The former star of The Bachelor, and later I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! has popped up in a new project close to her heart.
Heather Maltman, who made the final four chasing Sam Wood’s heart two seasons back, is raising awareness for White Ribbon Week in a dramatic stage performance hosted by the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
The 30-year-old says Australia’s campaign to prevent men’s violence against women is a cause she’s always wanted to get behind.
“I was exposed to a lot of domestic violence as well as alcohol and drug abuse,” she tells The Daily Telegraph.
“There was exposure to mental health issues, which made way for mental and physical abuse.”
On social media, the former reality TV star apologised to her 60,000 followers and wrote: “You’ve been asking me what has been going on for the last 6 months.
“Where I’ve been and why I’ve not been on tv or posting as much,” she continued, before announcing her participation in the production called Oleanna, written by acclaimed US playwright David Mamet.
Heather is hoping to raise much-needed funds for the White Ribbon Foundation through ticket sales.
“This is Oleanna. A play that my team has been working on alongside @unsw @nuts_unsw and the SRC for @whiteribbonaust.
“We are giving a portion of ticket sales to the cause and hope you can come along to watch us in the show.’
The play, which opens on White Ribbon Day, November 25, follows the journey of a university student named Carol who becomes embroiled in accusations of sexual exploitation.
Heather explained the play would be a platform for her to raise awareness for violence against women and “create a voice for students of today”.
It’s been a challenging year for Heather. She broke up with her actor boyfriend of nine months Andrew Steel, and then successfully crowd-funded her own play Just a Girl for a short run in Hollywood.
More recently Heather opened up on Studio 10 about the heartache of experiencing a miscarriage.
