The Family Struggle Behind Her Familiar Sunrise Smile
For years, Edwina Bartholomew has been a familiar face in Australian households, bringing viewers the latest news and entertainment stories on Sunrise. But behind the cameras, the presenter and her husband, Neil Varcoe, were facing a period that would force them to reconsider almost every part of their family life.
In June 2026, Edwina opened up about the difficult circumstances that led them to leave Sydney behind and build a new life in the small country town of Carcoar, in regional New South Wales.
The decision was not simply about finding a quieter place to raise their two children. It came after both Edwina and Neil had been dealing with significant health challenges, leaving the family struggling to maintain the life they had once imagined.
Reflecting on those years in an essay for The Australian Women’s Weekly, Edwina described the strain they had experienced in the city.
“The reality was that we were getting crushed in the city,” she wrote.
She explained that Neil, who grew up in Lithgow, had grown tired of the pressures of city life and wanted to return to the west of New South Wales. His chronic fatigue had become so debilitating that even the ordinary demands of parenting were difficult to manage.
“It was the toughest time we have ever faced as a family. Something had to shift,” Edwina revealed.
For a couple raising two young children while navigating their own health battles, the situation had become a turning point. Continuing exactly as they had been was no longer work
Two Health Battles That Changed Their Priorities
The family’s struggles were complicated by two separate health conditions.
Edwina was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a type of blood and bone marrow cancer, in 2024. She made the deeply personal announcement live on Sunrise in September that year, revealing that the condition had been discovered through blood tests despite her not experiencing obvious symptoms.
For the television journalist, the diagnosis brought an unexpected new reality. She had spent years balancing a demanding career with motherhood, but she now needed to make her own health a priority.
Fortunately, Edwina responded well to treatment. By April 2025, she announced that she was approaching molecular remission, meaning the disease had become almost undetectable using sensitive molecular testing.
Her progress offered considerable encouragement, although she continued taking daily medication and attending medical reviews.
At the same time, Neil was facing a very different but equally disruptive health challenge.
He had publicly spoken about his chronic fatigue in 2023, describing how severely it could limit even the simplest activities. In one particularly revealing account of his experience, he recalled having enough energy to shower before needing to return to bed.
The condition also affected his ability to spend time with their young daughter and son in the way he wanted.
The family was therefore dealing with two health battles at once, alongside the practical responsibilities of work, childcare and everyday life.
It was a combination that made their eventual decision to move feel less like an adventurous lifestyle change and more like a necessary step towards a sustainable future.
The Moment They Realised Sydney Was No Longer the Answer
The idea of moving to the country began with an unexpected discovery during a family driving holiday in November 2023.
Edwina and Neil were travelling with their children, Molly and Tommy, when they came across Carcoar, a small historic town nestled in the hills of central-western New South Wales.
The setting made an immediate impression on them. Edwina later recalled the experience as though a curtain had lifted to reveal a hidden village.
They noticed that a local inn was for sale and initially sent the listing to friends who might be interested in the opportunity. At that stage, the idea of moving their own family and taking on a hospitality business seemed far too ambitious.
But the thought stayed with them.
As they drove back towards Sydney, they began to question whether a different life might be possible. Could they leave the city? Could they raise their children in the country? Could they really run a pub?
The questions that once seemed unrealistic gradually became a serious consideration.
When they returned to Carcoar several months later, another opportunity appeared: an 1880s guesthouse was on the market. This time, they decided to take the leap.
The couple sold their Sydney home, purchased the property and began planning its transformation into Saltash Farm, a boutique accommodation venture.
The move was not an overnight escape from their problems. It was a major financial, professional and personal commitment. But it offered the family a chance to rethink how they wanted to live and what they wanted their children to experience.
Neil’s Painful Admission About Life With Chronic Fatigue
One of the most difficult aspects of Neil’s condition was the way it interfered with family life.
In a public account shared in June 2023, he described the debilitating nature of his fatigue and how it could leave him with very little energy for even basic daily tasks.
He also wrote about the emotional difficulty of being unable to give his young daughter the time and attention he wanted to provide.
For parents, reading a bedtime story or spending time together after a long day can seem like a simple part of family life. But when an illness severely limits a person’s energy, even those ordinary moments can become difficult to manage.
Neil’s experience highlighted how chronic fatigue had affected not only his physical wellbeing but also his role as a father and partner.
Edwina’s account in 2026 made clear that Neil’s condition was one of the major reasons the family needed a change.
Returning to the region where he grew up meant leaving behind some of the pressures of metropolitan life and creating a different daily routine. It also allowed the couple to reassess their priorities around work, parenting and recovery.
Their move was not presented as a cure in itself, but as part of a wider effort to improve their family’s circumstances.
A New Home — And a Different Childhood for Molly and Tommy
Today, the family’s life is centred on Carcoar rather than Sydney.
Edwina continues to work on Sunrise, travelling back to the city for her presenting commitments. Meanwhile, Neil remains in the country with Molly, now six, and Tommy, four.
The arrangement allows Edwina to continue a career she loves while the children enjoy the stability of their rural home.
She has described the contrast between her working days in Sydney and the children’s afternoons in Carcoar as one of the most rewarding changes to their lives.
After school, Neil takes the children to feed the family’s cows, collect firewood or spend time by the river behind their home.
It is a childhood shaped by outdoor discoveries, animals and close contact with the natural world — a very different experience from growing up in a busy city.
For Edwina, giving Molly and Tommy that freedom has been a major part of the appeal of country life. But the decision was also about the parents themselves, and the need to build a way of living that supported their health rather than continually stretching their limits.
The family has not abandoned the city altogether. Edwina still makes the journey for work, and the demands of running a property and raising children remain considerable.
Nevertheless, the move has given them a different foundation on which to build their future.
The Encouraging Health Update That Followed
After the family settled into their new routine, Edwina reported significant improvements in both her and Neil’s health.
In her June 2026 essay, she said Neil’s chronic fatigue had improved dramatically and was now “all but cured” through sustained attention to his health.
She also offered an encouraging update about her own condition, saying that her CML was no longer detectable, following her earlier announcement that she had achieved molecular remission.
It was welcome news after a period that had placed so much pressure on the family.
However, Edwina’s progress does not mean she has stopped treatment. In an interview with TV WEEK in May 2026, she said she was feeling well, that medication had worked for her without side effects, and that she expected to continue taking it for years because of the risk of recurrence if treatment were stopped.
Her experience illustrates how a positive health outcome can still involve ongoing medical care and monitoring.
For the family, the improvement in their health has been accompanied by a broader sense that they have regained control over their lives.
Saltash Farm: The Dream That Emerged From a Difficult Chapter
Their new life in Carcoar has also brought a substantial business project.
Saltash Farm, the historic guesthouse they purchased, is being transformed into boutique accommodation. The renovation represents a significant undertaking, bringing together the couple’s interest in hospitality and their desire to establish roots in regional New South Wales.
The project is not without its pressures. Renovating a heritage property while raising children and maintaining professional commitments requires a considerable amount of time, energy and planning.
Yet the venture has become part of the future they are building together.
The couple have also developed their involvement in the local community and embraced the slower rhythm of regional living.
Rather than treating their move as an escape from their former life, Edwina has presented it as an opportunity to create something new — a home for their children and a business that could support the family over the longer term.
It is a substantial change for a presenter whose career has been closely associated with national television, but one that appears to reflect the priorities she and Neil have been reconsidering for several years.
“We Wanted to Do the Same for Ourselves”
Edwina’s story is not simply about leaving Sydney for the countryside. It is about recognising that a family’s needs can change, particularly when health problems make an already demanding life difficult to sustain.
The couple initially wanted to give Molly and Tommy the best possible childhood. But as Edwina explained, they came to understand that they also needed to make choices that protected their own wellbeing.
Their decision required them to rethink where they lived, how they worked and what they wanted their everyday family life to look like.
There was no guarantee that moving would solve every challenge. They were taking on a major renovation, a new business and a different working arrangement while continuing to manage their health.
But the early results have offered them renewed hope.
Neil’s condition has improved, Edwina has shared encouraging news about her treatment, and the children are growing up in a setting the couple believe will serve them well.
The story also underscores an important distinction: the family did not need to abandon everything they loved to make a change. Edwina still works in television, while the new business gives her and Neil another shared ambition.
Their life now looks different, but it remains connected to the careers and interests they built over many years.
A New Chapter After the Toughest Years
When Edwina described the family as being under crushing pressure, she was speaking about a period in which both parents’ health challenges had made ordinary life increasingly difficult.
The decision to move to Carcoar offered a way forward.
Today, their children have a rural home, Neil’s health has improved, and Edwina continues to pursue her television career while working towards the next stage of Saltash Farm.
The experience has not erased the difficulties they faced, nor does it guarantee that life will always be straightforward. But it has given the family a chance to approach the future with a different set of priorities.
For Edwina and Neil, the change was ultimately about more than location. It was about recognising what their family needed and finding the courage to act before the strain became their permanent reality.
Sometimes, a new beginning does not arrive with a grand announcement. It begins with a difficult admission, a decision that once seemed impossible and the willingness to imagine a different life.
For the Bartholomew-Varcoe family, that turning point was found in a small country town — and it has become the foundation of a very different future.