Hanging out with Ada Nicodemou at our photo shoot is like catching up with an old friend. There are 80s tunes cranked out loudly accompanied by singing and dancing, there are chats about the latest shows we’re watching (Ada loves music documentaries), and exchanges of info on everything from where we’re sending our kids to high school to cleaning tips. (“I love Jif! And methylated spirits is great for shining everything up… I spend a lot of time cleaning,” she shares.)
This down-to-earth warmth and relatability has seen the 46-year-old remain a firm fan favourite on Home and Away for 23 years and counting, making her the third-longest running actor on an Aussie soap opera (beaten only by fellow castmates Ray Meagher and Lynne McGranger).
Over many tumultuous years, Ada has embodied the loyal, kind-hearted Leah Patterson-Baker, who recently exchanged wedding vows with her long-time love Justin (James Stewart), sending fans of the show around the world misty-eyed.
“I was in two minds [about the wedding] originally, because I’ve really liked Justin and Leah’s adult relationship, how they weren’t ever getting married. I like that they didn’t need that,” says Ada. “But I know it’s something the fans have always wanted. I just didn’t want the wedding to be drama filled… I wanted it to be lovely and beautiful. And it was.”
She adds, “I think it just brought so much joy to everyone. With all the yucky stuff going on in the world, it was nice to celebrate a beautiful moment and celebrate their love. Justin and Leah have been through a lot, so it was good for them just to be happy.”
Overcoming tragedy
Happy and content as a devoted mother to son Johnas, 11, with ex-husband Chrys Xipolitas, there were nonetheless some incredibly challenging years along the way – Ada and Chrys tragically lost their second son Harrison, born stillborn at full term in 2014. Their nine-year marriage would end the following year.
Reflecting on those dark times, Ada muses, “You always get through whatever happens in your life. And unfortunately, the toughest times are the ones that make you the person you are and you grow from them as well.” She pauses. “Yeah, it’s tough. You’ve just got to ride it out. You’ve got to go to counselling, you’ve got to talk to your friends. You’ve got to just have time. Whenever I’m going through a tough time now, I remember that. I go, okay, it’s tough right now, but I’ll get past this and how can I learn from it? I try not to sit in the whole victim thing.”
Growing up Greek
Growing up in Minto in Western Sydney to hard-working Greek Cypriot migrant parents, Ada learnt resilience and responsibility at a young age.
“My mum had a delicatessen mixed business type of thing, and I was basically in the shop from two weeks old,” she says. “Prior to going to school, I’d serve customers and I knew how to count back change, I’d do deliveries with my uncle…”
Ada was largely responsible for raising her younger brother, explaining they were home a lot by themselves. She marvels at the difference between her upbringing and that of Johnas.
“My son can’t make porridge! And I’m like, wow, at 11 I was cooking dinner and cleaning the whole house.”
Greek culture was also a defining feature of Ada’s formative years, something she perhaps didn’t appreciate at the time.
“Growing up, you don’t want to be different, so I was always a bit embarrassed,” she reveals. “I just felt like it got in the way. I went to Greek school after [regular] school where I learnt to read and write in Greek, and we always had to do things on the weekends. I remember people saying, ‘I’ve never been to a wedding’ and I was like, ‘What are you talking about? I go to, like, one a month!’”
Today, her Greek heritage is something Ada cherishes and hopes to pass down to her son. “It’s always about family and friends and a lot of food and dancing, I love it. I really try and instil that in Johnas as much as possible. He’s very lucky – my mum has always been there and brought him up with me, and the same with his grandparents from his dad’s side. He has so much family around him and such a rich culture. He’s very loved.”
"Forever learning" as a parent
Ada credits the help of her mum and that “whole village thing” to help her juggle motherhood with her long hours on set, along with being scrupulously organised. “And when I’m with him, I try and be really present. I’ve learnt to say no to more things just so I can spend more time with him.”
Ada’s eyes light up as she talks about her son, her adoration clearly evident.
“I’ve always wanted to be a mum, but you never realise the joy you’re gonna get until you’re actually a mum,” she says. “He walks into a room and just lights up my world.”
Ada says she’s “forever learning” on her parenting journey. “I think as they grow older, you become a better mum. I work at it. I’ll apologise if I think I’ve done something wrong. I try and treat him with respect. We do GEM every night – gratitude, empathy, mindfulness. I really want to bring him up to have emotional intelligence. I take pride in being a parent, and learning and reading and growing. I don’t think I know it all… and often he knows more than me!” She laughs. “Except for fashion…”
Also paramount for Ada is being vigilant about minimising her son’s exposure to social media.
“I’m really strict with Johnas. He only is allowed on his device 20 minutes a day and that’s usually on Playstation. He can’t be online or on social media. I’m really trying to limit all that stuff, because social media for kids freaks me out.”
While keen to prolong Johnas’ exposure to social media until he has the necessary maturity, Ada herself has a healthy and happy relationship with the platforms. Her humour and sense of fun are on full display on Instagram, with lots of funny skits and glimpses inside her home and work life. “I like to take the piss out of myself!” she says. “I think it’s important to be self-deprecating and not take yourself too seriously.”
Fitting in fitness, despite setbacks
As Ada emerges from the change room at the photographic studio in a bright red two-piece workout outfit, one thing she clearly does take seriously is a commitment to exercise – her toned, tanned limbs and abs are nothing short of inspiring to behold! But it’s no fluke – Ada will routinely rise at 4.30am to prioritise working out.
“I’m lucky in that I love exercise, I’ve always been active,” she shares. “But also for me, it’s part of my mental health regime. If there’s three or four days where I haven’t exercised, I really feel it. So I choose to get up super early to fit that in, because I have a much better day. It’s also about having some me time. It’s really important – as a parent and working mum, you don’t get a lot of time to yourself.”
Ada’s exercise routine has had to have a dramatic revamp, though, following an incident last year. “I was getting ready to go to the gym and I sneezed and perforated a disc!” For such an innocuous event, the consequences would be severe - Ada had to undergo surgery and she continues to feel the after effects.
“I’ve still got a numb foot,” she says. “It’s totally changed the way I exercise. I used to do really heavy weights. I was obsessed with going to the gym and a lot of high impact stuff. I will never do a deadlift again. I can’t run.”
Resigned to the fact that her foot may not improve, Ada wonders if her intense training could have contributed to her injury. “I really regret now how I trained for years, because I think I screwed up my back. I’ve got two damaged discs and I think it’s from [intense] weight training.”
Instead of the heavy weights and high-impact exercises, Ada’s workout regime now consists of lots of walking and Pilates, done on her home reformer, plus things like light arm weights and resistance stretch band exercises.
“And I love dancing,” says Ada, who won Dancing With The Stars in 2005 and recently shared a flashback video of herself from the 90s, dancing up a storm in her breakout role of Katerina Ioannou in Heartbreak High. “If I could go and dance for eight hours, I would…”
Along with prioritising exercise, Ada credits her Greek genes, a healthy diet and drinking a lot of water for her glowing, vital appearance – along with a great skincare routine and the odd cosmetic intervention, which she’s always been very open about.
“I do lasers and Botox, things like that. I think you should just do whatever makes you feel good. I don’t want to look younger than I am, but I want to be the best version of 46 that I can be. If you can do without a few wrinkles, why not?”
Food for thought: it's all about balance
Ada again credits her Greek upbringing for instilling in her a healthy relationship with food.
“I was brought up really well in the fact that I never saw my mum diet,” she says. “[Greek food] tends to be quite healthy. I didn’t grow up eating fast food. The only thing I ate that was fried, was my mum’s homemade chips, made using healthy oil. Everything else is a lot of legumes, fish, chicken…”
Ada’s regular diet now leans towards high protein. “I love eggs, so I have eggs most mornings. Lunch is either a salad, sushi, or whatever is around! Dinner is usually fish or chicken – I’m not a massive meat eater.”
Ada’s philosophy on food echoes how she lives her life – grounded in balance and moderation.
“If you deprive yourself of anything, you’re going to eat more of it anyway,” she reasons. “I try not to think in terms of good and bad foods. I love eating out and I will have the three courses and share a bottle of wine as well. I’ve got a very sweet tooth – if I could eat dessert with every meal, I would - but I can’t, so I don’t! And I love my carbs – my last meal on earth would probably be pasta or seafood.”
A realistic approach to food and life centred around embracing all the things you love? We are definitely here for that.
5 quick questions
Favourite time of day? Morning! That’s definitely when I’ve got more energy.
Go to dessert or sweet treat? There’s a Greek sweet called Galaktoboureko, which is a vanilla slice type thing my mum makes. It’s amazing. Otherwise, creme caramel, tiramisu, pavlova… I can go on forever about dessert. I love dessert.
What’s your favourite smell? I’m obsessed with Gardenia. My favourite uncle who was like a father to me always gave me gardenias, so the scent always reminds me of him.
What’s your pet peeve? Rude people annoy me. I hate people that are rude to waitstaff.
Movies you watch on repeat? Grease, Love Actually and Bridget Jones’ Diary.
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