Comedian Julia Morris’ Shocking Health Battle: ‘The Physical Toll Was Immediate and Overwhelming’
- BELoved Australian comedian Julia Morris opens up about her secret health struggle with shingles, a viral infection that left her debilitated at the height of her career.
- The TV host, 57, was diagnosed with shingles five years ago, but only recently broke her silence about the hidden battle to help other Australians.
- Morris, who co-hosted I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! with Robert Irwin, reveals the physical toll was “immediate and overwhelming” and had a profound impact on her life and work.
BELoved Australian comedian Julia Morris has finally spoken out about her secret health battle with shingles, a viral infection that left her debilitated at the height of her career. The TV host, 57, was diagnosed with shingles five years ago, but only recently broke her silence about the hidden battle to help other Australians.
In a heart-wrenching interview, Morris recalled how she was at the busiest time of her life, filming a new season of House Husbands, raising her two teenage daughters, and travelling for work, when the infection hit. “I was always trying to shove more in, and then I got a little tingle, and I remember my ex saying at the time: ‘I think that’s shingles’,” Morris told 7NEWS.com.au.
Unaware of the seriousness, she dismissed going to the hospital, but her condition quickly deteriorated. “They had to get a nurse on set, and we still had two weeks to shoot,” Morris recalled. “The physical toll was immediate and overwhelming – I had a red rash across my torso, an aching body, and the most brutal headache.”
Morris, who co-hosted I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! with Robert Irwin, reveals the physical toll was “immediate and overwhelming” and had a profound impact on her life and work. “Shingles wasn’t just painful, it completely altered how I lived and worked,” she shared. “Some days I had to be lifted into the make-up chair on set, other days they would just put the make-up on while I was still in bed.”
The comedian confessed she had to ignore the guilt of putting life and work on hold to take time to focus on her recovery. “Before I had shingles, if I heard someone had it, I would say, ‘poor you, I hear it’s brutal,’ but saying those words and going through the experience were very different things,” Morris said.
Morris, who is now the face of a new campaign raising awareness about shingles in Australia, is urging Australians aged 50 and over to understand the risks. “Years on, my experience with shingles remains etched in my memory,” she said. “I wish I had known the risks sooner.”
The Australian Department of Health says vaccinations are the best protection against the disease, which affects 100,000 Australians every year. Monika Boogs, Chief Executive Officer for Painaustralia, says the impact of shingles is often underestimated. “Too often, shingles is thought of as ‘just a rash’, when it can be painful and debilitating,” Boogs said.