Elle Ferguson reveals father who left her as a newborn died without acknowledging his daughter
Former The Block contestant says her biological father, Brett Walker, denied having children in his final will after abandoning her at five days old; discovery emerged during a COVID-era search and a coastal community tribute.
Elle Ferguson has revealed a devastating family truth she carried quietly for decades, speaking to Stellar Magazine about the father she never met and the shock discovery she made. The former The Block contestant said her biological father, Brett Walker, walked out of her life when she was just five days old and later died without ever acknowledging her as his child. Ferguson’s account adds a poignant chapter to a life in the public eye that has included renovations on television and a close bond with her mother and half-sister. Ferguson’s upbringing unfolded largely under the care of her mother, Kim — a former Miss Australia — and her younger half-sister Lucie, after Kim’s battle with cancer, which ended in 2015. Kim had told Ferguson that a free-spirited surfer named Brett Walker was not ready to take on fatherhood, and that Walker offered no financial support. The revelation reframes the years Ferguson spent wondering about the man who appears on her birth certificate but never in her life.
The turning point for Ferguson came during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when long days at home prompted quiet reflection about Mullaway, the coastal NSW town where Walker once lived. With only his name and the knowledge of his residence on the New South Wales north coast, Ferguson carried out a late-night online search while traveling with her partner, Joel Patfull. The results were stark: a funeral notice for a man identified as Brett Walker, aged 65, who had “passed away suddenly” and who was described in the notice as “Gone surfing.” The notice listed siblings, nieces and nephews but did not name any children, leaving Ferguson to confront a truth she had long avoided. The discovery would prove emotionally scarring, yet oddly clarifying.
Patfull contacted a local general store, which confirmed that Mullaway’s tight-knit community had held a paddle-out to honor Walker, who was remembered as a beloved local. The incident underscored the forces of memory and place in a small coastal town and the way communities carry personal histories that can outlive individuals. Ferguson said she had no idea her father had died until she found the notice, and the moment reopened old wounds she had kept private for decades.
The timeline of contact between Walker and his daughter remained complex. During Kim’s final illness, Walker had reached out asking to speak with his daughter. Ferguson, however, chose to focus on caring for her dying mother rather than pursuing an emotional reckoning at that moment. After learning of Walker’s death, Ferguson attempted to reach his relatives through a lawyer but encountered resistance and effectively felt shut out. The most painful detail, she said, was the final will leaving her father’s estate to others while asserting that he had not fathered children. Ferguson recalled that Walker had not accepted her existence in the legal sense, saying, “So it wasn’t me, it was him.”
Despite the heartbreak, Ferguson described the discovery as something that helped her make sense of a lifelong absence. She said the truth did not erase the pain but reframed it in a way that allowed her to understand the gaps in her life, including why she and her sister had lived with the knowledge of a parent who was physically present in their family history but emotionally distant. The interview with Stellar Magazine, published this week, places Ferguson’s personal story within the broader context of a public figure who has long balanced screen life with private family matters.
As Ferguson processes the revelation, she has not indicated plans for further contact with Walker’s relatives. The episode stands as a reminder of how generations of unresolved family histories can surface years later, reshaping how individuals understand themselves and the legacies of those who entered and exited their lives. The account also highlights the role of community memory in small towns, where events like a paddle-out can become a lasting public acknowledgment of someone who, in life, kept part of their story private.
In the end, Ferguson said the truth, though painful, provides a form of closure she had not previously imagined. She continues to navigate life in the public eye while balancing the complexities of family history, memory, and belonging.