‘I thought I might lose him’: Neale Whitaker on why he had to walk away from his hit TV show

Neale Whitaker (left), 64, migrated from the UK in 1999 and has worked as an editor, TV presenter and interior-design expert. His partner, David Novak-Piper, also 64, is a hair and make-up artist. They live in Berry, NSW.

NEALE: David and I met in 2003 at a fundraiser in Sydney. I was in a cabaret act performing The Supremes’ Stop! In The Name Of Love. David was the make-up artist. He was very handsome with a twinkle in his eye. Stylish, too, in a pair of suede cowboy boots and jeans that fitted him well.

After the show, we had a few drinks together and arranged to meet up a few days later at The Tilbury Hotel [in Woolloomooloo]. We had some lovely dinners together – you know, some good, old-fashioned dating. This was before Grindr and Tinder: we’d just phone each other and set up a date.

Even when we started seeing each other regularly, we continued to live separately. I had a little terrace in Darlinghurst; David was living in a grand old apartment in Woollahra with beautiful chandeliers, antique cabinets and two gorgeous Italian greyhounds. To this day, he loves elegant, old style.

We didn’t live together until 2007, when we bought a bigger terrace in Surry Hills. I was working for [interior-design magazine] Belle at the time. Back then, there was no same-sex marriage: our only option was a civil union at the British Consulate General – which we did in an office with a Union Jack and portrait of the Queen on the wall. Later, we had a reception in Darlinghurst.

We’ve been through a lot. In 2023, David had a heart attack that led to a quintuple bypass. He had a tendency towards depression before it happened, but the surgery exacerbated it. That’s why I stood down from The Block, to spend more time at home [Whitaker was a long-standing judge on the home-renovation reality-TV series]. We became quite reclusive, I suppose – just us, our dogs and our home near Berry. I was very frightened: there were moments when I thought I might lose him. He went to a really dark place.

We went on a trip to Europe at the end of last year and it was wonderful to see him really start to get better. We decided to sell our one-hectare property – we loved it, but it was a lot of work – and bought a lovely, heritage house in the heart of Berry. We’re getting on with our lives again; it’s the start of a new chapter.

Like every couple, we’ve had our rows over the years, and those rows were pretty volatile back in our drinking days. We were heavy drinkers, but we’ve been sober since David’s heart attack. We’re not perfect: we still argue about packing the dishwasher and, at