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Who Is Marea Burke?
Everyone knows Marea as Don Burke’s supportive but publicity-shy wife. The couple has been married for over 50 years, and for all the time her husband has spent in the spotlight, Marea only made a handful of public appearances. But it turns out that Marea was more than just Don Burke’s wife.
Marea met Don at university some 50 or so years ago and quickly married soon after. In an interview with Tracy Grimshaw for A Current Affair in 2015, Don gushed about his wife saying, “The moment Marea and I met we were on the same level... I thought thank god, I met a girl you can make your best friend”.
Eventually, Don, a professional horticulturist, became the host of lifestyle and gardening show, Burke’s Backyard. But throughout those 17 years hosting the show, it was Marea who was running things as the CEO of CTC Productions – the company that produced the series.
“She organised the whole thing, dealt with the staff, turned vague ideas into reality, it was a huge job she was doing”, Don said in the interview.
Marea’s Health Scares
In the same 2015 A Current Affair interview, Marea spoke up about her battle with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and breast cancer. AVM is characterised by tangled blood vessels – similar to varicose veins – that disrupt the flow of blood and oxygen in the brain. Marea was diagnosed back in 2000, and after a 9-hour surgery, she spent the next years in a slow process of recovery. She had difficulty walking, talking, and even suffered a stroke and epilepsy.
In 2013, Marea was hit with even more devastating news: she had breast cancer. Within a week of her diagnosis, she went into surgery and had a double mastectomy to stop the growth.
Now that she is in fragile health, Don has taken it upon himself to take care of his wife and support her as much as he can. He also said that the whole ordeal has brought them “closer together”.
“All the dreadful times we've been through I think have brought us closer together”, said Don. “For us, it really did bring us a lot closer together and made us realise, at least from my side, how important your time is together”.
Don’s Sexual Harassment Allegations
In November 2017, the Sydney Morning Herald released an exposé detailing allegations made by numerous women. The piece reported that Burke had allegedly been harassing and bullying women since the 1980s. He initially denied the accusations, saying he was “deeply hurt and outraged” and that the situation was ironic because he had “a life-long opposition to sexism and misogyny”.
In 2017 interview with Tracy Grimshaw – this time sans Marea – Don continued to deny the accusations. He blamed the “Twittersphere” for blowing up the issue into a “witch hunt”.
"No-one, male or female, ever complained about anything – whether it's bullying, any sexual issues, nothing – in all the time, there was not one”, he told Grimshaw.
However, on top of the allegations, several people who worked closely with Don have reported that he wasn’t exactly a clean and pleasant person to be around. Bridget Ninness, a former producer on Burke’s Backyard, said that Don was, “A vile, vile human being” and was “lewd and crude” and constantly talked about sex.
Another producer for Burke, Louise Langdon, said that Don frequently made “commentary about anything sexual”.
“I've been trying to think of Harvey Weinstein-type people, and the only one I can ever come up with is Burke. He was a horrible, horrible man”, said former Nine CEO David Leckie.
Don And Maria Today
The couple has stayed out of the spotlight since the allegations have come to light. Public appearances have been incredibly rare – the most recent being a 2018 sighting of the two shopping together at a home renovation shop. It seems that the two have remained together despite everything.
Conclusion
It is unclear whether Marea knew about Don’s affairs and misconduct prior to word getting out. Whatever the case is, it seems that Marea has chosen to remain with her husband and work things out. Tracey Grimshaw, the host of A Current Affair, once described Marea as “tough but fragile” – an indication that in the face of insurmountable challenges, Marea is a survivor.