At just eight-years-old, Kate Ritchie rose to fame as Sally Fletcher on iconic Aussie soap Home and Away and became an instant fan favourite.
Though Sally had many an adventure in Summer Bay, in reality the 45-year-old actress admits that her greatest achievement in life is her beloved daughter, Mae Katherine Webb.
Mae was born to Kate and her estranged husband Stuart Webb back in August 2014 and shortly after giving birth, Kate confessed to The Australian Women’s Weekly how much she loved motherhood.
“My only fear is that I will become a complete hermit and never leave the house because I adore being with her. I want to spend every minute with her and talk to her,” she said at the time.
As the years went on, Kate’s love for Mae only grew and in a candid chat with The Morning Show‘s Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies in 2015, the former Home and Away star said, “I think she’s divine, she’s the greatest achievement I’ve ever had and she’s wonderful.”
In a heartfelt open letter penned in 2018, Kate shared her love for Mae and opened up about how much her life changed when her daughter came into the picture.
“I thought the love of my life was Home and Away… Then I met this perfect being,” Kate wrote.
“It’s been a long road but I am so proud and so happy that I gave myself the chance to realise my greatest life achievements didn’t all have to be thanks to Sally Fletcher.”
In fact Mae has taught Kate things that she didn’t even expect, including how her relationship with her body is rubbing off on her little one.
“[Children] really do pick up on every single thing that you do. It’s been a very good learning curve that we need to be kinder to ourselves. I find myself every day censoring what I would normally say about what I am wearing or how I feel about my body, and I think in turn that’s teaching me to love myself a little bit more,” she told Good Health in 2018.
Keep scrolling to see Kate and Mae’s sweetest moments together through the years.
The mother-daughter duo were all glitz and glam for Taylor Swift’s concert in Sydney!
“WE ARE READY FOR IT! 🩷🩷🩷🐍📿♥️🖤🌈,” she wrote on Instagram.
Richie has said that her daughter Mae, ”holds the most full, happy place” of her heart.
Smile for the camera! Kate snapping a happy snap of Mae with a friend following her dance recital.
Spooky season! The mother and daughter were dressed to impress for Halloween 2022.
Kate was the picture of a proud mother after Mae earned herself a second place ribbon in her school’s 2022 Athletics Carnival.
“Couldn’t be prouder.. Most importantly because she said she would just ‘do her best’.. ❤️❤️❤️ #familytime #athleticscarnival #firstonesincecovid,” she wrote.
Kate enjoyed a cuppa and cuddle in bed on her 44th birthday with Mae.
“Not happy birthday.. Just a happy day to me. That happens to be the day I was born on. Because. This. Is. It,” she wrote.
Kate and seven-year-old Mae are the best of friends.
“Goodnight to this little earth Angel. Thank you for choosing me to be your Mumma,” Kate captioned this snap of Mae playing outside.
Beach babes!
“She’s my style icon and doesn’t even know it.”
“This is it. Couldn’t me more content,” Kate captioned this sweet post of Mae having a nap in her bed.
“Wishing I could bottle it” Kate said of this sweet moment with Mae in December 2021.
Kate Ritchie reveals she felt “lost” after leaving Home and Away
In the lead up to Christmas, Kate posted a picture with her daughter from their outing to see Santa, a tradition they enjoy doing just the two of them.
“Santa bound in the Hyde Park sunshine today.. 🌳🌳🎄🌳🎅🏼🌳#christmastradition #2021,” shared Kate.
There’s nothing like a big snuggle from mum.
Kate and Mae love to watch movies together, so they went on a trip to the cinema.
“Bubba and Mumma movie date 🍿🐴🎥 ❤️,” she captioned the post.
The girls love spending their Saturday nights snuggled up. In this moment, they look like they’re learning how to tie shoelaces.
Kate captioned this endearing moment, “When kissing in our garden was a thing🌳.”
The mother and daughter duo are twinning in their floral summer dresses.
The mother-daughter duo have spent much of lockdown baking up a storm. “Making shortbread with serious concentration,” Kate captioned this pic.
Here they are working on a Donna Hay cinnamon scroll recipe. “Was happy to play Sous-Chef to this little monkey in our house this afternoon! 👩🏼🍳💗👩🏼🍳 Thank you,” the radio host mused.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Kate wrote this loving post, “I’m so glad she chose me. Because this.. Her.. It’s everything.. ♥️♥️♥️ #mothersday2021.”
Like a dream come to life, Kate and Mae went to the highly anticipated Sydney live stage performance of Frozen: The Musical in January.
For Easter 2021, Kate and Mae spent some time at the beach – and had fun using the bunny filter for a quick selfie.
“A little angel on my shoulder.. 👼🏼 💗 👩🏻” Kate perfectly captioned this snap.
Kate and Mae threw their support behind Carrie Bickmore’s Beanies For Brain Cancer with these matching knits.
“Happy 6th Birthday to the most delightful, clever, funny, kind and inquisitive little person I know.. I am the luckiest Mumma ever to have been blessed with this precious soul.. Mae, thank you for choosing me.
“You bring so much joy to so many people and I can only hope you carry that joy within your heart too, always. I couldn’t be more proud of the person you are growing into. Just don’t grow too fast, okay?,” Kate captioned her sweet birthday tribute.
Sunday snuggle bunnies 💕👧🏼💕👩🏻💕
“Kissing chips since 2016 💋💋,” Kate penned alongside this gorgeous photo of the pair sharing a hot chip over the weekend.
Even in isolation, Kate and Mae are finding humour and lightness.
Mae’s ready to hit the waves!
“Proud Mumma Not stage Mumma #ipromise,” the former Home and Away star wrote after Mae’s dance concert.
Kate’s described Mae as a very happy child.
“A life without you seems unimaginable and goodness knows who I’d be today if you hadn’t come along to change me and my life,” Kate wrote in an open letter for Marie Claire in 2019.
“You are my greatest gift, achievement and inspiration and I will feel this way even when you’re a teen slamming doors in the hallway, just as I did.”
Kate shares Mae with her estranged husband and former NRL player Stuart Webb.
Straight out of a Summer Bay scene!
Nap time just got a whole lot cuter.
This mother-daughter duo are always down for a laugh.
We see you Mae!
“I think she’s divine,” Kate said of her little girl.
Mae’s quite the fashionista, check out those sunnies!
”She’s the greatest achievement I’ve ever had.”
Blue-eyed beauties.
‘No photos Mum.’
When Kate jetted off to the UK for the 2018 royal wedding, she made sure to say a proper goodbye to Mae.
“I thought the love of my life was Home and Away… Then I met this perfect being.”
What’s more iconic than a sausage sanga?
These two are too cute for words.
Mae’s looking more and more like her mum.
There aren’t many mum-daughter pairings who can rock matching jumpers, but Kate and Mae sure can.
Sun safe and fashionable.
No hat, no play.
All the kisses!
A dream team in the kitchen.
Kate and Mae shared a cuddly snap supporting Carrie Bickmore’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer initiative.
Kate loves showering little Mae with affection.
She’s grown up so fast!
