TV soap icon fell pregnant to married 55-year-old man at age 19 | Soaps

Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte has opened up about being in a relationship with a married man, 30 years her senior, when she was just 19.

Best known for playing Izzy Hoyland in the iconic Australian soap, the actress, now 50, recently sat down to reflect on life on screen, on stage, as a singer and all-around TV personality.

During one candid moment of reflection, she recounted a difficult situation she found herself in whilst having an affair with a 55-year-old man, when she was just shy of 20.

First reminiscing on her inner troubles while in the age-gap relationship, she said: ‘The hardest part was feeling deceitful because I’ve always felt like that’s not who I am as a person to the core.

‘But I just fell in love with a person who told me I was amazing and beautiful and talented and funny and what we all want to be told.

Explaining that the hardest part was knowing that she was hurting his wife. ‘When she came to me, and it was the worst day of my life, it was freaking horrible.’

The moment Natalie decided to leave, however, came when she discovered she was expecting a baby.

She continued to the Inherited podcast: ‘I got pregnant to him and I did not want the baby. I was like: “Oh my god I’m a child”,’ but the father did want to keep it.

‘I think he’d been trying with his wife before and that didn’t happen,’ she said, explaining that she eventually said yes to keeping the child but then he started ‘not being very nice’ to her.

‘It was very odd, it was almost like: “Great I’ve got you now.”

The TV star later suffered a miscarriage.

Eventually the couple also parted ways, with Natalie ultimately reflecting that after going to therapy ‘he was a grown man taking advantage of a young woman’.

In recent years she has been open about her dating life, sharing that she was engaged to her partner Pip Loth in October 2025 after they confirmed their romance in 2023.

Nowadays, Natalie – whose main run on Neighbours was between 2003 and 2007 – is putting all her concentration into her theatre career and recently wrapped her role as Jenna in Australia’s national tour of Waitress.

The tour, however, was abruptly cancelled, with Natalie later sharing a message on social media about her gratitude for all the women she’s had the honour to play on stage.

‘It has been so incredible to sit in the gratitude for all the many amazing women I have had the opportunity to play in my career. These characters spoke to me in ways that are hard to put into words. They always came at a time when I needed them the most.

‘These women were raw and real. Struggling to find their place. But they did. Each story unique, but at the core, a celebration of finding themselves along the way.

‘I was able to share these stories with thousands, nationwide, seemingly at a time when they needed it too. How great to look back with pride and celebrate theatre

‘Keep watching and supporting these stories and experiences. You will be changed for good,’ she concluded.

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