Shane Withington and his co-star refused to tell anyone about their relationship.
The 65-year-old, famed for playing John Palmer on Home and Away, met Anne Tenney on the set of A Country Practice in the 80s. Their characters, Brendan and Molly Jones, went on to get married on the Australian soap opera.
But what fans didn’t know is that their love translated off-screen. And they kept their relationship so secret that even their on-screen daughter Emily Nicol was oblivious to their romance.
Shane opened up about why they tried to keep their relationship on the down low, admitting it was due to fears of “cheapening” their love. Speaking to Starts at 60, the actor explained: “We kept it under our hats, no one really knew.
Shane has played John Palmer since 2009(Image: Channel 5)
“We didn’t want the media to get a hold of it. We kept it a secret for years, we didn’t want to cheapen our relationship by doing a magazine cover saying ‘we found love on a soap opera!'”
He added: “We valued our relationship more than that, it’s a private thing and we’ve kept it that way ever since.” Fans of the show were left devastated when Molly died in 1985 following a battle with leukaemia.
Shane and his wife Anne Tenney kept their romance a secret for years(Image: Getty Images)
Shane’s character on Home and Away has also had his fair share of heartache. He fell in love and married Gina Palmer (Sonia Todd), but she died suddenly from a brain aneurysm in 2013.
John found love again with Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons), but the couple split in 2020. His attention has now been focused on the Surf Club, and it’s anonymous donor.
John has been focused on trying to find out who the mystery donor is(Image: Channel 5)
“We didn’t want the media to get a hold of it. We kept it a secret for years, we didn’t want to cheapen our relationship by doing a magazine cover saying ‘we found love on a soap opera!'”
He added: “We valued our relationship more than that, it’s a private thing and we’ve kept it that way ever since.” Fans of the show were left devastated when Molly died in 1985 following a battle with leukaemia.
Shane and his wife Anne Tenney kept their romance a secret for years(Image: Getty Images)
Shane’s character on Home and Away has also had his fair share of heartache. He fell in love and married Gina Palmer (Sonia Todd), but she died suddenly from a brain aneurysm in 2013.
John found love again with Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons), but the couple split in 2020. His attention has now been focused on the Surf Club, and it’s anonymous donor.
John has been focused on trying to find out who the mystery donor is(Image: Channel 5)
