Neighbours’ Libby Kennedy star's life now - near death drama and why she quit

18 September 2023 , 16:14

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Legendary Neighbours star Kym Valentine has long been one of the soap opera's favourite characters when she played journalist, turned teacher, Libby Kennedy.

And fans of the popular Aussie soap will remember that some of her storylines left us open-mouthed as she not only survived a horrific bike accident, she then almost gave birth in a barn not to mention tragically losing her husband in a riding accident. Kym first joined the soap in 1994 but bowed out ten years later in 2004 in a bid to pursue other projects. In 2005, she played the lead role as Baby in the iconic theatre production of Dirty Dancing at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia. But keen to leave the door open, she reprised her role again in 2007 until 2011 and returned for the last time in 2014. Since leaving the show, Kym's life has also been full of ups and downs and here we take a sneak peek at her life away from the camera.

Health

While playing Libby, Kym suffered with number of serious health issues which included contracting pneumonia in 2008. And in 2009, her lung collapsed during a flight from the US to Melbourne Australia. In 2010, the star was tragically diagnosed with a blood clot on her lung and was rushed to hospital to recieve treatment. Speaking of her recovery at the time, executive producer Susan Bower told The Telegraph: "Unfortunately it is that time of year when people are prone to illness.We wish Kym a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her next week when we return from a production break." But unfortunately, her health continued to be plagued by illness as during the same year, Kym checked herself into a clinic for exhaustion. However by 2011, she returned to Neighbours but took time out indefinitely after just a few months of filming. By 2014 Kym clearly felt better as she reprised her role as Libby in Neighbours but that was short lived as she left once again two weeks later.

Family life

Kym was married to singer Fabio Tolli and the couple share a daughter named Millana Valentine-Tolli. But their marriage did not stand the test of time as the pair announced their split in 2007. The following year, it was reported that the Neighbours star was in a relationship with actor Vince Colosimo and at the time it had caused a bit of a stir as rumours started to circulate that fellow Neightbours star Jane Hall had blamed Kym for ending her relationship with Vince - a claim Kym denied and stated in October of that year that she was just friends with Vince. Fast-forward seven years, and Kym had found love again with AFL player Trent Croad which resulted in a relationship. She gave birth to their son Phoenix in March 2016 but unfortunately they split in December 2017.

Career path

Away from her Neighbours character, Kym has enjoyed a number of different projects. She not only played Baby in the theatre production of Dirty Dancing at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, but she has also starred in a few short films. The actress is seen in films including The Choir Girl. Desperate to be on the other side of the camera, she has also produced too for an upcoming film called Residence.