The Block contestant's uncle, fisherman Bevin Simmonds, and his 10-year-old son Brad disappeared while checking shark nets off Cape York in June 2003. Their boat and bodies were never found.
Speaking directly to nine.com.au, Jolene described the lasting effect on a family that has never received a final answer.
Jolene Says The Disappearance Tore Her Family Apart
Jolene's mother, Janelle, is Bevin's sister. Jolene recalled her mother's immediate concern that the disappearance did not look like a straightforward boating accident because no dinghy, weapons or bodies were recovered.
Police later treated the case as a homicide investigation. Two people were charged in connection with the alleged murders, but a Cairns Supreme Court jury acquitted them in 2005. No one has been convicted and the disappearance remains unsolved.
Jolene attended the trial with her mother and grandmother. She said the proceedings and the absence of closure placed enormous strain on the family, explaining that their family unit "kind of disintegrated" in the years that followed.
Her comments add a very different layer to the contestant viewers have recently watched navigating disputes and pressure on The Block building site.
Why Jolene Agreed To Revisit The Case
Jolene and her mother first spoke publicly about the disappearance in the Stan documentary Revealed: The Cape, which revisits the case through interviews, archival material and years of research.
She described the possibility of the case being reopened as a "double-edged sword". More scrutiny could bring renewed pain, but the family also wants Bevin and Brad to be remembered as people who were loved, not simply names attached to a mystery.
"He wasn't just a nobody. He was loved," Jolene said of her uncle, adding that he was a son, brother and father who mattered enormously to their family.
Revealed: The Cape does not resolve the disappearance, and no allegation about what happened to Bevin and Brad has been established as fact. For Jolene, speaking about them is a way to keep their place in the family story visible while the search for answers continues.
