After being forced to take a leave of absence due to “exhaustion”, Neighbours star Jodi Anasta has finally opened up about her three week TV hiatus.
In a painfully raw interview, the beloved Australian actress said she was struggling to cope with Neighbours’ rigorous filming regime and her hectic schedule.
“I was just really run down,” Jodi, who played Elly Conway on the hit soap series, told 9Honey. “I was trying to push through, but everything builds and then you realise how exhausted you are and crumble a little bit.”
WATCH: Jodi Anasta opens up about juggling motherhood and ‘neighbours’
Jodi says the cause of her exhaustion stemmed from having to fly between her home in Sydney and the show’s filming set in Melbourne every couple of days.
“I am in Melbourne four days a week and in Sydney three days every week, and it’s usually 12-hour days on set, so really huge days,” she explained.
After working through her issues and spending time with her daughter, Jodi says she’s put a plan in place to help manage her workload — she now uses her flying time to read through her scripts so she can be “fully present” when she spends time with her daughter, Aleeia, 5.
“It’s about recognising when my body is shutting down before I get really sick and tired. I think addressing your feelings about the things that are going on, talking it through and being present [also] helps.”
Before she broke her silence, Jodi’s ex-husband Braith Anasta weighed in on her health troubles, taking a thinly-veiled dig at his ex— with whom he shares daughter Aleeia– saying he was not getting involved in her personal life and was choosing to focus on their daughter and his charity work.
“It’s up to her (Jodi) to look after herself,” the former Roosters star told The Daily Telegraph’s Confidential. “I don’t get involved with her personal life. I look after Aleeia and whatever Jodi’s got to do she’s got to do. I’ve got my own family to worry about. As long as Aleeia is taken care of, that’s all that matters.”
last month a source reported to The Herald Sun that Neighbours star Jodi is on ‘a three-week break’ from filming the Aussie soap.
The former model’s manager Sean Anderson also confirmed the news: “She’s just having a rest. She’s exhausted so she’s taking three weeks off. She’s living between two cities, she’s also a single mum and there are challenges that come with it.”
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