Signs Carrie Bickmore and partner Chris Walker may have split MONTHS ago

They were once the golden couple of Australian media – one a Logie winning TV host and the other a hot-shot producer. 

Yet behind closed doors, there appeared to be tell-tale signs Carrie Bickmore and Chris Walker’s relationship was in trouble.

Carrie, 42, announced the couple’s shock split via Instagram on Tuesday, leaving fans scratching their head about how it all went wrong. 

From a surprise overseas sabbatical to Carrie’s resignation from The Project, there were possible hints Carrie and Chris were on the verge of separation and may well have split months ago.

The couple’s UK sabbatical

In April last year, Carrie and Chris temporarily relocated to the UK for three-month sabbatical with their children Ollie, 15, Evie, seven, and Adelaide, four.

While Carrie described the trip as a ‘family adventure’ at the time, it could well have been a last-ditch attempt to revive her relationship.

In April last year, Carrie and Chris temporarily relocated to the UK for three-month sabbatical with their children Ollie, 15, Evie, seven, and Adelaide, four (all pictured) 

Couples who are on the brink of separation are often encouraged by experts to embark on a final holiday together as a means of rekindling the romance. 

However, while some relationships benefit from the escapism, others dwindle more quickly, partly because the closeness and romance of a holiday may feel forced. 

Announcing her trip on The Project at the time, Carrie explained: ‘Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together.’ 

Announcing her trip on The Project at the time, Carrie explained: ‘Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together’ 

‘We’ve been wanting to do it for a while but for lots of reasons the timing hasn’t been right, but we figure it’s never going to be the perfect time to go.

‘It’s something we really want to do before my son starts his final years at school so we’re doing term two in the UK. So I will be off for a couple of months.’

The radio star also said she’d been inspired by The Project panellist Kate Langbroek, who spent two years living in Bologna, Italy, with her husband and children.

Couples who are on the brink of separation are often encouraged by experts to embark on a final holiday together as a means of rekindling the romance

Carrie returned to The Project in July with very little fanfare and largely kept mum about her trip. 

She joked she had come home with an English accent after living there for a few months and said she’d had a ‘great time’ – but little else. 

Carrie’s shock exit from The Project 

Carrie quit The Project after 13 years on the panel in November, telling fans she wanted to spend more time with her family. 

Viewers were stumped as to why the blonde would give up such a lucrative gig, especially as she hadn’t announced her next career move. 

Carrie quit The Project after 13 years on the panel in November, telling fans she wanted to spend more time with her family

It’s possible that Carrie threw in the towel to make more time for her relationship or to heal and focus on family if the pair had split beforehand.

Chris had previously complained about his partner’s busy work schedule, telling The Herald Sun: ‘Carrie works so much as well (on The Project).’

‘Particularly at the start of the week I find myself missing her and the kids quite a lot,’ he lamented. 

It’s possible that Carrie threw in the towel to make more time for her relationship

Carrie’s emotional letter 

Carrie hinted at her private struggles in a farewell letter to The Project’s hair and makeup team after quitting the show in November. 

In a hand-written note to her glam squad, the mother of three thanked them for helping her get through some of the most challenging times in her professional life.

‘To my hair and makeup family. Crap, I am crying already,’ the letter began.

Carrie hinted at her private struggles in a farewell letter to The Project’s hair and makeup team after quitting the show in November

In a hand-written note to her glam squad, the mother of three thanked them for helping her get through some of the most challenging times in her professional life 

‘You have held my hand through some of the toughest days in my career. You hear it all, see it all and share it all with me and I can’t explain how much I am going to miss you all.’

‘There is an unspoken bond between us all and please never forget how special you all are,’ the mother of three added.

‘I know this is not goodbye, just goodbye for now. Love to you all, Carrie.’

The couple quietly selling their home   

Bickmore sold her five-bedroom family home in Melbourne just days before announcing her extended leave in London last year.

At the time, it was unclear where Carrie and her family planned to live once they return home from their sabbatical. 

Some fans speculated this was because she and her family were planning to buy a place to live in England.

Bickmore sold her five-bedroom family home in Melbourne (pictured) just days before announcing her extended leave in London last year 

However, it could be likely selling their marital home was another step towards the end of their relationship. 

Carrie’s bikini transformation 

Carrie looking fitter than ever in recent photos of her at the beach in Byron Bay. 

The blonde looked absolutely sensational earlier this month as she splashed around  with her kids. 

Bickmore was pictured looking fit and fabulous in a neon swimsuit as she hit the beach with her children in Byron Bay a few weeks ago 

Turning heads, she frolicked around in the high-cut one-piece looking anything but heartbroken. 

Her separation could have something do with her transformed new look as she, like many other women, could be coping with her heartbreak by focusing on her health and fitness. 

Chris’ nude Skype call scandal 

Chris made headlines in May last year when it was revealed he unknowingly stripped off at the end of a production meeting – which he attended remotely, while holidaying in Europe.

Chris made headlines in May last year when it was revealed he unknowingly stripped off at the end of a production meeting – which he attended remotely, while holidaying in Europe

He wrongly thought he had left the conference when he took off his clothes in front of up to nine people, with the incident lasting between 40 seconds and two minutes.

Chris had dialled in while on sabbatical in the UK with Carrie and their three young children, with the naked faux pas occurring during a meeting following rehearsals and before the taping of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.

Carrie was likely mortified by the incident, as Chris’ gaffe led to an avalanche of embarrassing headlines.

 Chris had dialled in while on sabbatical in the UK with Carrie and their three young children, with the naked faux pas occurring during a meeting following rehearsals and before the taping of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

Following the incident, a staffer accused senior ABC managers of initially brushing off the gaffe as ‘hilarious’ and dismissing employees’ concerns. 

The ABC then reportedly offered counselling to staffers who witnessed the incident.

The staffer also accused the ABC of downplaying the gaffe because Walker’s production company Thinkative Television is behind some of the public broadcaster’s most popular shows, including The Weekly and Hard Quiz.

In June, The Australian reported that Chris was ‘unlikely to face serious sanctions’ for the gaffe.  

Carrie was likely mortified by the incident, as Chris’ gaffe led to an avalanche of embarrassing headlines

Carrie announced the couple’s split in an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, saying the pair was focused on co-parenting their three children. The couple were in a relationship for 11 years.  

‘It’s with immense sadness that Chris and I have decided to separate,’ she wrote.

‘While this is a tough time, our focus is on parenting, loving and supporting our three children Ollie, Evie and Addie with everything that we’ve got.

Carrie announced their split in an Instagram post on Wednesday morning after 11 years together 

‘They are doing great, We won’t be making any further comment.’

Carrie and Chris’ love story captured the hearts of Australians.

They met as colleagues on The Project – she was a presenter and he was a producer – and they began dating in late 2012, two years after she lost her husband Greg Lange, the father of her eldest child Ollie, to brain cancer.

Despite his terminal diagnosis, Carrie had married Langue in 2005 when she was just 25 years old.

After Langue died in 2010 at the age of 35, a widowed Carrie started the charity Bickmore’s Beanies for Brain Cancer in his memory.

Two years later and Carrie had found love again with Walker, who became a stepdad to Oliver, and with whom she later had two daughters: Evie, born in 2015, and Adelaide, born in 2018.

They met as colleagues on The Project – she was a presenter and he was a producer – and they began dating in late 2012, two years after she lost her husband Greg Lange, the father of her eldest child Ollie, to brain cancer