Talitha Cummins was a successful TV presenter, but she had an alcohol problem

Jewellery designer Talitha Cummins is best known from her years as a TV presenter on shows including Weekend Sunrise on Seven. Here, the 46-year-old mother of two talks about her battle with drinking and her recovery, and why her father will always be her best friend. My paternal grandfather, Vincent, was a horse whisperer in Shepparton, Victoria.

People would bring him horses that nobody else could handle. He was a disciplinarian, but a teddy bear inside. I learnt that men can be strong and disciplined, but also kind and humble.

He always wore big overalls and always had time for his grandkids. He set the scene for what to look for in future partners. I idolise my dad, Paul.

He is strong and considerate. From a young age, he’d let me walk through the door first and open the car door for me – a real gentleman. He owned butcher shops and ran them with perfection.

Dad grew up on a farm and at 18 set off to travel the world for three years with mates. There’s a real depth and wisdom to him. My parents divorced when I was six; I am their only child.

I always maintained a great relationship with Dad. I moved in with him in Shepparton when I was nine for a few years, and he’d take me to pony club. When I was 10, Dad took me to a big block of land with an old weatherboard house on it and said, “I’ve just bought this and when I have enough equity, I’m going to develop it into units.”

It meant nothing to me then, but sowed the seeds for me to think outside the box. My first kiss happened in a car park with a boy called Joseph when I was 11. It was an innocent peck.

My mum, Kaye, worked for a gastroenterologist and I also worked for him when I was a university student. I would be in the operating theatre, writing down patient diagnoses while he did procedures. He was very successful.

I looked at his lifestyle and thought, “That’s what I want.” I was in a relationship with a boy called Aaron when I was 23, but we broke up when I got my first TV gig at the Seven Network in Cairns. I was focused on chasing cyclones and dancing on podiums!

I was engaged for a while but it didn’t work out. When I look back on it, I think you can’t be happy with someone until you are happy within yourself. It was probably the height of my drinking and I wasn’t really in any shape to be in a relationship.

My dad was incredibly supportive when I acknowledged I had a drinking problem in 2011-12. He said if I needed anything he’d be there to help me. There was never judgment.

When I appeared on [ABC-TV’s] Australian Story 10 years ago, I wanted to smash the stereotype around what an alcoholic looks like. There is still a perception it’s a guy who lives on the streets. The reality is there are so many functioning alcoholics.

Speaking up felt like a calling. I met my husband, Ben [Lucas], in Sydney when I was three months sober. Friends on Weekend Sunrise said they knew a guy they wanted me to meet.

I rolled my eyes. I remember sitting at our first date, being so nervous without alcohol and wanting to disappear. Little did I know that Ben would become one of the biggest supporters and influences in my life.

He is determined, ambitious and selfless. My maternal uncle, Craig, steered me into a career in jewellery. He’d been in the industry for 50 years and gently nudged me by saying, “I think you should consider doing this.”

I remember trying on big diamond rings in his store as a teenager; little did I know it would become my new vocation. It’s because of him, I left my TV career after two decades. Ben ran a gym but as my business [The Cut Jewellery] started rising we realised that in a marriage you can only have one business and still be present for our kids: Oliver, who’s now nine, and Riley, who’s seven.

He told me it was time to chase my dream. Get the best of Sunday Life magazine delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up here for our free newsletter.

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