Tammin Sursok has been acting since she was a teenager.
At 16, she landed the role of Dani Sutherland on Home and Away in her first-ever acting audition. And in the years since, she's played memorable characters including Colleen Carlton on The Young and the Restless and Jenna Marshall in Pretty Little Liars.
These days, Sursok's most important role is being a mum to her two daughters, seven-year-old Phoenix and two-year-old Lennon.
This week, the mother-of-two and global ambassador for Edible Beauty, spoke to Mamamia about parenting during a global pandemic, taking care of her kids while her husband battled coronavirus, and whether her family will return to Australia.
Here's what she had to say.
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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sursok, her husband, Sean McEwen, and their two girls, moved from Los Angeles, California, to Austin, Texas. Their eldest, Phoenix, is yet to return to school.
"Honestly, it’s been challenging but we are trying to make the most of it," Sursok told Mamamia. "Our oldest, Phoenix, has been remote-schooled for a year and two months."
"In the beginning, it was a novelty but now learning on screens has become frustrating for us all," she said.
"We are focusing on the positive, having not spent one day apart, which has been mostly wonderful."
Since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the United States has been slowly working towards normality. However, as Sursok explained, things aren't there just yet.
"The US has somewhat opened up but life is definitely not back to normal yet," she said.
But that comes with some advantages.
"We have some work coming up and because the kids are remote-schooled, we are able to base ourselves anywhere right now," she shared.
Before things go back to normal, Sursok is making the most of the time she has at home with her girls.
"[There's] lots of making pizza, cookies, dance parties, movie nights and every Friday we put on Edible Beauty sleep masks and have a pampered 'girl’s night'," she shared.
She also hopes to teach them a thing or two.
"I hope to teach my girls about resilience," she said. "As someone who has been in the entertainment field for most of my life, rejection is part of the job. I’ve learned how to navigate the ups and downs and how to use rejection as a motivator to work harder."
"I also hope to teach them self-love. In a world that puts so much pressure on young girls, I want to give them tools in how to fully love themselves wholly and completely," she added.
In January, Sursok's husband Sean tested positive for COVID-19.
"My husband has COVID. And I’m scared," she wrote on Instagram.
"Today I’m not as scared as yesterday but yesterday I felt very out of control. It was rough and touch and go. All the hospitals are full and his fever of 103 (39.5 degrees Celsius) wouldn’t break for days and it got to a very scary place," she continued.
Reflecting on that period, Sursok explained just how hard it was.
"It was actually one of the most challenging times of my life," she shared. "My husband was incredibly ill. There were a few days that were touch and go."
"As a parent, you can’t let your kids see you falling apart so I kept it together for them. But I’m not going to lie, I was terrified. I am so grateful we are on the other side."
Now, over a year into the pandemic, Sursok told us what her family's typical day looks like.
"Every day, typically, is different. Pre-COVID, my daughter would go to school and my husband and I would either be in meetings or I would be recording my podcast, filming, creating content, writing, coupled in with kid’s activities, sports, and family time," Sursok said.
"Now with COVID it is a version of that but obviously more isolated and over screens," she added.
While her family moved to Austin, Texas, last year, Sursok explained it isn't their "definitive place" just yet.
"We haven’t [decided on a] definitive place as of yet. We left in October from Los Angeles, put everything in storage with our eyes open to the possibilities," she said.
"I will be leaving Austin to film a new project soon, so the family will be coming with me. We will decide where we will be putting our roots down after summer."
And ideally, they hope to move back to Australia one day.
"Living in Australia has always been our ultimate goal," she said. "It’s all about timing for work and school and when that move would make the most sense.
"We talk about it daily and miss our friends and family and the way of life terribly."
Feature image: Instagram/@tamminsursok
