as far back as December 2018.
In the months that followed, she and Matt were photographed outside Nikki’s dance studio doing what appeared to be a handover of their kids.
In 2019, Nikki appeared as a contestant on The Masked Singer Australia as Alien, but was booted off in the third episode.
Nikki proved to fans she still had her iconic singing voice, and gained praise from viewers for her performances.
“I was flattered that people still thought I was distinct and could remember me,” Nikki told TV WEEK at the time.
“For me, that was better than staying under wraps or being incognito. People still remember what I sound like and that’s awesome.”
The mother-of-two now runs three successful dance studios which she founded in 2010 at the age of just 22.
Dance Nikki Webster academy is located in Sydney’s Leichardt, Minchinbury, and Erina on the NSW Central Coast.
In September 2020, Nikki teased she would be releasing new music for fans in the not-too-distant future.
Speaking to Nova’s The Babble, Nikki said: “I have recorded music, I’ve recorded a whole album that I love and it’s great fun, but I just haven’t released it yet.”
Later that year, she released her album Girls.
With another Australian Olympics slated for the very near future, a Nikki Webster appearance isn’t completely out of the picture.
“Either way, I’ll be too old to fly that’s for sure,” she joked with Nine.
“It would be incredible to watch and be there and celebrate and have my little daughter and son there and watch it.”
