Carrie Bickmore and Chris Walker’s relationship was in trouble long before they broke up, insiders say.
Bickmore, 42, surprised fans on Tuesday by announcing the couple’s split, but a source said New Idea the couple “had been working on their relationship for some time” before things “collapsed” during their family sabbatical in Europe.
In April last year, Carrie and Chris temporarily moved to the UK for a three-month holiday with their children Ollie, 15, Evie, seven, and Adelaide, four.
Carrie Bickmore and Chris Walker’s relationship was in trouble ‘for some time’ before they called it quits, sources say. (The couple is depicted in happier times)
“I think taking his family to the UK last year was an effort to put things right,” said the spy, who described the getaway as a “band-aid solution” to his problems.
Experts often encourage couples on the brink of separation to embark on one last vacation together as a way to rekindle the romance.
However, while some relationships benefit from escapism, others decline more quickly, in part because the closeness and romance of a vacation can seem forced.
In April last year, Carrie and Chris temporarily moved to the UK for a three-month gap year with their children Ollie, 15, Evie, seven, and Adelaide, four (all pictured).
Announcing her trip on The Project at the time, Carrie explained, “Chris, me and the kids are heading out on a family adventure together.”
“We’ve wanted to do it for a while, but for many reasons the timing hasn’t been right, but we think it’s never going to be the perfect time to go.
‘It’s something we really want to do before my son starts his senior years at school, so we’re doing the second term in the UK. So I’ll be gone for a couple of months.
“I think taking his family to the UK last year was an effort to patch things up,” a source told New Idea magazine, describing the getaway as a “Band-Aid solution” to their relationship problems.
The radio star also said she was inspired by The Project panelist Kate Langbroek, who spent two years living in Bologna, Italy, with her husband and children.
Carrie returned to The Project in July with very little fanfare and kept quiet about her trip.
She joked that she had come home with an English accent after living there for a few months, saying she had “a great time” but little else.
Announcing her trip on The Project at the time, Carrie explained, “Chris, me and the kids are heading out on a family adventure together.”
Carrie announced the couple’s split in an Instagram post Wednesday morning, saying the couple were focused on raising their three children. The couple was in a relationship for 11 years.
“It is with immense sadness that Chris and I have decided to part ways,” she wrote.
“While this is a difficult time, our focus is to raise, love and support our three children Ollie, Evie and Addie with everything we have.
Experts often encourage couples on the brink of separation to embark on one last vacation together as a way to rekindle the romance.
“They are doing very well, we will not comment further.”
Carrie and Chris’ love story captivated the hearts of Australians.
They met as colleagues on The Project – she was a presenter and he was a producer – and began dating in late 2012, two years after she lost her husband Greg Lange, the father of her eldest son Ollie, 15, to brain cancer.
Despite her terminal diagnosis, Bickmore had married Lange in 2005 when she was just 25 years old.
After Lange died in 2010 at the age of 35, a widowed Carrie started the charity Bickmore’s Beanies for Brain Cancer in his memory.
Two years later, Carrie had found love again with Walker, who became Oliver’s stepfather, and with whom she later had two daughters: Evie, born in 2015, and Adelaide, born in 2018.
The TV host announced their separation in an Instagram post on Wednesday, saying the couple were focused on raising their three children.