From Home And Away to Happily Ever After!
While many celebrity relationships start at work, Home And Away couple Debra Lawrance, 66 and Dennis Coard, 72, have made it last, having celebrated 31 years of marriage.
Their romance started when Debra who played Pippa Fletcher in Home And Away met Dennis after he was cast to play her second husband Michael Ross on the Aussie soap.
I got my life from Home and Away,” Debra said in an interview with Woman’s Day in 2011. “I don’t think I would have had kids if I didn’t have a reliable career. Dennis and I have two wonderful kids together, and he’s an amazing parent.
“I met Dennis at exactly the time my ovaries were yelling, ‘Hello!'” she stated.
I had to have detected his testosterone odor. I made small talk with him and felt a connection, so I treated him badly for the next six weeks. I suppose I put him to the test. Our ideas collide in many ways, particularly when it comes to theater. We have perfect synchronization.”
While the pair welcomed their children Grace Coard, now 30, and William Coard, now 23, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.
Debra opened up to her I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here castmates earlier this year about how she had suffered multiple miscarriages.
After she listened to Liz Ellis recalling how she’d had two miscarriages while going through IVF, Debra shared that she had also been through a similar situation.
“I had that. I lost four babies before I got [her youngest son] Will,” she said.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Ellis responded through tears.
“They weren’t meant to be,” Debra continued. “I lost two single babies and then identical twin girls. They were later into the pregnancy, they had a syndrome, and they were never going to survive. And my belief, Liz, is when Will was born… he was the baby we were waiting for. And so it makes him really precious.”
While the pair welcomed their children Grace Coard, now 30, and William Coard, now 23, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.
Debra opened up to her I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here castmates earlier this year about how she had suffered multiple miscarriages.
After she listened to Liz Ellis recalling how she’d had two miscarriages while going through IVF, Debra shared that she had also been through a similar situation.
“I had that. I lost four babies before I got [her youngest son] Will,” she said.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Ellis responded through tears.
“They weren’t meant to be,” Debra continued. “I lost two single babies and then identical twin girls. They were later into the pregnancy, they had a syndrome, and they were never going to survive. And my belief, Liz, is when Will was born… he was the baby we were waiting for. And so it makes him really precious.”
The couple wed at Avalon, close to where they film Home and Away in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, two years after they first met on set.
Last year, as the couple commemorated their 30th wedding anniversary, Debra posted her sentiments on social media.
“My appreciation is limitless. We’ve made it through the previous three decades together because Dennis is the kindest, most giving person I know and a truly fantastic father. Add to that his hard work, support, sense of humor, and extreme beauty, and you can see why,” the woman added.
“Happy Anniversary, Dennis, my love.” We are so grateful that you agreed to be the father of our two lovely children. Much love.”
