If you were watching Home and Away in the early '00s, you'll definitely remember Tammin Sursok.
The South-African born Australian actress landed the role of rebellious Dani Sutherland in her first-ever acting audition at just 16. She continued to appear regularly on the Australian soap for another four years, and won herself a 2001 Logie Award for her role.
These days, the 37-year-old lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters. Sean is currently battling COVID-19.
Sharing the news to Instagram last week, Sursok wrote, "My husband has COVID. And I’m scared."
"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 Celcius) wouldn’t break for days and it got to a very scary place," she continued.
"My girls and I have tested negative twice and have had no symptoms for a while. We have been quarantining and following all recommendations and guidelines.
"We have been in the same place in Austin for two months now. Haven’t seen friends and family, haven’t eaten out, P is homeschooled. The only place we could have got it is the grocery store because we haven’t been near anyone and the whole family is always masked," she said.
"COVID is real. It’s scary and I now see it firsthand. I’ve been really scared and in a dark place and I’m writing this to say I’m struggling and I love you all and this community," she added.
On Tuesday, the actress shared an update on her husband's condition.
"Temperature is normal for the first time in 16 days," she wrote on her Instagram Story. "I'm going to cry!"
"I know it can spike but it hasn't been normal for so long," she continued, explaining that her husband's temperature has been sitting at "101-103 (between 38 and 39 degrees Celcius) on and off for 16 days."
"Right now we have extreme exhaustion and lethargy but your prayers are working," she said. "Some of you have asked when we can see him. He has to be fever free for 72 hours before we can be in contact."
Sursok explained that her husband is a fit and healthy man, and therefore, no matter someone's age or health, they can be susceptible to the virus.
"Sure, some people get sick for 10 days. Some people have no symptoms. And then there are some other people like my husband — who is fit, and young, and has no preexisting conditions and has no immune problems — who really gets affected by it," she said. "You just don't know."
While McEwen receives medical attention, Sursok has been taking care of their two daughters: Phoenix, six, and Lennon, two.
Here's everything else you need to know about Tammin Sursok's life.
Watch Tammin Sursok playing Dani Sutherland. Post continues below.
After her success on Home and Away, Sursok decided to focus on her singing career. It was 2004 and she was signed to Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
The following year on May 22, 2005, Sursok released her debut album Whatever Will Be.
After the success of the album, Sony had plans for Sursok to expand her music to the UK and head there, but after some unexpected issues, the deal fell through.
In 2006, Sursok decided to go back to her acting career. That year, she landed her film debut in the teen rom-com starring Emma Roberts and JoJo, Aquamarine.
In 2007, she appeared as Colleen Carlton on the American soap, The Young and the Restless, and the following year, won a Daytime Emmy Award for her portrayal of the character. But after two years in the role, Colleen was killed off.
Over the following years, Sursok appeared in multiple family-friendly films and television shows including the made-for-television Nickelodeon film Spectacular! and eight episodes of Hannah Montana.
In 2010, Sursok landed her most well-known role as Jenna Marshall in the teen mystery television series, Pretty Little Liars.
In 2011, Sursok married actor, producer and director, Sean McEwen in Florence, Italy.
The day before, they had just finished writing the script for their film, Whaling.
"We finished it the day before we got married. We always said to each other, 'If we can do this, we can do anything,'" Sursok told 9Honey.
The film, which was released eight years later, starred Sursok and Harry Potter's Tom Felton and was directed by Sursok's husband.
"It's hard to work with your husband... it can be an amazing thing, but you have to let go of your ego and your id," she admitted to the publication.
In 2013, after a complicated birth, Sursok's first daughter Phoenix Emmanuel was born.
"It was not my perfect birth plan. Not even close. If anything it was everything that I didn't want and I carried the weight with me for quite a while," she shared on her blog.
She also opened about the challenges of early motherhood.
"I struggled post-partum with my first, because I had no community and I felt very isolated and had no network," she explained to Marie Claire.
"Nobody talks about this, but the first year of having a baby is so blissful and so hard - and it's so hard on your marriage too."
Six years later, Sursok and McEwen welcomed their second daughter, Lennon Bleu.
Sursok has spoken openly about the fact that the journey to a second child wasn't easy.
"When we decided to have a second child, I got pregnant really fast again - and we lost that baby in the doctor's office," she recalled during an interview on The Morning Show.
"It was pretty far into my pregnancy, so it was quite shocking. When things like that happen, you never think it's going to happen to you.
"But they're so common, and we don't talk about it. And then I had another miscarriage before Lennon, so two back to back."
In 2020, Sursok, her husband and their two girls moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas. Sursok continues to act, make TikTok videos and candidly opens up about her teen struggles with body confidence.
This post was originally published in July 2020 and has been updated.
Feature image: Getty and Instagram/@tamminsursok
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