18/10/2026
Welcome to Tess, Unfiltered ❤️
Real life. Big feelings. A few laughs. And another go.
Dear Diary,
Well, here we fu***ng go. 😂
For those who know me, welcome back. For those who don't, buckle up, because even I struggle to keep up with the plot sometimes.
I'm Tess. I'm 49, a mum of five daughters, a grandmother, an animal lover, a chronic overthinker and a woman who has absolutely no idea how she's managed to turn one lifetime into approximately 17 seasons of a Netflix drama.
And apparently, I've decided the best thing to do with all this chaos is put it on Facebook.
Excellent decision, Tess. Very sensible. 😂
I've spent 25 years working in aged care and disability, caring for people, supporting families and trying to make the world a little kinder. I was even runner-up for Australia's Kindest Person in 2023.
Which is lovely, considering some days I want to launch people into the sun.
I've raised five daughters, survived heartbreak, lost people I never imagined living without, battled mental health demons, started businesses, moved interstate, started over, fallen apart, got back up and occasionally wondered whether I was the subject of some elaborate cosmic practical joke.
I live with CPTSD, anxiety and a brain that likes to hold emergency meetings at 3am about things that happened in 2007.
I've also got a body that seems to be collecting medical conditions like they're Flybuys points.
At this stage, I'm fairly certain my medical file has its own postcode.
Then there's my animal kingdom.
I've got a Rottweiler who thinks she's a lapdog, a flat-faced Persian cat named Splat, and two roosters named Ar****le and Dumbarse.
Yes, those are their actual names.
No, I'm not taking questions at this time.
There's also a couple of goats who apparently believe lawnmowers are a food group.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, there's me.
A woman who loves the stars, believes in kindness, asks far too many questions, laughs at completely inappropriate moments and can go from discussing quantum physics to arguing with a chicken in under thirty seconds.
But here's where things get real.
A few months ago, my life changed in a way I never saw coming.
I survived a violent home invasion. My locked door was kicked in, I was threatened with a machete and physically assaulted in what should have been the safest place in my world.
I survived. But surviving and living are two very different things.
There are parts of that story I'm not ready to tell publicly yet, particularly while the legal process continues.
What I can tell you is that trauma changes you.
Some days I'm brave. Some days I'm terrified. Some days getting out of bed feels like climbing Mount Everest in thongs.
I've spent far too much of my life just existing instead of actually living.
And I'm tired of that.
I'm tired of waiting until I'm thinner, healthier, happier, richer or somehow magically have my s**t together before I start enjoying life.
Because at 49, I've finally realised something.
Life doesn't wait for you to be ready.
So this page is becoming my diary.
Not the polished, filtered, inspirational-quote-every-morning kind.
The real one.
There'll be stories about motherhood, grief, menopause, mental health, relationships, ridiculous animals, starting over, questionable life decisions and the occasional existential crisis over a Milo.
Some posts will make you laugh until you nearly wet yourself.
Some might make you cry.
And some days you might just get a photo of a rooster with the caption, "This prick."
I don't have all the answers. Half the time I don't even know what day it is.
But I do know that I want to find my way back to being happy.
I want adventures. I want laughter. I want to feel the sunshine on my face. I want to make memories with my family. I want to stop letting fear make all my decisions.
And maybe, by sharing the messy bits as well as the beautiful ones, someone else out there might feel a little less alone.
So, to the 1,097 people already here, thank you for being part of my little corner of the internet.
You didn't know you were signing up for this level of f**kery, but unfortunately the cancellation department is currently closed. 🤣
Welcome to Tess, Unfiltered.
No pretending. No perfect life. No bloody instruction manual.
Just one woman trying to turn the page and write a better chapter.
And if I can make you laugh while I'm figuring it all out, even better.
Love, Tess ❤️
P.S. If you're waiting for me to get my s**t together before following along, I suggest packing a lunch. We could be here a while. 😂
