Working a full-time job on Home And Away, raising a child and training for DWTS seven days a week was no picnic for Ada Nicodemou, but having her partner Adam Rigby and eight-year-old son Johnas’ support meant she was able to push through.
“It was hard, I was absolutely exhausted. I would finish filming at midnight and then be back in the makeup chair for Home And Away at 6am,” Ada, 43, tells Woman’s Day.
“But Adam was just so amazing – he helped me so much [with Johnas], they really were both so supportive.”
The iconic actress even admits that returning to the dance floor was Adam’s idea.
“I was talking with him late last year before I was even approached and I said, ‘I’d really like to do it again,’ and he spurred me on to do it,” she says.
“The first time around was such a whirlwind and I didn’t have as much fun as I could have.”
FAMILY CHEERING ON
While Ada took away the crown in 2005, she admits having Adam and Johnas behind her on her second spin around the ballroom trumps her first experience.
“Johnas had never seen me do anything like this before, so seeing him in the front row was the highlight of the whole thing for me.
“He made all these different posters for each night, it was so cute. He thought I did an amazing job. I think it’s a really nice lesson to show your child, that I put everything into it and gave it my best.”
While she had her support network watching her from the sidelines, Ada says having her Home And Away co-stars work with her behind the scenes also motivated her.
“It was amazing to have Lincoln [Lewis] and Luke [Jacobz] and particularly Bec [Hewitt] there, I hadn’t seen her in so long,” she says.
“I was floored by her daughters and how talented they are now – but we all had so much fun together, and that, for me, was the most important thing to get out of doing this again.”