Remember Meggie Cleary from ‘The Thorn Birds’? — this is her today, age 65

learned as time went by. As the show aired, she saw herself as the weaker link. She suffered from insecurity for years after she received some negative reviews (The New York Times said she was “miscast”).

“I felt terribly like I’d disappointed,” she told Closer. “I felt that despite me it was a success.”

However, years later, her grown daughter watched The Thorn Birds, and told her mother, “‘Mom, you were fabulous,’” Ward recalled. “That was, for me, the most important response that I could’ve ever had.”

”It was soap opera. I think of it differently now,” Ward said. “Acting styles have changed and mine was always quite natural. And I think they tried to make me something that I wasn’t naturally. So that’s the excuse that I’ve made for myself.”

Her performance in the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds was of course a very important step for Ward, career wise. However, the production of the show became much more important for her, since she met the love of her life.

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown

During her work on The Thorn Birds, Rachel Ward and Chamberlain’s characters Meggie and Father Ralph had great passion between them, which kept the viewers coming back.

Chamberlain recalled that it was difficult filming specific scenes.

“There’s a microphone hidden in the armpit… and you’re trying not to smear her lipstick,” he told Closer.

Even though Ward and Chamberlain were in love on camera, the great love story was actually when the cameras were turned off.

Bryan Brown starred as Meggie’s husband Luke O’Neill, and while shooting, they fell in love.

“What happened on screen was happening off it – that’s why our love scenes were so believable,” Ward told the UK’s Daily Express.

“Everyone on set realized they were falling for each other. “I’ve never seen two people more in love,” Chamberlain said, adding that Brown even helped Ward calm her nerves before shooting. “She seemed to get happier and happier and her work got better and better.”

Married months later

Ward and Brown obviously had “sexual chemistry” on set. She really fancied him, however, when asked who made the first move, she made sure to throw her beloved husband under the bus.

‘He as slow as a wet week. Really took forever. I think I probably did,’ she said.

Brown, however, insisted that he was just being a “cunning Aussie bloke” not approaching her at once.”

“And before they know it, they’re hooked!” the legendary actor joked.

Rachel Ward and Brown got married months after the filming of The Thorn Birds wrapped.

The couple went on to have three children, Rose, Matilda and Joseph.