After a traumatic brain injury in the 1990s left Rubens with a permanent disability, she shifted focus from acting, and subsequently earned a degree in law & society from York University.

In 2018, she appeared in Judith Thompson's stage production of After the Blackout, a play about, and starring, people with various disabilities.

After suffering a traumatic brain injury in the 1990s, Rubens was left with a permanent disability and temporarily retired from acting.

[9] In 2018, she returned to theater in the RARE Theatre Company's After the Blackout, a play by Judith Thompson, which featured a cast of performers with varying disabilities.

[10] Isabelle Perrone of BroadwayWorld noted that Rubens "approached her character seemingly with ease, playing the aged starlet with elegance.