Kate Ritchie looks downcast as she sits alone smoking a cigarette without her wedding ring

Former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie looked downcast during a solo outing just weeks before she was granted a temporary AVO against her husband, Stuart Webb. 

In photos taken in Coogee, Sydney on October 2, the 41-year-old was seen sitting alone in a park while smoking a cigarette and staring intently at her phone. 

Kate, who hosts Nova 96.9’s drive time radio show, kept a low profile in a baseball cap, and dressed casually in a Nike workout jacket and black leggings. 

Kate’s wedding ring was conspicuously absent. 

According to an onlooker, she smoked a cigarette for about 20 minutes before jumping into her car and driving back to her home in Randwick. 

Two weeks after the photos were taken, NSW Police took out an interim apprehended violence order (AVO) on behalf of Kate against her husband, Stuart, 39.

Solitary: According to an onlooker, Kate smoked a cigarette for about 20 minutes before jumping into her car and driving back to her home in Randwick

The decision to grant the temporary AVO came after ‘an incident at a home in Randwick on Thursday [October 17],’ according to a police spokesperson.

They added that the investigation was ongoing, but no charges had been laid. 

On October 24, the temporary AVO was extended for at least two more weeks while the case was adjourned.

The ring is off! Kate’s wedding ring was conspicuously absent during the outing 

Meanwhile, friends of the actress say she has ‘retreated into her own world’ as her personal life makes headlines.

‘We’ve all been worried about Kate,’ a source told New Idea earlier this week.

The insider, who was described as a ‘former colleague’ of Kate’s, added that her marriage to Stuart never quite matched the ‘fairytale’ in her head.

Incident: Two weeks after these photos were taken, NSW Police took out an interim apprehended violence order (AVO) on behalf of Kate against her husband, Stuart

‘Kate has tried to make it work,’ they said. ‘I know in the past she’s confided a lot in [Home and Away stars] Emily Symons and Lynne McGranger, but this time she’s retreated into her own world.

‘I know she’d be horrified to have her personal life exposed like this.’   

The couple’s relationship had reportedly been under ‘stress’ before the incident in Randwick after Stuart pleaded guilty to a drink driving charge earlier this year. 

Stuart, who had previously been found guilty of drink driving in 2012 and 2017, blew 0.083 after police spotted him running a red light on March 26. 

He is awaiting sentencing for the latest drink driving charge. The AVO case continues.  

What happened? The decision to grant the temporary AVO came after ‘an incident at a home in Randwick on Thursday [October 17],’ according to a police spokesperson. Pictured: Kate and Stuart on April 27, 2014 in Melbourne