Sam Frost looked strikingly different as she made a TV appearance where she poignantly advised her younger self not to say ‘everything’ she thinks.
The actress, 35, left Home And Away in late 2021 after facing backlash over a controversial Instagram video about her hesitancy to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
She has since embarked on new TV ventures and appeared on Wednesday’s The Morning Show to promote her new family series Jordie, Sam & Ted’s Adventures.
On the chat show, Sam – who is married to Jordie Hansen- looked almost unrecognisable as she ditched her signature blonde tresses for a brunette look.
The former reality TV star cut a stylish figure in an off-white jumper as she showed off her shoulder length chocolate locks, styled in loose curls around her face.
Sam was well-known for her longer blonde hairstyle during her time starring as Jasmine Delaney on Home And Away from 2017 until 2021.
Speaking to hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies, Sam also reflected on her decade-long TV career since rising to fame on The Bachelor Australia in 2014.
Asked if she had any advice for her younger self while discussing her reality TV days, Sam said she would tell her to not ‘say everything’ she thinks.
‘Yeah, you know, you don’t have to say everything that you think. Sometimes. You know, have a bit more of a filter, mate,’ she said.
Sam left Home And Away in December 2021, two months after revealing she hadn’t had the Covid-19 vaccine in a controversial video.
She sparked backlash when she revealed she hadn’t had the Covid jab and compared restrictions on the unvaccinated to ‘segregation’.
She said in a tearful Instagram video: ‘I was really hesitant about doing a video or even speaking up about this sort of thing, but I feel like it’s getting to a point now in the world where there’s a lot of segregation.
‘There’s a lot of harsh judgement and opinions being thrown around a lot and it’s taking its toll on my mental health for sure, and I know people around me are struggling – particularly if they’re on the side of they don’t want to get vaccinated, for whatever reason.
‘There are lots of different reasons why people are not getting vaccinated and it might be because of their medical history, their concerns, they might have family history, it could be religious reasons.’
Seven Productions had a policy requiring all cast and crew be vaccinated against Covid, but sources said at the time that Sam’s exit was unrelated to the mandate.
After facing criticism for her video, Sam temporarily deactivated her main Instagram account and blocked comments on her mental health charity Believe’s account.
Sam – who has since been fully vaccinated – made the decision to leave Home And Away just months later and later reflected on the very difficult time.
In April, Sam told the Life Uncut podcast that she struggled with her mental health and had a lot of ‘awful’ things happening in her private life at the time.
‘That was an awful year. I had a lot of stuff happening in my family life, and a lot of things happening in my private life. It was a really yucky time. I don’t think anyone was okay during COVID,’ Sam said.
‘When I did the video about that, if you actually watch the video, it was all about mental health and it was about me saying “no one is okay right now” and whatever you think about these vaccines, everyone is struggling and you need to be compassionate and have empathy towards people who may think differently towards you.’
Sam said the situation became ‘messier and uglier’ than what she had intended as she reflected on the backlash to the video.
‘I just ended up going “oh man, I need to go home and be with my family” and that’s when I made the decision to leave Home and Away,’ she added.
Sam previously addressed how she felt unvaccinated people were being ‘bullied’ and insisted she was never an ‘anti-vaxxer’, saying she only had ‘good intentions’.
‘The bullying of unvaccinated people was disgusting. Friends I’d had for years stopped talking to me,’ Sam previously told Stellar Magazine.
‘I never said I didn’t want to get it. I’m not an anti-vaxxer – are you kidding me? But I feel it’s quite unreasonable to assume that everyone’s going to think exactly the same way and that people are going to come to the exact same conclusion in the same time frame.
‘I got torn to f***ing pieces. That was someone in a very vulnerable position talking about their struggles with mental health.’