On The Bright Side

After A Tough 12 Months, Lisa Wilkinson Opens Up About The Wellbeing Tactics That Have Helped See Her Through And Reveals The Heart Disease Legacy That Has Left Her Living In The Moment.

- Paul Ewart

She’s beautiful, talented, happily married, and to top it all off, immensely likeable. Yes, Lisa Wilkinson seemingly has it all. But rather than inducing a fit of jealousy, you can’t help but wish her well. She might be at the top, but she’s worked bloody hard to get there.

Climbing from humble roots in working class Campbelltown in Sydney to her current status as a national media icon, she’s the definition of self-made. And while she’s one of the most famous faces on our TV screens, the bubbly personality is journeying on the rollercoaster of life’s ups and downs just like the rest of us – and the last 12 months have been one hell of a ride.

A bad fall while on holiday in Italy with her husband led to broken bones and a near-arm amputation; she went through a sudden (and very high profile) departure from her co-host gig on Nine’s Today show; and then in March she lost her beloved mum after ongoing health issues. When Good Health & Wellbeing sits down with the 58-year-old personality, she says that – to put it mildly – things have been “tough”.

“It would be easy to be depleted by everything that has happened in the last 12 months,” she reflects. “But, if anything, it just reminds me how lucky I am. In the middle of it all I had to find my centre and look at the things around me that I’m so fortunate to have in my life.”

This is classic Lisa: a ‘glass half-full’ approach when the going gets tough. It’s this positive outlook that has been a source of strength over the tumultuous period that began in July last year when Lisa slipped on a wet hotel bathroom floor and broke two bones in her right arm. “I spent six months pretty much going to hospital every day because the break was so bad,” she remembers.