Where is Big Brother star Sara-Marie Fedele now?

Sara-Marie Fedele rose to fame as a fresh-faced 21 year old on the inaugural season of Big Brother Australia back in 2001.  

And now, almost two decades later, fans of the hit show still recognise the former reality star for her iconic bunny ears and ‘bum dance.’

So where is she now? Daily Mail Australia takes a look how Sara-Marie retreated from the spotlight to live a quiet life in Perth to be a doting mother to her daughter, five. 

RISING TO FAME 

Sara-Marie appeared on Big Brother in 2001 and became one of the most popular contestants.   

She finished third on the series, but had incredible success after her eviction having  started her own sleepwear line, writing a book and even releasing a cover single with The Sirens, called I’m So Excited (The Bum Dance). 

According to Hit, Sara-Marie returned as a housemate to Big Brother in 2002 and then presented the show, Totally Wild. 

In 2005, she appeared as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars and in 2008 returned as a panelist on Big Brother’s spin-off show, Big Mouth.

She is said to have become a plus-sized model after flashing her curves on the show. 

Before her stint on the show, she worked at a strip club in management. 

RETREATING FROM THE SPOTLIGHT 

Sara-Marie, now 41, lives in Perth and is a mother to a daughter, five.

In March, Sara-Marie told Mamamia’s No Filter with Mia Freedman about her approach to fame.

‘I never cared to be known in the way that I did what I did, and then I was happy to go… I didn’t have to do things to prove [to] myself that I needed to be liked.’ 

Sara-Marie – who doesn’t have social media accounts – said on the podcast that she’s been focusing on motherhood and now is studying to become a teacher’s aide. 

However, she added that she would be up for a stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 

Back in 2018, she appeared on Studio 10 and said she had an online business, selling personalised grains of rice that she writes names or inspirational messages on. 

Looking back on her Big Brother jaunt fondly, Sara-Marie also admitted that her famous ‘bum dance’ was actually a message to siblings.

‘That was to send a signal to my sisters,’ she said. ‘There’s four girls in our family and we used to do it as a joke. One sister would get out the bongo drums and I had the biggest bum so I used to move it around.

‘I thought, ”what could I send as a sign to my sisters that I was happy?” So that’s how that was created.’ 

HEALTH BATTLES 

Sara-Marie also said on the recent Mamamia podcast that she had a hysterectomy shortly after having her daughter, when she had just turned 40. 

‘I’d just turned 40 and had bad pains, so I went to the doctors and they suggested a hysterectomy – I knew at the time I wasn’t having any more children,’ Sara-Marie said.

She said that she had endometriosis and cysts throughout her life, but said the hysterectomy ‘went terribly wrong.’

‘It went terribly wrong… They accidentally cut through my bladder so badly, I was in surgery for six hours, having bladder surgery after my hysterectomy,’ she said. 

She added: ‘I’m recovered now, I’m blessed to be back to normal.’