"I
just share my life with her,'' says Big Brother winner Benjamin Norris of his
mother Jane. Picture: Norm Oorloff
Andrew Fenton, News Limited Network, reports
Most mums probably wouldn't think it was "fabulous'' if their son completely ignored their advice but Jane Needham does.
That's because she advised her son, Big Brother winner Benjamin Norris, to stop applying to be a housemate after his fourth failed attempt in a row.
"I said: 'Promise me you won't do that again' because he was always so disappointed he didn't get in,'' the 59-year-old teacher said with a chuckle.
"This time he didn't tell me until the last minute when he was sure he got in and it's just been fabulous!''
Needham, from the Melbourne suburb of Templestowe, was the first person let inside the Big Brother house on Wednesday night to congratulate her boy on winning $250,000 and a new car.
As she let out a squeal and embraced him, he attributed his win to her.
"You taught me really good things,'' he said, but she replied:
"You've done all this yourself.''
Norris, 32, admits to being a "bit of a mummy's boy'' as a kid, but
added they'd grown even closer since the age of 19 when she'd stopped mothering
him and became a close confidant instead.
"I just share my life with her,'' the Toorak accounts manager said.
"People think it's odd that I'd pick up the phone and ring her no
matter what I'd done, whether good or bad and say 'why would you tell your mum
that?''
"But I continue to share my life with my mum because I love what she has to say and she continues to have these amazing values.''
The pair's bond only grew stronger during a horror 2006 when Norris' father Graeme committed suicide (his parents divorced when he was two) and Needham was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary glands. While she fully recovered, the events sent Norris into a major depression and he needed his mother more than ever. She made sure to pop around regularly and arrange lunches and dinners to make sure he was alright.
"It makes things a lot better if you can share them with your family,'' she said.
Needham said she'd known for years her son was gay before he came out and it didn't change a thing. And she said his surprise marriage proposal to Ben Williams, 27, at the end of the finale set a good example for kids struggling with their sexuality, to see "there are people who probably felt the same way they did at school who can go on to have a fantastic life.''
"I think Julia Gillard should be on the bandwagon for gay marriage,'' she said.
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