‘My rock’: Inside Rebecca Gibney’s 22-year marriage

Rebecca Gibney is without doubt one of the Australian TV audience’s most beloved actresses.
The New Zealand-born beauty has been a mainstay of Aussie TV screens for four decades, and her stunning career was celebrated at Sunday’s Logie Awards when she was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.
But despite an impressive resume of acting credits in some of our most-loved TV shows and films, among her biggest successes has been her long marriage to Richard Bell.
Let’s take a look at the couple’s relationship and the secret to their 22-year marriage.
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Gibney was born in New Zealand on December, 14, 1964. The youngest of six children, she worked as a model before getting her first break as an actress in the NZ TV show Sea Urchins.
After moving to Australia, she appeared in the miniseries The Great Bookie Robbery and several films before she was cast as Emma Patterson in The Flying Doctors.
She won her first Logie for the TV miniseries Come in Spinner before starring in the TV show All Together Now.
But perhaps her best-known role was created especially for her, that of Dr Jane Halifax in the long-running TV series Halifax f.p. It was on the set that she met her husband Richard Bell.
By then, Gibney had been in a relationship with Today presenter Richard Wilkins and been married once to singer Jack Jones of the band Southern Sons.
She told The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) in 2017 the end of her first marriage coincided with a “mental collapse” caused by unresolved trauma from her childhood.
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During her Logies Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Gibney revealed for the first time how she met her second husband.
“The man I met on the set of Halifax, he was production designer at the time, Richard Bell,” she said.
She elaborated in the 2017 SMH article.
“I met [Bell] when I was 35,” she said.
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“I had dealt with my past and in walks this beautiful, tall New Zealander who happened to live on the same street as me when I was five.
“We met in 1999, got together in 2000 and married in 2001 and have been happy ever since.”
The couple welcomed their only child, son Zachary Edison Bell, on April 7, 2004.
The Packed to the Rafters star told New Zealand Now to Love in 2023 that it was not always in their plans to have a child.
“When I met Richard, we were both in our 30s and we actually said in the beginning that we weren’t going to have children because we were very content with each other,” she said.
“We had dogs, we moved to Tasmania and were just very happy living on our little farm. He’s my best friend.
“So, when Zac came along, it was great. It was awesome and we’ve had this amazing time with him.”
In 2017, the family moved from Australia to New Zealand temporarily while Gibney worked on a project, but when it was time to move back, Zac wanted to stay, so the family set up home in Dunedin, where Gibney and Bell continue to live.
In 2021, they celebrated 20 years of marriage, which Gibney marked with a rare post about her husband on Instagram.
“20 years ago today this happened,” the actress wrote alongside photos of the two on their wedding day.
“What a magical wonderful day it was. I am the luckiest because you big R are all the things. Happy Anniversary my love.”
She also marked their 21st and 22nd wedding anniversaries on Instagram. In 2023 she wrote, “22 years. Feels like yesterday but also like tomorrow. Where would I be without you… Happy Anniversary my love.”
In 2022, the couple became empty nesters when Zac moved to Wellington to study acting at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.
It was her son, now 20, who took to the Logies stage on Sunday to introduce Gibney.
During her Logies acceptance speech, she thanked Bell “for always asking the question, every time a job comes up, ‘Will it make you happy? Will it bring you joy? Well, then, you have to do it.’
“And for sacrificing his own work on so many occasions so that I could. You have been my rock and my love for nearly a quarter of a century and I’m so grateful for that.”
Gibney, who starred opposite Kate Winslet in the 2015 film, The Dressmaker, once told New Idea the secret to a happy marriage came down to one thing.
“You must respect each other… it’s having complete and utter respect above all else and obviously love and being willing to compromise, which is what we’ve always done,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean we don’t have issues, but we always work through them because I can’t imagine growing old with anyone else.”
She told Stellar in 2023, “You’ve got to have an open line of communication, an honesty – and really be prepared to answer hard questions and discuss hard things.
She also thanked him for helping her weather the storm that is menopause.
“Richard has been through menopause with me now and just stuck by me. I was able to express what I was going through. He’s always been my best friend.”
She marked Bell’s 60th birthday last November with another post that included a video montage.
“No other words needed really other than to say happy 60th to my best friend, my rock, my everything. Can’t wait to celebrate with you big R and looking forward to our newest adventure. You are so loved.”
That ‘adventure’ referred to their decision to put their Dunedin home on the market this year in order to move closer to Zac.
Gibney continues to act, recently starring in the NZ series’ Under the Vines and The Brokenwood Mysteries, and the 2024 Stan original series Prosper.