When Sarah Roberts officially waved goodbye to Summer Bay in April 2021, Home & Away fans lamented the exit of her character, Willow Harris.
It was a bittersweet change for Sarah, but one that afforded her an opportunity to shift her priorities.
WATCH: Sarah Roberts reflects on the first time she met husband James Stewart
“I’ve really started to focus on myself, my family, and my health a lot more,” the actress tells New Idea.
“When you work on such a fast-paced show like Home & Away for such a long period of time, you can start to become complacent when it comes to your own health and looking after yourself properly.”
Throughout her newfound emphasis on self-care, Sarah explains that she has been taking “microsteps” in her health journey, which is something her late brother Karl taught her to do.
“He would never fail to get up in the morning, rain, hail or shine and just put on his shoes and get to the gym (usually waking me up at 6am and dragging me along with him!) …this was the first microstep, once you’ve done that, the rest just seems to fall into place.”
Sarah, 37, had a close relationship with Karl, who sadly passed away in 2019 after a battle with brain cancer.
The actress describes her late brother as her “guardian angel”, telling New Idea that the moment he walked her down the aisle for her wedding to James Stewart is a memory she will cherish forever.
“I’m so grateful we got to share that moment together before he passed,” she says. “I often think about how lucky I was to have a brother as amazing as Karl; he taught me so much and now, even though I would do anything to still have him here with me in person, I feel like I have a guardian angel who is always watching over me and guiding me through life.
“I’ll never forget walking down ‘the aisle’ arm in arm with him; it was almost as if the man who had helped shaped me into the woman I had become was walking me towards my future and now when I look back, I get an assured feeling that everything is going to be okay, no matter what, because he led me here.”
Such was the grief that came with losing Karl that, as many struggled with the mental tolls that accompanied the pandemic, for Sarah, COVID felt like “a drop in the ocean” in comparison.
“My world had already been rocked and changed forever after losing Karl and it felt like nothing could rip my heart out the way losing my big brother had,” Sarah says.
“Grief is so fickle and takes you by surprise, I think the whole world is grieving for a world we once knew. We have to be kind to each other and to ourselves, everything is changing and I think we’re all coming to terms with a new way of living.
“The beauty I believe, when we’re ready, can be found in recognising the way we all put ourselves back together differently than we were before.”
With mental health a huge priority for Sarah, the 37-year-old explains how she’s been nurturing her “headspace” by eating healthier, doing things she loves, and sleeping more.
Having more time to prioritise herself has certainly brought a glow about the star, who confesses she is an “anxious person” who has finally been getting more sleep, and noticing the impact this has had on both her physical and mental wellbeing.
“I’ve had so many of my friends tell me that my skin looks great since finishing on Home & Away and the only thing I can put it down to is the Healthy Care Collagen Sleep tablets I’ve been taking and the sleep I’ve been getting. Huzzah!”
Along with her health, Sarah has been prioritising her family. She is the step-mother to nine-year-old Scout, the daughter of her husband James and his ex-partner Jessica Marais.
Gushing over Scout, Sarah deems her “a beautiful lady inside and out”.
“She loves art, she’s dramatic (just like her dad!) and she also has the biggest heart for such a little human,” the DJ says.
“I may be biased but I think Scout can grow up to be whatever she sets her mind to…I just hope that that growing up doesn’t happen too quickly!”
So, is a return to Home & Away on Sarah’s horizon? The actress tells New Idea it’s definitely not off the cards.
“I absolutely loved my time in Summer Bay and would definitely make a return cameo if the timing was right,” she says.
“Willow started off as such a firecracker of a character, I miss putting her boots and leathers on and strutting around the bay like a badass! I also miss the cast and crew, they became my extended family (literally, haha!). I’m so glad we’ve all made an effort to stay in touch.”
But Willow is just one of many hats Sarah has the capability to don. When she’s not acting, the star is also a DJ who plays with her best friend Kate Lister in a duo called VAMP. And according to Sarah, she’s down to hit the studio again soon.
“I’d love to record more music, get back into singing and do more gigs as VAMP with Kate. It’s been hard with COVID because we’ve both been in different cities and dance floors have been limited but it’s so nice when you get to share and make memories with your best friend doing things that you love that make you happy.”
WATCH: Sarah Roberts Talks About Becoming A Step-mum To Scout (Article continues after video)
Apart from her musical talent, Sarah is also in the upcoming comedy film Wog Boys Forever, written by Nick Giannopoulos.
The actress says that working on a comedy was a nice change of pace after the heavy story lines involved in Summer Bay.
“To be working on a comedy felt like a breath of fresh air after all the intense drama I had to play out on Home & Away for the four years I was on the show. To be able to laugh every day at work was such a blessing.
“(Wog Boys Forever) will be out in cinemas in the second half of this year sometime and I think, for audiences, it will be a great relief from all the challenges of the last few years. It’s a feel-good film, it’s a comedy, and I think when it’s released it’s going to be exactly what people have been waiting for.”
