Following news of Ben Unwin’s passing just shy of his 42nd birthday, an outpouring of tributes to the beloved Australian actor have quickly flooded in.
Last night, fellow Home and Away star Kristy Wright— who plays Chloe Richards on the long-running soap— said she was “heartbroken and shattered” to hear of Ben’s death.
“I’m completely lost for words… heartbroken and shattered,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos of the pair throughout the decades.
WATCH: Ben Unwin stars in Home & Away as ‘Jesse McGregor’
“In 1992 I met you for the first time and immediately fell into a crazy school girl crush. Watching you sing Tom Jones ‘If I only knew’ in your tight white pants is one of my favorite memories of you and just the first of so many. We were kids with the same dream and pretty quickly we became friends… my crush disappeared but my love for you was just beginning.
Years later we both found ourselves working on that little show @homeandaway and our friendship grew deeper. You harassed the writers to create a love story between our characters and when it finally happened we laughed our way through it and were just so happy to have the chance to work so closely with each other.”
She continued, “I sit here, with tears, as I look through old photos of us on our magical journey into adulthood. I feel privileged to have known you the way I did. I saw into your beautiful soul and you saw me.. we were both big on maintaining eye contact… you always made me feel beautiful and you made me laugh… every day and anywhere I was with you. You were one of the most talented people I know, one of the kindest, smartest and funniest. You were a rock star. I am hearing your laugh now as I write this. We haven’t spoken in a few years and I can not express in this moment how sorry I am for that… I can’t believe you’re not looking at the same sky as me right now.
“I miss you now that I know I will never see you again… I will forever regret not reaching out more… Beautiful Benny, Unners, Dingers… I’m so sorry. I love you. RIP my old friend.. see you on the next magical journey. Love, Bubs.”
Former co-star and close friend Ada Nicodemou— who plays Leah on the hit Channel Seven series— also paid tribute to the late actor.
“I just woke up to the tragic news of Ben’s passing, my heart goes out to his family,” Ada told Yahoo Lifestyle from Greece.
The beloved mum-of-one says she knew Ben well and worked with him closely during his time on the Channel Seven series from 1996-2002 and then 2002–2005. Her character Leah Patterson-Baker also had a number of encounters and a brief romance with Ben’s bad-boy character Jesse McGregor— a young thief who was living on the wrong side of the law.
During the seven years he starred on the popular hit series, Jesse worked in Alf Stewart Stewart’s Bait Shop. However, after getting to know the locals, he was accused of burning it down for insurance money. Sentenced to jail, he later met Leah’s (Ada Nicodemou) husband Vinnie.
His epic portrayal of the dark character scored him a Logie nomination in 1997 for Most Popular New Talent. He was also nominated for a British National Television award that same year.
Last night, WHO reported that Ben had passed away late last week. A NSW police statement to WHO.com.au on August 15 revealed: “Yesterday, at midday, police attended Minyon Fall, Whian Whian, responding to a concern for welfare. The body of a 41-year-old man was located. The death has not been treated as suspicious.
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