Kiwi stunt star Zoë talks BRAIN INJURIES & BREAK-UPS

The Hollywood action hero and her ex reveal how they healed after a death-defying fall

- Leena Tailor

“ It’s gonna be a good 35th birthday,” Jacob Horn posted on Instagram on August 11, 2018. And it started out fabulously thanks to his then-girlfriend – Kiwi stuntwoman, actress and filmmaker Zoë Bell – organising a surprise breakfast party, where friends sported shirts with his music idol Jim Morrison on them.

Beach and family fun followed, but by nightfall, Zoë sat by Jacob’s hospital bed as his life hung in the balance after an accident that left him with brain damage and physical injuries.

While today, the 37-yearold filmmaker completes triathlons, practises Brazilian jujitsu and works building home theatres, his gruelling road to recovery saw the couple deal with dire lows, frustrations, upheaval and, eventually, the end of their three-year relationship.

“Coming out of something like this, you can either identify with the victimhood, carry it and Jacob were working with Brad Pitt (right) on Once Upon A Time In Hollywood when the accident happened.and have it bog you down,” says Zoë , 42, who has been a stunt double for Uma Thurman, Sharon Stone and Lucy Lawless, as well as acting alongside Drew Barrymore and Channing Tatum. “Or you go, ‘That was f***ed, but I’ve come out the other end knowing life can be over at any moment.’ Why not get back on that horse and ride it differently?”

HORROR ACCIDENT