Natalie Bassingthwaighte has broken down after discovering her family history on SBS’ Who Do You Think You Are?
WATCH Natalie Bassingthwaighte on being one of Who’s Most Beautiful people 2019
The Aussie singer, who grew up in Wollongong, travelled to Peelwood in country NSW to visit the town where her late grandmother Gwen was brought up.
“I had heard a story that my grandma’s mum wasn’t her mum. It was brushed over and it wasn’t really talked about, and I don’t really know anything outside of that,” Nat said.
A genealogist showed Nat her mother’s birth certificate, where she discovered Gwen’s mother’s name was Florence.
Nat discovered that Florence gave birth to Gwen when she was an unmarried 22 year old.
“The beliefs back then were if a woman had a child out of wedlock, she either married the father or the baby was adopted,” the genealogist said.
“But Walter and Catherine, Gwen’s grandfather and grandmother, decided to go against the Catholic Church and raise Gwen as their own.”
Natalie broke down in tears after learning that her grandmother never spoke about her relationship with her biological mother.
“Oh, I can’t breathe,” the Rogue Traders frontwoman sobbed.
Nat said she had heard rumours for several years about her grandmother’s lineage.
“I remember waking up the night before filming and I couldn’t sleep and was nervous about what would unfold and I pulled out a notebook and wrote down the word forgiveness,” she said.
“I realised throughout the course that we need to forgive ourselves and those around us because situation and circumstance play a part in who we become.
“I can’t tell you how much I have learnt from it.”
Natalie also discovered her great-great-great-grandfather Henry Eastwick had struggled with his mental health.
Having had depression herself and a breakdown in 2018, Natalie felt she connected.
“I felt so much empathy for him, trying to be the breadwinner and hold the family together,” she says.
“He made mistakes, but I felt a real understanding of his struggles.”
Natalie declares she feels “amazing” right now.
“Harper is very dramatic, really funny and a really great dancer,” Nat said.
“She doesn’t go to dance school, she doesn’t do drama, she doesn’t want to do any of it, but she’s just naturally got it.”
“And Hendrix, he’s started to learn the guitar, which is slightly embarrassing, given his name’s Hendrix, but he loves it.”
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