Before their new police drama Blue Heelers hit the telly in 1994, Channel Seven executives told anyone who’d listen they’d found Australia’s next big star.
That star was, and is, Lisa McCune.
More than 25 years on from taking on the role that made her Australia’s sweetheart, the 49-year-old actress has conquered the small screen and the stage. She’s also the latest celebrity to share she’s living with her husband in isolation, even though they separated around eight years ago.
WATCH: Here’s how the different horoscopes are home schooling in isolation, is yours accurate? Post continues after video.
Like exes Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson, and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, McCune and Tim Disney have spent isolation living in the same house with their kids.
The former couple who met on the set of Blue Heelers co-parent their three teenagers: 18-year-old Archer, 16-year-old Oliver and 14-year-old Remy. Their youngest is even passing the time at home by watching the 90s TV drama that made her mum famous.
A new interview with Australian Women’s Weekly has given us a small glimpse inside the very private personal life of a high-profile woman who used to be an open book. Not since her life was splashed across tabloid mag covers in 2012 has McCune spoken about what home looks like for her. She doesn’t have Instagram, and you won’t see her in any family TikTok videos.
Here’s what we know about how Lisa McCune and Tim Disney are co-parenting their kids under the same roof.
Lisa McCune on Blue Heelers with husband Tim Disney.
Perth-born McCune landed the role of Constable Maggie Doyle on Blue Heelers straight after graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
The series also starring John Wood, Tasma Walton and William McInnes ran from 1994 to 2006 and became one of the highest-rating shows in Aussie TV history.
McCune left the show in 2000 after six years in the role. Her character was killed in a dramatic scene in an episode that also remains a high-rating TV moment.
In the same year, she married Tim Disney. The couple met on the set of Blue Heelers - she, the show's darling; he, a props handler behind-the-scenes in the crew. Their wedding came before the time when you could see celebrity wedding photos on Instagram, but they walked red carpets together many times over the years.
Winning Aussie hearts, and Logies.
Lisa McCune quickly became one of the most popular people on Aussie TV.
In 1995, she won the Silver Logie for Best New talent for her role on Blue Heelers. She continued winning the popular votes, taking home the Silver Logie for Most Popular Female Actress in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.
McCune became the first woman to win four consecutive Gold Logies, which she won from 1997-2000.
After Blue Heelers, McCune moved to the stage, where she's featured in musicals including The Sound of Music, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, Shane Warne The Musical, The King and South Pacific.
She went back to TV in 2002 playing lawyer Ros Marshall on Marshall Law, and Lieutenant Kate McGregor on Sea Patrol from 2007-2011.
McCune currently stars alongside comedian and The Project co-host Peter Helliar in How To Stay Married.
The Lisa McCune and Teddy Rhodes scandal.
Lisa McCune and Tim Disney have never publicly announced whether they got a divorce. They also kept their separation out of the news, which is why McCune made tabloid headlines when she was photographed kissing her South Pacific co-star Teddy Tahu Rhodes in 2012.
That year, McCune and Rhodes attended the Helpmann Awards together, but McCune never acknowledged or responded to stories of her alleged affair.
Five years later in 2017, she told the Daily Telegraph that was a conscious decision. It was also the moment she decided she would no longer share any details about her private life with the media.
"I was getting advice saying, 'Make statements' and I just thought, 'No, I don't need to, because it's my life'," she said.
"For me personally, I have always been open and happy to talk about my babies when they were born and my marriage, and then I hit a speed bump and I went, 'All of a sudden, this is not coming out in a positive way.' And I rethought it."
After taking time away from the spotlight, McCune told Australian Women's Weekly she would make no apologies for her life choices.
"I've decided it's just better not to discuss [my private life] anymore, for everybody's sake," she told the publication in 2018.
"My life is very boring! I'm home cleaning or looking after teenagers but I'll live my life the way I want. The light has been shone on me for such a long time ... I don't need that. I don't court it or aspire to it, I just love working and I enjoy what I do."
McCune on co-parenting with her former partner.
In a new interview with Australian Women's Weekly, McCune is described as 'happily single'. She and Disney live together with their kids in Victoria.
"We all live on one property so we’re here for the kids – we have to because our work is so all over the place," McCune said.
"Tim and I are very much dual parenting. We are all over them as parents. I think it takes two people a lot of the time. As a family, we’re talking a lot. I’m insisting everybody have dinner together."
Their lives look a lot like everyone else's, homeschooling and co-parenting teens who spend way too much time online.
McCune added, "I have three teenagers who don't particularly really want to hear anything that I have to say, they're just interested in their friends! They have been spending far too much time gaming and watching series and their online life is very strong."
"And there's complaints about how much internet we have got..."
Feature image: Getty.
Are you co-parenting? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below!