Patti Newton at breaking point

The much-loved showbiz trouper faces her toughest test – keeping her family together against the odds.

And in many ways she is. The charmed life and family she has fought for all these years has been destroyed forever. Once the matriarch of Australia’s perfect showbiz family, the heartbroken 65-year-old has been left reeling as her close-knit clan slowly unravels and her dream life disintegrates.

Patti is facing the prospect of her only son, Matthew, 34, being locked behind bars after allegedly breaching an AVO taken out by his former fiancée, actress Rachael Taylor. Not only that, she is being forced to struggle on alone, with her husband, Aussie icon Bert, 72, on the road as part of his commitment to the stage show Wicked.

To make matters worse, she has been devastated by the dramatic effect Matthew’s court case is taking on her own professional life. According to long-time friends of the family, Patti is shattered after being dumped as the brand ambassador of Millers Fashion Club – a lucrative endorsement deal she loved. Her contract was abruptly terminated in December, with a year to run, as a result of the family’s turmoil.

“There’s no doubt in her mind that being Matthew’s mother cost her the job,” a close friend of the Newtons tells Woman’s Day. “Patti is crushed, because she adored her work with the company. It got her face back on TV and kept her busy, brightening her life and allowing her little getaways to Sydney to shoot the commercials.