SINGAPORE: If you follow Rebecca Gibney on socials, you’ll rarely see her without an infectious smile on her face. Her pages are filled with joyeous dance videos and sweet family moments. But behind her recent posts sat a star who was secretly battling some shocking health news.
At the age of 61, the former Packed to the Rafters actress has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.
Opening up to The Australian Women’s Weekly this month, the New Zealand-born star admitted hearing doctors share the news was tough – though it totally made sense given her past struggles.
“I’ve cried a lot more in the last few months than I’ve cried in a long time, which I thought I’d gotten over as a woman over 60. I was like, ‘No, I’ve got all that stuff sorted’,” she told the publication.
Gibney, a loving wife and doting mum, knows the feeling of anxiety all too well – having dealt with it for most of her life. So when those feelings began creeping up again while filming Dancing With The Stars last year, she knew she needed to speak to someone.
“After Dancing With The Stars I had some major struggles, so I went back and saw a psychologist,” she said.
She underwent rigorous assessment before the diagnosis of ADHD and ASD was delivered.
“I’m still coming to terms with it because it’s answered a lot of questions from my past – my panic attacks, my years of masking, which started obviously at a very early age,” she shared.
For Gibney, masking meant simply “dealing” with her traits privately and suppressing them when she felt she had to. It meant her job in the spotlight was that little bit harder behind the scenes.
“You put on a happy face and go, ‘No no, it’s fine.’ Inside you’re saying, ‘Urgh’ and recoiling. Even though I seemed to be outgoing as a young kid, I actually preferred being in the bush and hiding myself away,” she confessed.
“I would put myself in situations that I didn’t actually want to be in. I don’t really like crowds, I don’t like crowd noise. I don’t like being out in public to a certain extent.”
The years of masking meant her diagnosis was delayed.
“There’s that slight mourning – gosh, if I’d known this 40, 50 years ago, would I have gone through all the stuff that I went through? Maybe it would have made my high school years easier because, you know, I did have a lot of mental health struggles,” she said.
In November 2025, the Millionaire Hot Seat host opened up about her debilitating mental health issues that forced her to seek out help.
At the time, she took to Instagram with her personal message and a string of photos to show her various states of distress.
“As some of you know I struggled with severe anxiety and panic attacks for most of my life,” she wrote at the time.
She said after the birth of her zon Zachary, the moments of anxiety seemed to disappear – but last year, her “optimistic bubble burst”.
Her panic attacks returned and so too did more stress, sadness, fear and self-doubt.
“It really affected me as it’s been a subject that is coming up over and over again,” she said. “The hopelessness, the fear, the pain.”
At the time, Gibney claimed mental health struggles have been a lifelong issue for her, officially taking a hold of her at the age of 15 when her struggles forced her to leave school and fall into acting.