TV star Julia Bradbury has reflected on the downside of her job, saying that the worst part is leaving her children behind. The mother-of-three, who is currently presenting Australia with Julia Bradbury, paid a touching tribute to her son Zephyrus, seven, and her twin daughters Xanthe and Zena, four, on Instagram.
Sharing a photo of her children reaching out to touch her face, Julia wrote: "Last touch. Worst part of my job is leaving the children behind. It's a fantastic career that has taught me so much & taken me to places that I'd never dreamt of & introduced me to cultures & people that have opened my eyes and my mind. I have so much to tell them about & to teach them. But that doesn't make leaving any easier…"
Julia is the proud mum to a son and twin daughters
Julia spent two-week stretches at a time filming her eight-part series, which launched in February. Speaking to HELLO! at the beginning of the year, the 48-year-old opened up about missing her children but refusing to give in to the guilt. "I missed them, of course, and felt pangs of guilt rather than an overwhelming sense of it. I don't buy into guilt," she said. "It can be a very negative emotion, and it clearly wasn't going to help as this was a job – I had to do it. You have to make peace with yourself and get on with it."
MORE: Prince William and Kate's secret meeting revealed
Behind the scenes with Julia:
She added of her partner Gerard Cunningham, the father of her three children: "Gerry's a very loving, caring parent, and his cuddles are as important as mine. If I'm on the other side of the world or on a shoot up a mountain and you can't get me because my phone's off, he's the go-to daddy."
MORE: John Torode and Lisa Faulkner spark baby news with 'exciting' post
Speaking about how a father's role in a family is still not considered "equally important", she added: "Why is it not so acceptable for the father to run off from work to the child who has fallen over in school? The workplace needs a cultural shift where it is as important for men to have family time as it is for women. There's a great expression, which goes something like: 'We bring our daughters up to be more like men. When will we bring our sons up to be more like women?'"
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.