‘I’m going hardcore’: Glamorous AFL WAG Olympia Valance reveals the unusual way she’s spending her time in Victoria’s tough stage four coronavirus lockdown
- Australian actress Olympia Valance plans to learn Italian during VIC’s lockdown
- Valance returned to Melbourne while her partner travels around for AFL season
- She has been dating Essendon footballer Thomas Bellchambers since June 2019
- She hopes to put her new skill into use by travelling to Italy after the pandemic
Glamorous AFL WAG and Australian actress Olympia Valance has revealed her plans to become fluent in Italian during Victoria’s strict coronavirus lockdown.
Valance is in Melbourne under the city’s Stage Four restrictions, which only permit residents to leave home for work, shopping for essentials, exercise, and medical treatment or caregiving.
The model headed back to upscale inner-city suburb Port Melbourne with two friends to see it out, while her partner Essendon footballer Thomas Bellchambers continues travelling to AFL hubs around the country.
Australian actress and model Olympia Valance (pictured) has revealed she is learning Italian during Melbourne’s Stage Four lockdown
After feeling as though she squandered the last lockdown, the 27-year-old is determined to make the most of her six weeks at home by learning a new language.
‘In the last lockdown, when I was on the farm, I would wake up in the morning and the first thing I thought about was food and you would be thinking about food from the moment you woke up to the moment you went to bed,’ she told the Herald Sun.
‘This time I’m in Port Melbourne, I have a little bit more of a routine. And you should see how great my coffee skills are. I’m just trying to upskill so we’re not complete slobs when we finish this lockdown.’
The emergence of language apps, such as Duolingo, have made it easier for people to pick up a new dialect by learning in increments as little as five minutes per day.
But the former Neighbours star admitted she was diving right in.
‘I’m going hardcore — I’ve got just a little more time on my hands,’ she said.
Valance hopes to put her new skill straight into use, by heading to Italy immediately after the pandemic blows over.
Valance has been in a relationship with Essendon Bombers footballer Thomas Bellchambers since June 2019. They are pictured together in October last year
Valance headed to Melbourne to see out the lockdown while Bellchambers spends his time in AFL hubs around the country during the football season
The former Neighbours star said she became inspired by her British godmother and godsister, who live in Rome and speak the language fluently.
New research shows wanting to learn a language is a growing trend, with 63 per cent of Australians indicating they are interested in picking up another dialect.
After speaking to more than 1,000 Australians, the report found Italian was the most popular language of choice.
Millennials, or Gen Y, were the most eager at 37 per cent, followed by Centennials, or Gen Z, at 34 per cent, and Gen X at 18 per cent. Meanwhile, only one in ten Boomers were keen on picking up the skill.
Valance, who is the younger sister of actress and singer Holly Valance, has been in a relationship with the Bombers player, 31, since June 2019.
Last month, she revealed it has been a ‘mixed bag of emotions’ as the couple were hunkered down together in home isolation.
‘My partner and I have mainly been isolating just outside of Melbourne in the Daylesford/Hepburn region, where we bought a place at the end of last year,’ she told WHO.
‘It’s been such a mixed bag of emotions if I’m being honest. There are days I have absolutely loved doing nothing, and really just teaching myself to slow down.’
‘I never normally get this much time at home so that has definitely been a blessing.’
The former Neighbours star (pictured) last month revealed it had been a ‘mixed bag of emotions’ being in isolation at her home just outside of Melbourne