Madeleine West says wild sex scenes gave her performance anxiety

Madeleine West has revealed that performing in “highly performative sex scenes” early in her career gave her real-life anxiety in the bedroom.

The 41-year-old actress found herself single in 2018 after splitting from longtime partner Shannon Bennett, but was ‘terrified’ about going to bed with a new man because she feared he has unrealistic expectations based on his television roles.

The mother-of-six, who has filmed sex scenes for Underbelly and Satisfaction, told the No Filter podcast: “I did a billion sex scenes for work, and yet I was terrified.”

‘[After separating from Shannon] I started imagining how to perform like a woman half my age. Are they going to Google me, see the type of TV shows I’ve done, and expect me to be like this highly performative sex scene? she added.

The former Neighbors star admitted her first sex after splitting from Shannon “wasn’t great”, but said the experience helped her come to “a really important realization”.

‘I’m my sexiest when I’m just me. I gave birth to six children, I take care of my body, I worked hard in life – and since that realization, I have enjoyed it ever since,” she said.

Elsewhere in her interview, the Playing for Keeps star confirmed she was dating Byron Bay environmentalist Maximo Bottaro.

The couple were first pictured together in April 2020 when they were spotted kissing on a secluded beach in the NSW coastal town.

Madeleine revealed that she met Maximo after volunteering for his environmental organization ReForest Now.

“The way he held himself was so attractive. Seeing her passion and self-confidence was key,” Madeleine said.

“He knew absolutely nothing about me. Why would you think you’d find an actor associated with wealth and luxury standing on the side of a muddy rainforest hill, wearing work boots and ready to act?

Madeleine announced her split from celebrity chef Shannon in September 2018, after 13 years of dating.

The former couple, who never married, share six children, Phoenix, Hendrix, Xascha, Xanthe, Xahlia and Margaux.

A year after the split, Madeleine said she was unlikely to get back together with Shannon.

“I’m a big believer that everything in life has a season. We change. We evolve,” she told the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

“At some point we say, ‘Well, I have certain needs that I want to meet and you have certain needs and if the two don’t come together and intersect in the middle, why fight it and be miserable?

“I also don’t think it’s fair for kids to see two parents who are constantly at cross purposes.”

She brushed off questions about a potential “love interest” at the time and joked that she was living “like a monk”.

Madeleine previously told Stellar magazine in 2018 that she and Shannon were “striving to reconnect as friends and relatives.”

She said having six children and “two high-pressure careers” had strained their relationship over time.