“Finding my power” -Toni Pearen

Facing her demons (and a few snakes) in the jungle led to a personal and professional renaissance for Toni Pearen. Jenny Brown meets the former pop princess as she steps into a brave new life.

- Jenny Brown

It’s a jungle outside Toni Pearen’s place, a sea of swaying green treetops stretching down from her hilltop eyrie to the ocean, surf booming far below on the rocky headland. Safely home again after her attention-grabbing stint on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Toni has settled back into the comparative tranquillity of family life on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Everything is the same, yet subtly different since she became the show’s uncontested breakout star. It’s not simply that multi-talented Toni has gained newfound coolness with her children, Lucky, 11, and Ever, eight, and even husband Will Osmond. The most significant shift, perhaps, lies in the 48-year-old’s mindset.

“I really went into I’m A Celebrity with quite low expectations,” she confesses, settling down for a chat at her well-scrubbed vintage dining table. “I knew I wanted a huge challenge, I knew I wanted to step way out of my comfort zone, so they were reasons I decided to do the show. But in the end it exceeded all of my expectations, just above and beyond.

“Today I can’t believe I actually did some of those things, like jumping off a 50-metre tower or climbing into a box of snakes! I’m A Celebrity was one of those experiences I will always look back on with wonder and disbelief, but also accomplishment.”