It’s been a tough 12 months for Sarah Harris.
“2021 has been a hard and heavy year for a lot of people, and for me it’s been a big lesson in resilience, learning to let go and just flow,” she tells TV WEEK.
“I turned 40 in lockdown. The past couple of years have taught me that while you can’t control what happens in life, you can control your reaction to it.”
Sarah announced in March that she had separated from her husband Tom Ward, the father of her sons Paul and Harry.
(Australian Women’s Weekly)On top of all the COVID-related difficulties, the Studio 10 host announced in March that she had separated from her husband Tom Ward, the father of her sons Paul and Harry. So what’s helped her through the challenging year?
“Lots of therapy!” she says. “Seriously, talking stuff out really helps. Highly recommend it. I’m also getting better at mindfulness and just generally being more in the moment. It’s a process. It helps to laugh too. Whether it be at a stupid meme or just the ridiculousness of life, a good cackle cures most things for me.”
There was certainly a lot of cackling going on when Sarah caught up with her former Studio 10 co-host Jessica Rowe to shoot Christmas With The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“Getting us together at a craft table with glue and glitter was an absolute scream,” Sarah says. “We laughed right the way through the shoot. They had to keep saying, ‘Girls, you need to stop talking and catching up. You need to actually focus on the craft.'”
Sarah says being able to reconnect in that way felt like a gift, especially because she’d missed out on being able to catch up with Jessica during the year.
“There had been this big plan to celebrate my 40th with a big dinner with some of my mates, including Jess, but that wasn’t to be. So it was nice to catch up – and really nice just to throw your arms around someone in a COVID-safe way.”
In the special, Jess shares some clever craft ideas with Sarah, including how to make Christmas tree decorations.
“She calls herself a crap housewife but she’s actually quite an excellent little crafter,” Sarah says.
Sarah caught up with her former Studio 10 co-host Jessica Rowe to shoot Christmas With The Australian Women’s Weekly.
(Australian Women’s Weekly)The mum-of-two says she tries doing craft with her sons, but it’s not usually very successful.
“It often descends into brawling because they’re at that age – they’re three and five,” she explains. “If someone takes someone’s glue stick, all hell breaks loose.”
As well as Jess’s crafting tips, Christmas With The Australian Women’s Weekly features festive cooking inspiration from some familiar TV faces, including MasterChef Australia star Kishwar Chowdhury, The Great Australian Bake Off winner Sian Redgrave and entertainer Courtney Act, who has hosted her own cooking series on YouTube.
Sarah says Courtney turned up to the shoot looking “like the angel that you put at the top of the tree”.
“I’m also getting better at mindfulness and just generally being more in the moment.”
(Australian Women’s Weekly)“When she wafted into the kitchen, we went, ‘Gorgeous! Not entirely practical…’ But she made it work.”
The Living Room chef Miguel Maestre also makes an appearance in the special, offering some new twists on the traditional turkey and seafood.
“He’s like a kid on Christmas morning,” Sarah says with a laugh. “That’s his baseline energy.”
As for her own plans for the Christmas break, Sarah doesn’t yet know where she’ll be spending it.
“To take the boys to a Queensland beach for a couple of weeks would be amazing, so fingers crossed.”
The Studio 10 host said she highly recommends therapy.
(Instagram)Wherever she is, she knows she’ll be eating “way too much food”.
“Certainly, an elasticised pant will be something I’ll be wearing on Christmas Day!” she says.
Sarah says there’s plenty to be excited about for next year, with COVID lockdowns ending and borders reopening.
“I’m feeling… cautiously optimistic. Can I say that? Or will I jinx things?”
