Kim's hidden heartache 'BEING A MUM WILL HAVE TO WAIT'

The Treasure Island darling reveals why she's in no hurry to start a family

- Sebastian van der Zwan

When Kimberley Crossman went to India to visit her sponsored child, she was upset to learn that young girls in the community would often skip meals because they feared for their lives if they were to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

“It was a real wake-up call for me,” recalls the Celebrity Treasure Island favourite. “As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, I’m scared of things like not fulfilling my potential as a creative artist, but I don’t live in fear for my own safety, which must just be so paralysing.”

Yet Kim tells Woman’s Day the people were so joyful because Kiwi sponsors like her were making such a difference by bringing education and sanitation to their village, near the city of Putna. And the women she met were often more concerned about her wellbeing.

The actress laughs, “They were so worried that I was a single woman nearing 30 who didn’t have any children. They were giving me advice, like, maybe if I work hard enough, someone will want to marry me!”

The high point of Kim’s 2019 trip as a World Vision ambassador was meeting her sponsored five-year-old girl Megha. The former Shortland Street star, now 31, remembers, “I’d been sending her colourful hairclips and she was wearing every single one of them. She’s just this energetic bundle of joy – a tomboy who loves cricket and has a beautiful smile.”