Why My Stepdad Is My Real Life Idol!

Despite yet another blow, the singer is ready to take on the world.

- Tiffany Dunk

Leaving the I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! jungle, Casey Donovan was on top of the world. But the singer’s joy at winning was cut short hours later when her mum Tracy revealed her beloved stepdad Norm Axford, 65, had been diagnosed with stage one pancreatic cancer and was facing surgery in a bid to save his life.

“It was a shock to my system and after what I’d just experienced it was really tough,” Casey tells Woman’s Day. “Mum felt really bad for telling me because she feels like every time I do something great, something bad happens. “People kind of have a tendency to s**t on me at the highest points in my life. I don’t get excited when things happen – I’m always waiting for someone to burst this bubble.”

One notable instance was when Casey won Australian Idol in 2004 at just 16 years old. At the press conference, which should have been a celebration, Casey was shocked when an aunt publicly demanded to know why she hadn’t invited her estranged biological father Merv to the Opera House to watch her perform.