WEBVTT - Six months on, axed Today star Alex Cullen is ready to talk

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<v Speaker 1>Hello and welcome to Something to Talk About. For Stella Podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Sarah La Marquin, your host, and every week I

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<v Speaker 1>sit down with some of the biggest names in the

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<v Speaker 1>country because when Australians celebrities are ready to talk, they

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<v Speaker 1>come to Something to talk About. In January of this year,

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<v Speaker 1>things were looking good for Alex Cullen at work. The

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<v Speaker 1>Today Show presenter was in Melbourne covering the Australian Open

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<v Speaker 1>while at home, he and his wife were preparing to

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<v Speaker 1>send their twin daughters off to their first day of kindergarten.

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<v Speaker 1>But within a matter of days everything changed. After a

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<v Speaker 1>live cross involving Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli, better known as

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<v Speaker 1>Lambeau Guy, Alex was stood down from nine and very

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<v Speaker 1>publicly exited one of the most high profile jobs in

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<v Speaker 1>the country. Now, in his first interview since finding himself

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<v Speaker 1>at the center one of the biggest news stories of

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five, Alex opens up about what really happened,

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<v Speaker 1>the toller took, on his mental health and how close

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<v Speaker 1>he came to walking away from the media altogether.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a brutal game. It's tough, you know. I've

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<v Speaker 2>had a lot of up and downs in this job.

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<v Speaker 1>But as you'll hear today, that's not what happened this week.

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<v Speaker 1>He begins a new life in Melbourne, a new job

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<v Speaker 1>on breakfast radio, and as he exclusively reveals to the

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<v Speaker 1>Stellar podcast he's about to make a return to television

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<v Speaker 1>in a role with Seven News. This is a story

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<v Speaker 1>about public fallout, private resilience and what it takes to

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<v Speaker 1>start again when the whole country is watching. Alex Cullen,

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Stellar podcast S.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you Siah. It's wonderful to be here, it really is.

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<v Speaker 2>I love what you guys do, admired you from Afar

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<v Speaker 2>and it's just really nice to sit down with you today.

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<v Speaker 1>It's really lovely to have you here, and there really

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<v Speaker 1>is a lot to talk about, something to talk about,

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<v Speaker 1>definitely truth in that title today, but let's actually start

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<v Speaker 1>with the fact that as we speak, you're in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of packing up your life, your young family, you

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<v Speaker 1>and your wife Bonnie, you have twin daughters, your son Max,

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<v Speaker 1>you are all moving from Sydney to Melbourne and you

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<v Speaker 1>are starting a new job tomorrow morning on the Christian

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<v Speaker 1>O'Connell show on Melbourne Radio. So that is quite a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>How are we doing Thanks for fitting us in here, Sarah.

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<v Speaker 2>It's chaos, it is absolute chaos, but you've just got

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<v Speaker 2>to go with it. You've just got to put one

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<v Speaker 2>foot in front of the other and just go with it.

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<v Speaker 2>We've been frantically getting our house ready in Sydney, packing up.

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<v Speaker 2>It's been kind of interesting and kind of therapeutic, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>getting rid of things that you've sort of held on

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<v Speaker 2>to for so long and a bit of a clean

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<v Speaker 2>out and moving to Melbourne. And it's just quite surreal,

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<v Speaker 2>to be honest. I had a moment a few days

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<v Speaker 2>ago and I went, we're actually doing this. We're actually

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<v Speaker 2>moving our family, three young children into state. It's not

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<v Speaker 2>like it's overseas, but it's still, you know, another city

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<v Speaker 2>and a wonderful city in Melbourne. I love Melbourne. We've

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<v Speaker 2>always loved Melbourne, and it's funny. Whenever we were down there,

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<v Speaker 2>we were like, oh, we could live in Melbourne, and

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<v Speaker 2>here we are about to do exactly that, and we've

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<v Speaker 2>got a lovely house. We went down a few weeks

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<v Speaker 2>ago and had to look around and met the team

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<v Speaker 2>at the Christian O'Connell show, which was really special. But

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<v Speaker 2>we're looking forward to it you know, we've sort of

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<v Speaker 2>built up to it for so long now and it's

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<v Speaker 2>upon us and we're doing it, and I can't wait.

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<v Speaker 1>Your son, Max isn't old enough to be at school yet,

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<v Speaker 1>but the girls, as our understand are in KINDI so,

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<v Speaker 1>who do you think is more nervous about first day

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<v Speaker 1>at school at a new school, Lamb or yourself?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, all of us. But I think the girls are

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<v Speaker 2>going to be okay because they've got each other. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>they're twins, they're six years old. They're going into term

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<v Speaker 2>three at their new school and they're in the same class,

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<v Speaker 2>which is quite nice. Max. I'm a little bit more

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<v Speaker 2>worried about He He's funny, he's a very emotional little guy,

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<v Speaker 2>and he really cares about people, and he really for

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<v Speaker 2>a three year old, it's quite amazing. But the other

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<v Speaker 2>night in the bath, he just burst out crying, saying,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to leave. I want to stay. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't want to go to Melbourne. And we're like, oh, Maxie,

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<v Speaker 2>it's going to be great, You're going to be fine.

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<v Speaker 2>We're all there, we're all going together and it's going

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<v Speaker 2>to be okay. He's all right now, But you know,

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<v Speaker 2>you think they don't notice, but they do. They see

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<v Speaker 2>what their parents are going through in the stresses. But

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<v Speaker 2>at the same time, they're young kids. It's not like

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<v Speaker 2>they're sort of teenagers, you know, have got you know,

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<v Speaker 2>that established friendship group. They're going to miss their friends,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, but they're really excited about it. And one

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<v Speaker 2>of the requests was when we were looking for a house,

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<v Speaker 2>make sure it's two story. It has to be has

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<v Speaker 2>to have stairs, sirs, It's got stairs, So they'll be

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<v Speaker 2>happy with that.

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<v Speaker 1>That's good. Yep, you've ticked that list. Okay, yeah, well

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<v Speaker 1>they might not think it's so exciting when the novelty

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<v Speaker 1>wears off and they're carrying their backpacks and everything. Oh

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<v Speaker 1>I've got to go all the way downstairs now yeah in.

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<v Speaker 2>That Melbourne weather which we keep getting warned about, but

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<v Speaker 2>we've got our thermals will be okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, you're arriving literally midwinter, so so good timing then

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<v Speaker 1>right in the middle. And of course the Christian O'Connell's

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<v Speaker 1>show is Breakfast Radio. It starts at six am. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>you did five years on the Today Show Breakfast TV,

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<v Speaker 1>so can you just not get away from setting that

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<v Speaker 1>alarm at someone godly hour out.

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<v Speaker 2>I know, I've had people say to me, what are

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<v Speaker 2>you doing? You going back into that early alarm phase.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it wasn't that enough getting up at three

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<v Speaker 2>point thirty in the morning. And look, it's gonna be tough,

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<v Speaker 2>but I love it. I live for it. I can't

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<v Speaker 2>wait to get stuck in and those early mornings, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>as long as you're in bed early, and it's not

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<v Speaker 2>as early as the Today Show. It's like six am

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<v Speaker 2>till nine am. The Today Show, I was getting up

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<v Speaker 2>at quarter past past three on air at five am,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's makeup and hair, and with radio you can

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<v Speaker 2>be a little bit bored, disheveled, you know. I haven't

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<v Speaker 2>got to be, of course, presentable. Absolutely there's cameras in

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<v Speaker 2>the studios these days, but you know, not not as

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<v Speaker 2>you know, there's no makeup and hair, et cetera. So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to be able

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<v Speaker 2>to talk about sport, which is one of my great passions,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm going to the sporting capital of the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Really it's it's a wonderful place for sport. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>you've got the MCG You've got you know, the f one,

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<v Speaker 2>the Australian Open and everything else in between. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>the early mornings are tough, but it's I just love

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<v Speaker 2>it and I can't wait to get back into it.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you been easing back into it? Did you find

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<v Speaker 1>in the six months you haven't been having to get

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<v Speaker 1>up at that time? Were you starting to sleep in

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<v Speaker 1>as much as you can when you have a young family.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well as much as you can exactly. But it's funny.

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<v Speaker 2>I the first thing you notice is the sleep, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's like, I haven't got to get up at three

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<v Speaker 2>point thirty in the morning. I haven't got a look

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<v Speaker 2>at that alarm clock and go, oh god. I just

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<v Speaker 2>walk into the bathroom And what I used to do

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<v Speaker 2>was I used to splash water on my face. I

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<v Speaker 2>had this routine going. I'd get up, I go to

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<v Speaker 2>the bathroom, try and not wake anyone up. Of course,

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<v Speaker 2>the first thing I did was just splash the water

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<v Speaker 2>on my face, and that was like, right, it's on.

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<v Speaker 2>Now I'm going and get to the studio. And I

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<v Speaker 2>was getting sleep. You know, you're getting sleep, and you

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<v Speaker 2>pretty soon you get into that pattern because you know

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<v Speaker 2>breakfast TV, it's you jet lagged, you know, it's it's

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<v Speaker 2>you never get enough sleep, and you've got to do

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<v Speaker 2>everything you can to stay you know, I guess healthy

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<v Speaker 2>and you know you've got to eat well, plenty of

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<v Speaker 2>water and stuff. But and when I when I was

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<v Speaker 2>doing it, I had three small kids. You know, that

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<v Speaker 2>was we were in the trenches.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you had babies being born while you were

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<v Speaker 1>doing that home shift, and that your life. You've got

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<v Speaker 1>that whole juggling act.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, and my wonderful wife, you know, so much

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<v Speaker 2>of it was on her and she had to do

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<v Speaker 2>so much, you know, all the mornings and getting those

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<v Speaker 2>kids ready for for preschool and you know school, and yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>she's she's a trooper.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people will also be wondering when they might see

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<v Speaker 1>you back on TV, and in fact, it's not going

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<v Speaker 1>to be too far off. I understand you've got some

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<v Speaker 1>news to show with us today. I've heard you might

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<v Speaker 1>be getting signed for seven News in Melbourne.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, it's really exciting and it's been in the works

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<v Speaker 2>for a little while and it's wonderful to be going

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<v Speaker 2>back to seven. You know, I had sixteen seventeen years

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<v Speaker 2>at seven and a lot of the people that I

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<v Speaker 2>worked with during that time are still there. And after

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<v Speaker 2>everything went down, Seven were one of the first people

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<v Speaker 2>on the phone to say, you know, you have our

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<v Speaker 2>support and if you want to come back, we're a

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<v Speaker 2>phone call away. And I can't tell you how much

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<v Speaker 2>that meant to me and my family. They know what

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<v Speaker 2>I can bring, and I thank them so much for

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<v Speaker 2>this opportunity to come back and do what I love doing,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, in that wonderful city we call Melbourne. So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm really appreciative and it's just nice to know that

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<v Speaker 2>I can sort of return there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, when you are returning to this, you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>have busy mornings because Radio five mornings a week, and

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<v Speaker 1>then you'll be I believe then appearing on seven News

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the afternoon. Is that right?

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<v Speaker 2>That's correct. So seven are going to be adding some

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<v Speaker 2>news offerings to their daytime lineup. So that's that's really exciting,

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<v Speaker 2>and news in this country across the board a broadcast

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<v Speaker 2>television news numbers are up, ratings are up across the board,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's and that's that's a really exciting thing. Like

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<v Speaker 2>people want their news, they want it fast, they want

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<v Speaker 2>it right, and seven is going to be adding to

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<v Speaker 2>that lineup, which is really exciting. I'm going to be

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<v Speaker 2>a part of that. I can't wait to be a

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<v Speaker 2>part of that. You know, you look at the Aaron

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<v Speaker 2>Patterson trial like that, that was just people are so interested,

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<v Speaker 2>people are so engaged and connected, you know, and that's

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<v Speaker 2>what I'm really looking forward to establishing that that connection

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<v Speaker 2>again with the audience. And they're supportive Bunch seven, like

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<v Speaker 2>they They've been very supportive of me, and there's a

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<v Speaker 2>and there's a real level of honesty there, which which

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<v Speaker 2>I really appreciate as well.

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<v Speaker 1>You are very interested in news, and you've been working

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<v Speaker 1>in sports for a long time. So with this new

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<v Speaker 1>role at seven, do you see yourself more broadening out

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<v Speaker 1>and getting back into a bit more of the news.

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<v Speaker 2>Definitely, And there's going to be sort of different roles,

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<v Speaker 2>different shows, different capacities, which I'd like to think. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>pretty versatile. Like I've always loved news and sport, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's what I've done my whole career. I've been lucky

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<v Speaker 2>in that I haven't had to choose between the two.

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<v Speaker 2>I've sort of always had one bubbling away and and

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<v Speaker 2>you know, with the Today Show, I was able to

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<v Speaker 2>sort of shift into you know, those hosting roles that

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<v Speaker 2>weren't necessarily sport, and so I'm glad that I'm keeping

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<v Speaker 2>the news chops. You know, I'm so curious. I'm so

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<v Speaker 2>fascinated by people and how they work and what makes

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<v Speaker 2>them tick, and and I'm so blessed to have the

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<v Speaker 2>career that I've had up until January of this year.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, traveling the world, you know, interviewing Ricky Gervais,

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<v Speaker 2>John bon Jovi, rescuing sun bears in Vietnam, sharing your

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<v Speaker 2>desks with amazing people on the Today Show. It's been

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<v Speaker 2>quite the ride. So I'm just really looking forward to

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<v Speaker 2>getting back into it and just connecting with people telling

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<v Speaker 2>their stories. It's not very nice being the story. It's

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<v Speaker 2>better telling the story.

0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:58.200
<v Speaker 1>You did find yourself at the center of a story,

0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.240
<v Speaker 1>and not just any story, really, Alex, one of the

0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.800
<v Speaker 1>biggest news stories of the year, which is a really

0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.160
<v Speaker 1>unexpected position for most people to find themselves in. Most

0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:14.160
<v Speaker 1>people will not find themselves in that position. Of course,

0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.400
<v Speaker 1>this is January we're talking about. It was a live

0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:21.080
<v Speaker 1>cross on the Today Show and you referred to Melbourne

0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:25.640
<v Speaker 1>businessman Adrian Portelli, who's often referred to as Lambeau Guy

0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:30.360
<v Speaker 1>by a new nickname he was trying to popularize, McClaren man.

0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:34.000
<v Speaker 1>He offered fifty thousand dollars to the first reporter or

0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:38.240
<v Speaker 1>presenter who used that new nickname on air. That would

0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:42.120
<v Speaker 1>prove to be you, with Adrian later sharing a screenshot

0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:45.480
<v Speaker 1>of a bank transfer of the fifty k that had

0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.440
<v Speaker 1>been transferred into your account. Over the following days, you

0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:53.080
<v Speaker 1>were stood down from today while mine reviewed the incident,

0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:57.559
<v Speaker 1>and days later it was announced you'd be leaving the network.

0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.760
<v Speaker 1>As I said, was absolutely massive story. This is the

0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:05.120
<v Speaker 1>first time that you've ever spoken about it. Can I

0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.680
<v Speaker 1>begin by asking you how it felt to be in

0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.200
<v Speaker 1>the eye of that storm in the immediate after marth

0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:13.480
<v Speaker 1>and while it was unfolding.

0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:18.320
<v Speaker 2>Oh, Sarah, it was the hardest toughest week of my

0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:23.360
<v Speaker 2>career by a country mile. You are in the eye

0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.800
<v Speaker 2>of the storm, as you say, you're the front project there,

0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:31.360
<v Speaker 2>old son. You're across all the new sites, and that

0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:35.960
<v Speaker 2>is a crazy place to be. You know, never in

0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:43.840
<v Speaker 2>a million years did I expect that all to go down. Luckily,

0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:47.880
<v Speaker 2>I had my family with me. I had my children,

0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.600
<v Speaker 2>my wife. I don't think I would have really got

0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:56.200
<v Speaker 2>through it without them. And that week was just a whirlwind.

0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.800
<v Speaker 2>It was like, is this really happening? And and yes,

0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:07.000
<v Speaker 2>it absolutely was. And I just somehow got through it.

0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:11.640
<v Speaker 2>And we had to get through it because the kids

0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:16.840
<v Speaker 2>were with us in Melbourne, and get this, it was

0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.960
<v Speaker 2>the girl's sixth birthday in the middle of that week,

0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:24.600
<v Speaker 2>and so you just had to put on this brave

0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:28.480
<v Speaker 2>face for them and make everything okay and happy. And

0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.680
<v Speaker 2>so we're getting the balloons and the cake and the

0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.600
<v Speaker 2>streamers and with all this going on in the background,

0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.880
<v Speaker 2>and you just got to do it. As a parent,

0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:41.120
<v Speaker 2>you know, you try and shield your kids from what's

0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:45.680
<v Speaker 2>going on. Did they know what was going on? I

0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.680
<v Speaker 2>think they did. I think the girls did. They saw

0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.760
<v Speaker 2>what I was going through, and you know, you're on

0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:57.880
<v Speaker 2>the phone and you're pacing and you're trying to survive

0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:06.040
<v Speaker 2>it all. And my my wife made this wish and

0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:08.600
<v Speaker 2>one of the girls said, oh, do you wish daddy

0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.800
<v Speaker 2>got his job back? And that really hit us. We're

0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:16.360
<v Speaker 2>like whoa, Like that's that tells us that they know

0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:20.960
<v Speaker 2>what's going on. And so that was very difficult, and

0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.800
<v Speaker 2>but you've just got to put one foot in front

0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.240
<v Speaker 2>of the other. You know, it's a tight old cliche,

0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.400
<v Speaker 2>but it's true. And I had a great team behind me,

0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.760
<v Speaker 2>you know, Profile Talent Management, and my wife was such

0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:39.520
<v Speaker 2>a pillar of strength. She was just like, We've just

0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:43.920
<v Speaker 2>got to get through this. Those closest to me, my

0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:49.240
<v Speaker 2>friends as well. And I can't tell you the support

0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:57.160
<v Speaker 2>that I was getting online from viewers, from people on

0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:59.960
<v Speaker 2>social media, and it was just it was quite overwhelming,

0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.120
<v Speaker 2>you know. It was there were thousands of messages, like

0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:08.240
<v Speaker 2>I was just like whoa and and I couldn't reply

0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.159
<v Speaker 2>to all of them. And I thank them from the

0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:14.240
<v Speaker 2>botto of my heart because it it meant so much,

0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:16.520
<v Speaker 2>Like it was like, oh wow, you know, I've got

0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.600
<v Speaker 2>this support. I've got these people who who know who

0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:24.119
<v Speaker 2>I am and who believe in me and and just

0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.719
<v Speaker 2>want the best for me and my family. And that

0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:31.520
<v Speaker 2>was that was big. That was really big. And I

0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:35.520
<v Speaker 2>still get messages. It's funny, you know, like it's really

0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:40.600
<v Speaker 2>lovely because you sometimes we forget in broadcast television that

0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:44.560
<v Speaker 2>we have that connection with people, you know, and there's

0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:48.440
<v Speaker 2>people out there that are suffering and and let me

0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:51.359
<v Speaker 2>say but it also that people are out there are

0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.320
<v Speaker 2>going through a lot worse than I went through, you know,

0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.480
<v Speaker 2>of course, you know there are parents right now going

0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:58.760
<v Speaker 2>to visit. There's six children in hospital. You know, there's

0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:02.680
<v Speaker 2>people a lot us off than I am. And and

0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:08.240
<v Speaker 2>I often was saying we're okay, we're healthy, not to

0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.879
<v Speaker 2>be morbid, but no one's dying. You know, we're going

0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:13.199
<v Speaker 2>to be all right. We just got to get through this.

0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.200
<v Speaker 2>But yeah, the supports incredible and that connection we had,

0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:20.080
<v Speaker 2>which which I miss a lot, you know, and initially

0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:21.879
<v Speaker 2>I missed a lot, that connection with our viewers and

0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:27.160
<v Speaker 2>and just for them to come up to me sometimes

0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:31.040
<v Speaker 2>in the street, you know, how you doing? Are you okay?

0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:35.160
<v Speaker 2>And that's all people have to say. You know, when

0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.760
<v Speaker 2>you know someone says and cares about you and are

0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.439
<v Speaker 2>you okay, that's a really nice thing. And even I

0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.760
<v Speaker 2>did a function out at Penrith and Western Sydney a

0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.320
<v Speaker 2>couple of nights ago and Ray, I don't know. Ray,

0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.960
<v Speaker 2>he said, mate, I hope you're doing okay, and I'm like, yeah,

0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.000
<v Speaker 2>I am. And he said just promise me one thing.

0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.560
<v Speaker 2>He said, you just keep being you and oh I

0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:01.800
<v Speaker 2>just went wow, I will. Ray. You know, it's a

0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:03.840
<v Speaker 2>good luck in Melbourne. You know, I wish you and

0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:05.840
<v Speaker 2>your family all the best and that and that means

0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:06.359
<v Speaker 2>the world to me.

0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:13.000
<v Speaker 1>Keep being You were there moments where that did become difficult, especially.

0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:16.600
<v Speaker 2>On that roller coaster, because you question your judgment, you

0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:23.480
<v Speaker 2>question your you know, you question everything. Really, You're like,

0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:27.520
<v Speaker 2>why did I do? What? What? What happened there? What?

0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:30.359
<v Speaker 2>How did I get in this situation? I mean, I

0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.040
<v Speaker 2>know how I got in this situation. But you just

0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:38.160
<v Speaker 2>think to yourself, you idiot, you know, and your confidence

0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:42.160
<v Speaker 2>is shot, you know, your your ability to to make

0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:44.720
<v Speaker 2>judgment on things, and you're just like, oh my god.

0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:49.080
<v Speaker 2>So you've got to really reset yourself. You've got to

0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:53.000
<v Speaker 2>You've got to look around yourself and and look at

0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:58.080
<v Speaker 2>what's important and you know, my family, you know, my health,

0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:06.240
<v Speaker 2>and just try and try and get through. Yeah. It's

0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:10.720
<v Speaker 2>I went to some dark places, you know, I really did.

0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:15.640
<v Speaker 2>And because everything you work towards, everything, you know, everything

0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:20.920
<v Speaker 2>you love is suddenly gone and you're like, whoa, okay,

0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.919
<v Speaker 2>what now? You know? And that was that was a

0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:28.400
<v Speaker 2>hard pill of swallow. I thought I'm out now, there's

0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:29.960
<v Speaker 2>no way I'm getting back in, you know, there's I

0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:31.600
<v Speaker 2>thought I'm done. What am I going to do? I

0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.280
<v Speaker 2>had a mate ring me and say hey, there's some

0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:36.000
<v Speaker 2>work at our nursery. Why don't you come and do

0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.080
<v Speaker 2>some work. You know, I'm like, okay, yeah, thanks mate,

0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:40.920
<v Speaker 2>and then he goes and then another mate's rang and said,

0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:46.800
<v Speaker 2>we got a property up near Nimbon. It's my dad's property.

0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:49.040
<v Speaker 2>You needs a farm manager. Do you want to manage it?

0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.840
<v Speaker 2>And I was like, oh, let me think about it,

0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:56.240
<v Speaker 2>and you know, you're entertain these thoughts. You think maybe

0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:01.000
<v Speaker 2>that's what I've got to do. Luckily I have the

0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:04.400
<v Speaker 2>Penrith Panthers. I do a lot of MC work with them.

0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:07.240
<v Speaker 2>And one of the first people on the phone was

0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:10.439
<v Speaker 2>Brian Fletcher, the Panther's boss, and he said, you have

0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:15.240
<v Speaker 2>our support any work that's going your way. So I

0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:22.240
<v Speaker 2>had that and plus other corporate gigs as well. So yeah,

0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:25.200
<v Speaker 2>it was It was a difficult time, Sarah.

0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:29.480
<v Speaker 1>It's been six months, Alex. Were there times where you thought, well,

0:21:29.520 --> 0:21:32.040
<v Speaker 1>this is the end of the road for me in

0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:35.080
<v Speaker 1>media and it is time to start a new career.

0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:36.800
<v Speaker 1>Don't know, if I see you at a nursery, I

0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:41.000
<v Speaker 1>mean friends to that well meeting friend but whatever plants

0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:43.679
<v Speaker 1>And if you did think that, did you think that

0:21:43.880 --> 0:21:49.399
<v Speaker 1>was becauseful circumstances that's I won't get another shot in

0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:54.680
<v Speaker 1>the industry. Reputational damage is just too much. But also, well,

0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:59.640
<v Speaker 1>I'm done now as in the scrutiny this moment happening

0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.080
<v Speaker 1>on a public scale, I just don't want to put

0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:05.520
<v Speaker 1>myself back in the situation. How much, if at all,

0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:06.720
<v Speaker 1>did you entertain.

0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.720
<v Speaker 2>That you will know, this is a brutal game. It's tough,

0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:14.600
<v Speaker 2>you know. I've had a lot of ups and downs

0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:19.119
<v Speaker 2>in this in this job, you know, starting out in

0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.560
<v Speaker 2>regional TV and then going into seven in Perth, but

0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:27.080
<v Speaker 2>to seven in Sydney. You know, Peter Meekin pulling him

0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:29.520
<v Speaker 2>into his office and saying, mate, I've got good news

0:22:29.520 --> 0:22:31.760
<v Speaker 2>and I've got bad news. This is when I was

0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:35.080
<v Speaker 2>presenting sport at the time next to Ian Ross. Wow.

0:22:35.400 --> 0:22:37.919
<v Speaker 2>I was like, I'm this kid from cananble in the

0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:39.840
<v Speaker 2>middle of nowhere. I'm sitting next to Ian Ross. This

0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:42.280
<v Speaker 2>is crazy. And we did that for a while and

0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.520
<v Speaker 2>then I was next to Bathy and it was going well.

0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:46.000
<v Speaker 2>But Peter Meekan pulls me and he says, mate, I

0:22:46.040 --> 0:22:49.040
<v Speaker 2>got good news and bad news. Bad news is you're

0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:51.040
<v Speaker 2>not doing sport anymore. The good news is you going

0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:56.800
<v Speaker 2>to Sunday Night. Great amazing and I'm this, you know,

0:22:56.840 --> 0:22:59.360
<v Speaker 2>twenty eight, twenty nine year old guy traveling the world

0:22:59.400 --> 0:23:01.280
<v Speaker 2>for the next ten year is just having a ball.

0:23:02.160 --> 0:23:05.359
<v Speaker 2>And that was incredible. You know that that was just

0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:09.440
<v Speaker 2>a wild, amazing time. And then that show got asked

0:23:09.800 --> 0:23:12.080
<v Speaker 2>and I was in New Zealand. We were shooting this

0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.400
<v Speaker 2>story on the Pike River mine disaster where twenty nine

0:23:16.320 --> 0:23:20.400
<v Speaker 2>men lost their lives in this mine in New Zealand.

0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:27.679
<v Speaker 2>Terrible story, very sad. And we travel over with the

0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:31.000
<v Speaker 2>mother of one of these miners, Joe Upha, and we

0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:33.960
<v Speaker 2>did this incredible story. We shot it. It was great. Anyway,

0:23:34.320 --> 0:23:37.320
<v Speaker 2>we knew the end was nigh for Sunday and night

0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:43.560
<v Speaker 2>and we finally got the phone call and it's done.

0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:49.760
<v Speaker 2>The show's done. Come back cochr And that's it. And

0:23:49.800 --> 0:23:51.679
<v Speaker 2>we luckily we got to shoot the rest of the

0:23:51.720 --> 0:23:54.120
<v Speaker 2>story and it went to where and it was one

0:23:54.119 --> 0:23:57.359
<v Speaker 2>of my one of the stories I'm the most proud of.

0:23:58.040 --> 0:24:01.880
<v Speaker 2>And I'm pacing up and down this New Zealand hotel

0:24:02.000 --> 0:24:06.960
<v Speaker 2>ringing my wife. We have eight month old twin daughters. Hey, darling,

0:24:08.680 --> 0:24:12.520
<v Speaker 2>I'm out of a job. What are we gonna do

0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:15.800
<v Speaker 2>and she's like, oh my god, are you serious. I'm like, yes, yes.

0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:18.879
<v Speaker 2>So it was good in the sense that I was

0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:24.119
<v Speaker 2>there for those those twins, those beautiful, wonderful, amazing twins

0:24:24.119 --> 0:24:26.520
<v Speaker 2>of mine, and you know, helping out with the sleep

0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:28.320
<v Speaker 2>and the routine and stuff. But at the same time

0:24:28.359 --> 0:24:31.760
<v Speaker 2>I was like, oh God. And then of course Channel

0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:39.440
<v Speaker 2>nine getting contact and that was wow, fantastic, Hey, back

0:24:39.480 --> 0:24:43.080
<v Speaker 2>of the job, you know, today's show amazing. And then

0:24:43.440 --> 0:24:47.120
<v Speaker 2>fast forward to January of this year. So it's a

0:24:47.160 --> 0:24:50.600
<v Speaker 2>brutal game. And yeah, I've had those thoughts definitely, like

0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:57.760
<v Speaker 2>I'm done, I can't go through this again. But I

0:24:57.800 --> 0:25:01.080
<v Speaker 2>love it. I've always loved it. It's all. It's all

0:25:01.080 --> 0:25:03.639
<v Speaker 2>I've ever wanted to do. Since I was twelve years old.

0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:05.879
<v Speaker 2>I had a tape recorder. I would I would go

0:25:05.960 --> 0:25:09.399
<v Speaker 2>around interviewing people, you know, the old tape recorder. We

0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:11.600
<v Speaker 2>had hit record and play at the same time. I do,

0:25:12.240 --> 0:25:15.560
<v Speaker 2>and I recorded myself commentating imaginary over league games and

0:25:16.359 --> 0:25:19.359
<v Speaker 2>AFL and tennis matches, and and I played it at

0:25:19.400 --> 0:25:21.800
<v Speaker 2>the class in year six and they loved it. I went, oh,

0:25:21.880 --> 0:25:26.600
<v Speaker 2>this is me, this is great, and I just I

0:25:26.640 --> 0:25:32.199
<v Speaker 2>can't imagine doing it myself doing anything else. I just

0:25:32.320 --> 0:25:34.480
<v Speaker 2>I just love it. I love that connection with people.

0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:37.920
<v Speaker 2>I love, you know, telling people stories and if and

0:25:37.960 --> 0:25:41.120
<v Speaker 2>if you help that person, all those people even better,

0:25:41.720 --> 0:25:45.879
<v Speaker 2>you know, And I just love I just love it.

0:25:45.960 --> 0:25:49.399
<v Speaker 2>And I think I'm okay at it. You know, I've

0:25:49.440 --> 0:25:53.560
<v Speaker 2>survived this long and and I'm so thankful that that

0:25:54.480 --> 0:25:58.000
<v Speaker 2>gold FM arn and Channel seven and going to give

0:25:58.000 --> 0:26:00.480
<v Speaker 2>me those opportunities to come back and do what I love.

0:26:00.359 --> 0:26:05.000
<v Speaker 1>Doing and coming up. Alex opens up about what it's

0:26:05.080 --> 0:26:07.680
<v Speaker 1>like to find out who your real friends are, both

0:26:07.720 --> 0:26:14.240
<v Speaker 1>inside and outside the media during those months. Did you

0:26:14.400 --> 0:26:18.520
<v Speaker 1>feel support from people in the industry? You often can

0:26:18.600 --> 0:26:21.480
<v Speaker 1>tell who your friends are and what people are made

0:26:21.560 --> 0:26:23.960
<v Speaker 1>of and he'll be loyal and the people that will

0:26:24.000 --> 0:26:26.640
<v Speaker 1>be there for the good times and run a mile.

0:26:26.680 --> 0:26:29.439
<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry. Have we ever met during the not so

0:26:29.560 --> 0:26:32.880
<v Speaker 1>good times? Yes, necessarily asking you to name names, although

0:26:32.920 --> 0:26:36.679
<v Speaker 1>you're absolutely very welcome, But generally in terms of the

0:26:36.720 --> 0:26:39.959
<v Speaker 1>people that you've worked with over the years, different networks

0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:43.760
<v Speaker 1>and people behind the scenes and people on air, did

0:26:43.800 --> 0:26:46.639
<v Speaker 1>you feel, as you say, you had that great outpouring

0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:48.840
<v Speaker 1>of support from the public, And I think that was

0:26:48.920 --> 0:26:52.440
<v Speaker 1>quite visible also to a lot of people. You've got

0:26:52.440 --> 0:26:56.280
<v Speaker 1>that sentiment. But within the industry, what was the mood

0:26:56.359 --> 0:26:59.040
<v Speaker 1>and how has it things been on that front the

0:26:59.080 --> 0:27:00.199
<v Speaker 1>past six months?

0:27:00.560 --> 0:27:04.239
<v Speaker 2>Good? Great, you know, and you know that they can

0:27:04.280 --> 0:27:07.960
<v Speaker 2>sympathize because they all know how tough this industry is

0:27:08.040 --> 0:27:10.840
<v Speaker 2>and how brutal it can be. And I've had a

0:27:10.840 --> 0:27:13.359
<v Speaker 2>lot of messages of support from from people in the

0:27:13.400 --> 0:27:18.320
<v Speaker 2>media and former colleagues too, which is which is really spiritual.

0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:23.600
<v Speaker 2>But you do you learn a lot about yourself, and

0:27:23.640 --> 0:27:27.119
<v Speaker 2>you learn a lot about the people around you, and

0:27:27.160 --> 0:27:29.520
<v Speaker 2>you learn about the people who are there for you

0:27:29.600 --> 0:27:32.119
<v Speaker 2>and then learn about the ones that aren't. And that's

0:27:32.359 --> 0:27:37.239
<v Speaker 2>that's quite a learning curve. You're like, oh, okay, they

0:27:37.240 --> 0:27:41.359
<v Speaker 2>haven't reached out, that's fine, that's okay. And then people

0:27:42.080 --> 0:27:45.159
<v Speaker 2>out of the blue, like mates from school that I

0:27:45.200 --> 0:27:50.479
<v Speaker 2>haven't really talked to in years, calling me, mate, are

0:27:50.480 --> 0:27:54.560
<v Speaker 2>you okay? I saw what happened? Oh my god, you know,

0:27:54.640 --> 0:27:58.800
<v Speaker 2>let's let's let's catch up for coffee, you know. So,

0:27:59.520 --> 0:28:02.440
<v Speaker 2>but look, yeah, colleagues have been have been really supportive,

0:28:03.520 --> 0:28:08.800
<v Speaker 2>especially in the aftermath, which has been good. And you know,

0:28:08.840 --> 0:28:13.080
<v Speaker 2>it's it's It's happened again recently with the project, you know,

0:28:13.640 --> 0:28:15.199
<v Speaker 2>and I know a lot of people on that on

0:28:15.240 --> 0:28:18.480
<v Speaker 2>that show, and I've reached out to them because what

0:28:18.520 --> 0:28:22.639
<v Speaker 2>I've learned is that you know, you've got to be

0:28:23.000 --> 0:28:27.480
<v Speaker 2>that compassionate person. You've got to you know, there are

0:28:27.560 --> 0:28:30.920
<v Speaker 2>other people going through what I've gone through, and it's

0:28:30.960 --> 0:28:34.160
<v Speaker 2>a lived experience. You know. I have that experience. Now

0:28:34.520 --> 0:28:37.040
<v Speaker 2>I know what it's like, So I'm going to be

0:28:37.640 --> 0:28:40.120
<v Speaker 2>even more likely to and to pick up the phone

0:28:40.120 --> 0:28:41.520
<v Speaker 2>and ring that person and go, hey, it's going to

0:28:41.520 --> 0:28:41.920
<v Speaker 2>be okay.

0:28:42.480 --> 0:28:45.400
<v Speaker 1>I imagine it would change you as a journalist as well,

0:28:45.680 --> 0:28:48.120
<v Speaker 1>because this is part of the culture that we're living in,

0:28:48.240 --> 0:28:50.440
<v Speaker 1>and a lot of it is fed on social media

0:28:50.520 --> 0:28:54.240
<v Speaker 1>because it's quite anonymous and faceless, and that's the home

0:28:54.320 --> 0:28:58.200
<v Speaker 1>really of you know, mob mentality and pylon culture. But

0:28:58.240 --> 0:29:02.160
<v Speaker 1>it then becomes a sentiment that everyone becomes that feeding frenzy,

0:29:02.680 --> 0:29:06.000
<v Speaker 1>and we intellectually understand it. But to find yourself in

0:29:06.040 --> 0:29:09.640
<v Speaker 1>the middle of that, would I imagine that lived experience

0:29:09.680 --> 0:29:13.800
<v Speaker 1>will completely change your perspective, that empathy for the person

0:29:13.880 --> 0:29:16.880
<v Speaker 1>that's at the heart of it, whatever has brought them there.

0:29:17.560 --> 0:29:19.360
<v Speaker 1>Would that be true? And you think that will change

0:29:19.360 --> 0:29:22.040
<v Speaker 1>you as a person, but also as a journalist one.

0:29:22.760 --> 0:29:27.960
<v Speaker 2>Oh, yeah, you know, and that experience, yeah, has taught

0:29:28.000 --> 0:29:33.960
<v Speaker 2>me to be more compassionate, to be resilient, to be present,

0:29:34.880 --> 0:29:40.440
<v Speaker 2>to listen and and be there for people that are

0:29:40.440 --> 0:29:44.360
<v Speaker 2>going through similar things, because it's yeah, mental health is

0:29:44.120 --> 0:29:46.800
<v Speaker 2>a big thing, you know, and it didn't used to be,

0:29:47.360 --> 0:29:51.840
<v Speaker 2>especially in this industry. You know. Gee, you know what

0:29:51.880 --> 0:29:58.040
<v Speaker 2>it's like. And you know, the old school news editors

0:29:58.120 --> 0:30:03.160
<v Speaker 2>and news bosses and jeez, I've seen some tough ones,

0:30:04.200 --> 0:30:08.680
<v Speaker 2>some equally great ones. But now we're all a lot

0:30:08.760 --> 0:30:13.880
<v Speaker 2>more attuned to being okay and and letting other people

0:30:14.240 --> 0:30:18.120
<v Speaker 2>know that we're not okay. But yeah, I've learned a

0:30:18.160 --> 0:30:23.280
<v Speaker 2>lot about my mental health and my capacity and when

0:30:23.320 --> 0:30:27.560
<v Speaker 2>I need to, you know, take a step back and

0:30:27.560 --> 0:30:34.480
<v Speaker 2>and have that perspective too, and really look at what's

0:30:34.520 --> 0:30:37.720
<v Speaker 2>important to me. Control what I can control, don't worry

0:30:37.720 --> 0:30:40.480
<v Speaker 2>about the other stuff. And I say that to people now,

0:30:40.560 --> 0:30:45.280
<v Speaker 2>you know. We had this this coach at school and

0:30:45.320 --> 0:30:50.480
<v Speaker 2>he said, control the controllables or the uncontrollables will control you.

0:30:51.600 --> 0:30:54.440
<v Speaker 2>And I'm like, that is so true. It's so it's

0:30:54.480 --> 0:30:58.400
<v Speaker 2>so hard sometimes and Bonnie. My wife's like, stop worrying,

0:30:58.480 --> 0:31:01.400
<v Speaker 2>stop overthinking things. What are you doing? And I'm like,

0:31:01.680 --> 0:31:05.840
<v Speaker 2>that's just who I am. But it's a real exercise

0:31:06.040 --> 0:31:10.360
<v Speaker 2>in trying to keep those negative thoughts away and out

0:31:10.480 --> 0:31:15.440
<v Speaker 2>and just you know, controlling what you can control in.

0:31:15.440 --> 0:31:18.880
<v Speaker 1>The context of not only your career but your life.

0:31:19.280 --> 0:31:23.760
<v Speaker 1>Would this chapter what happened professionally, the impact on your career,

0:31:23.800 --> 0:31:27.840
<v Speaker 1>the impact on your family, it happening at such a huge,

0:31:28.160 --> 0:31:32.440
<v Speaker 1>highly scrutinized scale. Would this have been the worst thing

0:31:32.480 --> 0:31:33.240
<v Speaker 1>that you've been.

0:31:33.120 --> 0:31:39.280
<v Speaker 2>Through in my career? Yes, definitely in my life. No,

0:31:41.680 --> 0:31:45.000
<v Speaker 2>The death of my father is like, you know, that

0:31:45.680 --> 0:31:53.120
<v Speaker 2>is that was big and I think that experience with

0:31:53.320 --> 0:32:02.280
<v Speaker 2>him stealed me for life's challenges ahead. He he was

0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:07.680
<v Speaker 2>my hero, you know. And oh sorry, it's a it's

0:32:07.720 --> 0:32:10.760
<v Speaker 2>a funny thing. I still get upset about it. And

0:32:13.560 --> 0:32:17.960
<v Speaker 2>he was such a big influence on my life and

0:32:18.040 --> 0:32:25.600
<v Speaker 2>still is and I miss him every day. It's it's

0:32:25.680 --> 0:32:28.360
<v Speaker 2>upsetting that he never got to meet my kids, you know,

0:32:30.600 --> 0:32:34.520
<v Speaker 2>but that's life. And he's always there with me, you know.

0:32:34.640 --> 0:32:39.880
<v Speaker 2>I he would always say you'll be right, mate, you know,

0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:43.040
<v Speaker 2>this big burly farmer you'll be right. He was the

0:32:43.080 --> 0:32:49.800
<v Speaker 2>most positive, caring, compassionate man, and you know, I just

0:32:50.720 --> 0:32:53.120
<v Speaker 2>if I can be like that. You know. It was

0:32:53.160 --> 0:32:56.840
<v Speaker 2>funny thinking about him before I sat down with you,

0:32:56.880 --> 0:33:03.040
<v Speaker 2>and he was, you know, shy counselor for thirty plus

0:33:03.160 --> 0:33:05.600
<v Speaker 2>years in town and I just went out there that

0:33:05.680 --> 0:33:09.520
<v Speaker 2>they opened a bridge named after him. And I remember

0:33:09.800 --> 0:33:12.040
<v Speaker 2>going to town with him, and I was like, oh God,

0:33:12.400 --> 0:33:15.200
<v Speaker 2>go to town with Dad, because he'd be there for hours,

0:33:15.240 --> 0:33:21.960
<v Speaker 2>like talking to everyone, interested in people, and I'm a

0:33:21.960 --> 0:33:24.640
<v Speaker 2>bit the same. But you know, it's weird, you know,

0:33:24.880 --> 0:33:28.000
<v Speaker 2>I and I my kids like that with me. Now

0:33:28.040 --> 0:33:29.960
<v Speaker 2>they're like, oh, Dad, come on, we're gonna go. I'm like, no,

0:33:30.440 --> 0:33:32.320
<v Speaker 2>I'll talk to Anthony the hairdresser, and I'll be at

0:33:32.320 --> 0:33:34.920
<v Speaker 2>the coffee shop if you're talking to them. And I

0:33:34.960 --> 0:33:39.120
<v Speaker 2>think I share that that interesting people and that that

0:33:39.240 --> 0:33:44.800
<v Speaker 2>kind of compassionate. I don't know, I am. I just

0:33:44.880 --> 0:33:48.360
<v Speaker 2>love being around people. I love hearing their stories. And

0:33:48.440 --> 0:33:51.400
<v Speaker 2>Dad was an amazing storyteller, you know, like his father

0:33:51.520 --> 0:33:54.120
<v Speaker 2>as well and my uncle. And I remember as a kid,

0:33:54.200 --> 0:33:57.280
<v Speaker 2>like you're sitting around listening to these yarns, you know,

0:33:57.440 --> 0:34:02.560
<v Speaker 2>in a wool shed and It was incredible, and I

0:34:02.640 --> 0:34:04.560
<v Speaker 2>like to think I can I'm doing that now with

0:34:04.960 --> 0:34:08.600
<v Speaker 2>my job. You're doing the storytelling and listening to the

0:34:08.640 --> 0:34:12.680
<v Speaker 2>rhythm and the cadence and the punchlines and the It's

0:34:12.680 --> 0:34:17.520
<v Speaker 2>an art form, you know, those bush yarns. And I

0:34:17.560 --> 0:34:19.480
<v Speaker 2>missed that so much with Dad. And every time we

0:34:19.560 --> 0:34:21.920
<v Speaker 2>tell a story, he would embellish it and we were like,

0:34:21.960 --> 0:34:24.319
<v Speaker 2>oh god, Dad, come on, that didn't happen. Yes it did,

0:34:24.360 --> 0:34:30.480
<v Speaker 2>It's fine. And yeah. He was a big influence and

0:34:31.920 --> 0:34:33.480
<v Speaker 2>he was going to be a journal himself, which is

0:34:33.520 --> 0:34:36.000
<v Speaker 2>which is kind of interesting. He had a cannetch it

0:34:36.040 --> 0:34:39.719
<v Speaker 2>with the Daily Mirror at the time and his dad,

0:34:39.760 --> 0:34:41.520
<v Speaker 2>this is back in the mid sixties, and his dad

0:34:41.560 --> 0:34:42.920
<v Speaker 2>was like, no, no, you've got to come home and

0:34:43.200 --> 0:34:46.560
<v Speaker 2>cut scrub for this drought nineteen sixty six droughut one

0:34:46.600 --> 0:34:50.479
<v Speaker 2>of the worst time record. And I think he Yeah,

0:34:50.760 --> 0:34:53.759
<v Speaker 2>he really wanted to be in the media, I think,

0:34:53.800 --> 0:34:55.520
<v Speaker 2>you know. And he he would always write for the

0:34:55.520 --> 0:34:58.480
<v Speaker 2>local paper. He had his column, and I remember the

0:34:58.600 --> 0:35:00.520
<v Speaker 2>editor ring and gain is your father home. I'm like,

0:35:00.560 --> 0:35:03.160
<v Speaker 2>oh god, what have you done? Now? What have you said?

0:35:03.360 --> 0:35:05.560
<v Speaker 2>You know, It's like I'm going to get super many.

0:35:05.640 --> 0:35:07.040
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to get super a million dollars, but I

0:35:07.040 --> 0:35:08.680
<v Speaker 2>don't put an apology in the paper, so he'd had

0:35:08.719 --> 0:35:11.320
<v Speaker 2>begun and do it. But he was very well read.

0:35:12.680 --> 0:35:16.399
<v Speaker 2>I loved what I was doing, so supportive and said

0:35:16.400 --> 0:35:19.200
<v Speaker 2>to me on a couple of occasions, Mate, don't come

0:35:19.239 --> 0:35:22.520
<v Speaker 2>back here, you know, to the farm. He never pressured

0:35:22.560 --> 0:35:26.440
<v Speaker 2>me to come back to the farm, which I was

0:35:26.520 --> 0:35:32.120
<v Speaker 2>so grateful for. And yeah, he was. He was great

0:35:32.120 --> 0:35:34.200
<v Speaker 2>at sort of picking up on when I was down

0:35:34.239 --> 0:35:36.000
<v Speaker 2>and when I was. He was a great reader of people,

0:35:36.080 --> 0:35:40.640
<v Speaker 2>and I miss him terribly. But yeah, that was. That

0:35:40.680 --> 0:35:44.839
<v Speaker 2>was the toughest And yeah, there'll be there'll be many,

0:35:45.440 --> 0:35:50.239
<v Speaker 2>you know, tough situations ahead, but yeah, that was. That

0:35:50.360 --> 0:35:53.680
<v Speaker 2>was a very, very difficult period.

0:35:55.239 --> 0:35:57.440
<v Speaker 1>We've talked a bit about some of the reflections and

0:35:57.480 --> 0:36:01.400
<v Speaker 1>what you've learned about yourself and what you're When you

0:36:01.440 --> 0:36:04.560
<v Speaker 1>look at what happened on air that day, how do

0:36:04.680 --> 0:36:09.000
<v Speaker 1>you characterize it? Do you think of it as a mistake?

0:36:09.640 --> 0:36:12.680
<v Speaker 1>Is there a word that comes to mind when you

0:36:12.719 --> 0:36:14.000
<v Speaker 1>think about what happened.

0:36:14.160 --> 0:36:19.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was a silly mistake and one I should

0:36:19.719 --> 0:36:23.440
<v Speaker 2>have thought through, of course, and but hindsight, it's a

0:36:23.480 --> 0:36:26.759
<v Speaker 2>wonderful thing, you know, And I can't go back and

0:36:26.880 --> 0:36:32.319
<v Speaker 2>change it. I can't change any of it. It's it's there,

0:36:32.480 --> 0:36:35.680
<v Speaker 2>It's for all for everyone to see. It's it's online,

0:36:35.719 --> 0:36:38.440
<v Speaker 2>it's if you if you want to have a look

0:36:38.440 --> 0:36:40.480
<v Speaker 2>at the story. It's it's all there, and which is

0:36:40.640 --> 0:36:45.760
<v Speaker 2>which is quite you know, weird as well. It's all

0:36:45.840 --> 0:36:49.600
<v Speaker 2>It's all out there still, and that's okay. I get

0:36:49.640 --> 0:36:52.400
<v Speaker 2>the chance now to rewrite the next chapter, you know.

0:36:52.560 --> 0:36:55.879
<v Speaker 2>I get the chance to to go out and do

0:36:56.120 --> 0:37:01.080
<v Speaker 2>what I'm what I'm sort of wanting to do and

0:37:01.320 --> 0:37:05.560
<v Speaker 2>what I love doing. But I can't change it. You know.

0:37:07.440 --> 0:37:12.840
<v Speaker 2>I've learned to be resilient. I've learned to think a

0:37:12.840 --> 0:37:23.879
<v Speaker 2>lot harder before I speak. And yeah, yeah.

0:37:22.360 --> 0:37:26.959
<v Speaker 1>I know there's some parameters around what you can say

0:37:27.080 --> 0:37:29.759
<v Speaker 1>about partying ways with Nine. We had worked on the

0:37:29.760 --> 0:37:35.200
<v Speaker 1>Today Show for five years. Are you at peace with

0:37:35.440 --> 0:37:38.280
<v Speaker 1>how your relationship with the network ended?

0:37:38.840 --> 0:37:42.040
<v Speaker 2>I am, Yeah, I'm okay with it. Look, Nine made

0:37:42.040 --> 0:37:45.960
<v Speaker 2>their decision. I made mine, and that's okay. You know.

0:37:47.560 --> 0:37:51.040
<v Speaker 2>I don't harbor any negative thoughts. That's not good for

0:37:51.160 --> 0:37:57.160
<v Speaker 2>me or anyone. And I choose to look back on

0:37:57.200 --> 0:38:00.400
<v Speaker 2>my time at nine as a really great time, you

0:38:00.440 --> 0:38:04.160
<v Speaker 2>know it was. It was a wonderful five years with

0:38:04.680 --> 0:38:09.000
<v Speaker 2>some really great people. I got to sit in that

0:38:09.120 --> 0:38:13.920
<v Speaker 2>chair with Karl and Ali and Sarah and Brooke and

0:38:13.960 --> 0:38:19.480
<v Speaker 2>Tim and Renee and just shoot the breeze each morning

0:38:19.680 --> 0:38:23.839
<v Speaker 2>and talk about sport and life and and we got

0:38:23.840 --> 0:38:26.440
<v Speaker 2>to travel around the country as well, and you know,

0:38:26.520 --> 0:38:30.040
<v Speaker 2>state of Origins and those sorts of things. But no,

0:38:30.360 --> 0:38:33.759
<v Speaker 2>I'm okay with it. You know, I'm looking forward now.

0:38:34.000 --> 0:38:37.200
<v Speaker 2>You know, I'm ready for the next chapter. I'm ready

0:38:37.239 --> 0:38:39.279
<v Speaker 2>for what comes next.

0:38:40.840 --> 0:38:46.000
<v Speaker 1>And can I ask you about Adrian for Telly? Obviously

0:38:46.200 --> 0:38:50.919
<v Speaker 1>he in the days after he's confirmed, well actually nine

0:38:50.920 --> 0:38:53.960
<v Speaker 1>confirmed that the money had been returned. But then Adrian

0:38:54.120 --> 0:38:56.880
<v Speaker 1>came out and said he then had donated the money

0:38:57.200 --> 0:39:02.080
<v Speaker 1>to the RSPCA and the Salvation. Have you spoken to

0:39:02.239 --> 0:39:05.319
<v Speaker 1>him since, and how are things with the two of you?

0:39:05.600 --> 0:39:06.920
<v Speaker 1>How's he feeling about?

0:39:07.640 --> 0:39:10.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, we had a really good conversation after it happened,

0:39:11.080 --> 0:39:14.239
<v Speaker 2>might have been a month or two after, and he

0:39:14.360 --> 0:39:19.080
<v Speaker 2>was very respectful, very honest. He felt bad about what

0:39:19.239 --> 0:39:24.560
<v Speaker 2>had transpired, and I assured him that, hey, it was

0:39:24.640 --> 0:39:28.560
<v Speaker 2>me standing there that morning saying those words. Don't feel

0:39:28.560 --> 0:39:32.680
<v Speaker 2>bad about it, and we had a really good conversation

0:39:33.840 --> 0:39:37.000
<v Speaker 2>and he's a busy man. I'm about to be a

0:39:37.120 --> 0:39:39.920
<v Speaker 2>very busy man. And we left it at that. So

0:39:40.880 --> 0:39:42.400
<v Speaker 2>now we had a good chat, and it was important

0:39:42.400 --> 0:39:44.640
<v Speaker 2>we did sit down and talk about it because it

0:39:44.680 --> 0:39:50.799
<v Speaker 2>was a pretty seismic moment in my life. And yeah,

0:39:50.800 --> 0:39:51.440
<v Speaker 2>we left it at that.

0:39:52.880 --> 0:39:55.680
<v Speaker 1>Very few people, I think listening or reading or watching

0:39:55.760 --> 0:39:59.239
<v Speaker 1>will find themselves in this position, as in I was saying,

0:39:59.280 --> 0:40:01.600
<v Speaker 1>I don't know exactly know what the percentage is. But

0:40:01.640 --> 0:40:04.080
<v Speaker 1>the people that, for whatever reason, from any walk of

0:40:04.120 --> 0:40:07.240
<v Speaker 1>life that find themselves in this I have a media

0:40:07.280 --> 0:40:11.520
<v Speaker 1>storm because whatever circumstances can happen, we see viral moments

0:40:11.920 --> 0:40:15.600
<v Speaker 1>to people that are completely unexpected, whether they work in

0:40:15.640 --> 0:40:18.720
<v Speaker 1>the media or not. You've spoken a little bit about

0:40:18.719 --> 0:40:22.359
<v Speaker 1>what your advice would be, what you've learned about how

0:40:22.400 --> 0:40:25.920
<v Speaker 1>you'd react, What would your advice be to anyone that's

0:40:26.120 --> 0:40:29.960
<v Speaker 1>in the middle of a situation or find themselves suddenly

0:40:30.160 --> 0:40:33.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, a meme, a moment on the front page

0:40:33.360 --> 0:40:36.640
<v Speaker 1>of all of the news sites in the country. Any

0:40:36.760 --> 0:40:40.879
<v Speaker 1>lessons just in case, little user guide from Alex Salin.

0:40:41.920 --> 0:40:48.440
<v Speaker 2>Exercise walks, long walks, they have got me through a

0:40:48.440 --> 0:40:57.120
<v Speaker 2>lot long walks, podcasts or a run. That's that's the

0:40:57.160 --> 0:41:01.120
<v Speaker 2>elixir of getting through because you can kindind of shut

0:41:01.160 --> 0:41:03.920
<v Speaker 2>yourself off for a while. You can get it. You're

0:41:03.960 --> 0:41:07.600
<v Speaker 2>out in the open, you're out in nature. Nature is

0:41:07.640 --> 0:41:11.880
<v Speaker 2>a big one, you know, getting into walking, running, whatever

0:41:11.920 --> 0:41:19.040
<v Speaker 2>it is, and meditating. I strongly advise people to meditate.

0:41:19.120 --> 0:41:23.680
<v Speaker 2>And I've never really meditated before, and I only discovered

0:41:23.680 --> 0:41:28.239
<v Speaker 2>it from this experience. A made of mine sent me

0:41:28.280 --> 0:41:31.520
<v Speaker 2>this book called ten Percent Happier. It's about this American

0:41:31.600 --> 0:41:35.280
<v Speaker 2>journo who had a very similar creed of mine actually,

0:41:35.480 --> 0:41:40.239
<v Speaker 2>and he was going through a tough time in that

0:41:40.360 --> 0:41:46.560
<v Speaker 2>industry in the US, and he discovered Buddhism and meditating.

0:41:46.760 --> 0:41:49.400
<v Speaker 2>Now I haven't gone down the Buddhism road, but I

0:41:49.600 --> 0:41:53.879
<v Speaker 2>have gone down the meditating road. And it makes such

0:41:53.880 --> 0:41:57.960
<v Speaker 2>a difference. You're shutting yourself off from those negative thoughts

0:41:58.000 --> 0:42:00.200
<v Speaker 2>and those negative thoughts like, oh my god, they're so

0:42:00.320 --> 0:42:05.200
<v Speaker 2>overwhelming for me they were, but shutting yourself off from those,

0:42:06.040 --> 0:42:09.480
<v Speaker 2>shutting down that internal monologue. He has this great term,

0:42:09.520 --> 0:42:12.920
<v Speaker 2>you sit behind a waterfall. So imagine you're behind a

0:42:12.960 --> 0:42:15.239
<v Speaker 2>waterfall and the water is cascading down in front of you.

0:42:15.320 --> 0:42:17.240
<v Speaker 2>They are the negative thoughts, they are the negative feelings,

0:42:17.239 --> 0:42:19.400
<v Speaker 2>and sit there. Imagine yourself sitting there. I was like, oh,

0:42:19.440 --> 0:42:24.399
<v Speaker 2>that's so interesting. So ten minutes is what I often do.

0:42:25.480 --> 0:42:27.759
<v Speaker 2>I haven't done it much recently because of the move

0:42:27.760 --> 0:42:29.360
<v Speaker 2>and everything just been too busy.

0:42:29.480 --> 0:42:31.040
<v Speaker 1>No time to get behind the water.

0:42:30.920 --> 0:42:39.200
<v Speaker 2>No no way, and and we're going down to raid there,

0:42:39.200 --> 0:42:42.880
<v Speaker 2>aren't we. But it's so important that you do that.

0:42:42.960 --> 0:42:46.160
<v Speaker 2>You take time, You take deep breaths, even deep breaths,

0:42:46.560 --> 0:42:50.920
<v Speaker 2>you know, and also lean on those around you, like

0:42:51.800 --> 0:42:54.080
<v Speaker 2>if you're lucky enough to have people around you, you know,

0:42:54.440 --> 0:42:58.040
<v Speaker 2>like family. And I couldn't have done it with that Bonnie.

0:42:58.040 --> 0:43:08.600
<v Speaker 2>She is this amazing, smart, compassionate, fiery redhead. I'm terrified

0:43:08.640 --> 0:43:14.279
<v Speaker 2>of her. Sarah, I've met her, Yeah, who was just

0:43:15.200 --> 0:43:20.640
<v Speaker 2>the toughest person I know. She's so strong and I

0:43:20.640 --> 0:43:22.600
<v Speaker 2>wouldn't have got through without her. And so I'm very

0:43:22.680 --> 0:43:26.239
<v Speaker 2>lucky to have that, you know, that amazing support and

0:43:26.280 --> 0:43:30.879
<v Speaker 2>those amazing friends, and yeah, and try and get perspective.

0:43:31.680 --> 0:43:37.080
<v Speaker 2>You know, you're going to be okay, you know, and

0:43:38.360 --> 0:43:42.480
<v Speaker 2>people are often in a lot worse situations than you.

0:43:43.600 --> 0:43:47.600
<v Speaker 2>We live in a great country. We you know, we

0:43:47.640 --> 0:43:49.840
<v Speaker 2>have running water, we have electricity, we have you know,

0:43:50.360 --> 0:43:55.719
<v Speaker 2>we're doing all right, you know. So yeah, I mean exercise,

0:43:56.160 --> 0:44:02.080
<v Speaker 2>you know, walking, running, meditation and perspective and just remembering

0:44:02.440 --> 0:44:05.440
<v Speaker 2>what is important.

0:44:07.200 --> 0:44:09.960
<v Speaker 1>Is only July as you and I are sitting here,

0:44:10.560 --> 0:44:16.000
<v Speaker 1>so we've literally just ticked over the half year mark

0:44:16.480 --> 0:44:19.480
<v Speaker 1>a couple of weeks ago, and I imagine you feel

0:44:19.520 --> 0:44:24.080
<v Speaker 1>like you have lived one hundred lifetimes. You're talking about

0:44:24.120 --> 0:44:29.399
<v Speaker 1>those changes, the perspective that shifted the logistics of your life.

0:44:29.400 --> 0:44:32.560
<v Speaker 1>You're moving into a city, a new job, two new jobs,

0:44:32.600 --> 0:44:37.560
<v Speaker 1>a new network. Everything feels different. Could you even imagine

0:44:38.520 --> 0:44:44.399
<v Speaker 1>how much do you recognize in Alex Cullen from the

0:44:44.520 --> 0:44:46.919
<v Speaker 1>very beginning of the year, like, you know, December, first

0:44:47.000 --> 0:44:50.520
<v Speaker 1>week of January to the person sitting here today in July.

0:44:51.000 --> 0:44:55.319
<v Speaker 2>It's wild. It's so wild, Sarah, never in a million

0:44:55.400 --> 0:44:56.799
<v Speaker 2>years so I think I'll be sitting here doing this

0:44:57.640 --> 0:45:03.520
<v Speaker 2>and with these wonderful opportunities ahead. Uh yeah, it is.

0:45:04.200 --> 0:45:13.040
<v Speaker 2>It is just really Oh, there's there's ah. I've just

0:45:13.080 --> 0:45:16.120
<v Speaker 2>got to step back sometimes and go this is happening.

0:45:16.880 --> 0:45:20.520
<v Speaker 2>You know, I come from you know, Cannanble northwest New

0:45:20.560 --> 0:45:23.360
<v Speaker 2>South Wales, grew up on a farm, and you know,

0:45:23.440 --> 0:45:27.279
<v Speaker 2>I've just sort of done my thing and and and

0:45:27.719 --> 0:45:30.799
<v Speaker 2>enjoyed enjoyed the ride. And never did I think I'd

0:45:30.800 --> 0:45:34.120
<v Speaker 2>be doing this right now. You know, it's just crazy,

0:45:34.280 --> 0:45:39.600
<v Speaker 2>but that is life. Pardon my growley stomach there, but

0:45:40.840 --> 0:45:47.040
<v Speaker 2>it's fine. That's life. That that's the rich tapestry of life,

0:45:47.200 --> 0:45:51.080
<v Speaker 2>and you've just you've got to go with it. And

0:45:53.680 --> 0:45:59.120
<v Speaker 2>I'm really thankful. I'm really thankful for those people who

0:46:00.400 --> 0:46:04.200
<v Speaker 2>believed in me and knew what I could do and

0:46:04.320 --> 0:46:08.680
<v Speaker 2>knew the person I was and am to give me

0:46:08.719 --> 0:46:13.080
<v Speaker 2>another shot. You know. Christian O'Connell is he is great.

0:46:13.440 --> 0:46:17.440
<v Speaker 2>Like the Christian O'Connell show is humming in Melbourne. It's

0:46:17.480 --> 0:46:21.320
<v Speaker 2>doing so well. This guy coming from the UK dominating

0:46:21.320 --> 0:46:25.160
<v Speaker 2>the airwaves over there, bringing his wife and two daughters

0:46:25.840 --> 0:46:29.680
<v Speaker 2>to Melbourne, establishing himself as the number one FM radio

0:46:29.719 --> 0:46:35.160
<v Speaker 2>station in Melbourne. And that's no mean feat. That's incredible.

0:46:35.360 --> 0:46:41.680
<v Speaker 2>And he is such a nice guy. And we get

0:46:41.680 --> 0:46:43.480
<v Speaker 2>on lock a House on Fire. He rang me out

0:46:43.520 --> 0:46:45.200
<v Speaker 2>of the blue one day and it was it all

0:46:45.200 --> 0:46:47.920
<v Speaker 2>came through my manager. I had to say my manager,

0:46:47.960 --> 0:46:51.960
<v Speaker 2>I sound like a Hollywood d list, but they knew

0:46:52.000 --> 0:46:57.600
<v Speaker 2>each other and he said to Christian, there's this guy

0:46:57.719 --> 0:47:01.920
<v Speaker 2>moving down from Sydney because you know, they needed someone

0:47:02.640 --> 0:47:05.279
<v Speaker 2>on the show. And he's like, okay, yeah, talk to me,

0:47:05.400 --> 0:47:08.799
<v Speaker 2>and yeah, he loves his sport. Maybe you guys will

0:47:08.800 --> 0:47:11.560
<v Speaker 2>get on. You should, you should do it. Give him

0:47:11.560 --> 0:47:15.200
<v Speaker 2>a call. Christian rings me, Hey mate, they are you going?

0:47:15.400 --> 0:47:18.120
<v Speaker 2>We're on the phone for nearly an hour. My wife's going,

0:47:18.160 --> 0:47:19.960
<v Speaker 2>who is this? Who are you on the phone? What's

0:47:19.960 --> 0:47:21.880
<v Speaker 2>going on in there? And I came out going, oh

0:47:21.920 --> 0:47:25.080
<v Speaker 2>my god, that was Christian O'Connell. We got on so well.

0:47:25.160 --> 0:47:29.480
<v Speaker 2>He wants me to fly down meet the team and

0:47:29.680 --> 0:47:31.360
<v Speaker 2>we're just going to see how it goes. So I

0:47:31.440 --> 0:47:36.160
<v Speaker 2>go down meet everyone, an amazing bunch of people, really passionate,

0:47:36.640 --> 0:47:40.600
<v Speaker 2>really professional, really hard working, and met them all and

0:47:40.640 --> 0:47:44.040
<v Speaker 2>we chatted and Christian's like, right, we're going to lunch

0:47:44.480 --> 0:47:49.720
<v Speaker 2>at midday. I'm like, okay, yeah, cool. I go into

0:47:51.440 --> 0:47:54.799
<v Speaker 2>was it a Tartane in Richmond and he's sitting there

0:47:54.840 --> 0:47:57.080
<v Speaker 2>with a beer and I'm like, okay, cool. We sat down,

0:47:57.360 --> 0:48:00.520
<v Speaker 2>we had lunch, we had wine, we had more one

0:48:00.920 --> 0:48:04.359
<v Speaker 2>more one again, and at the end of it, He's like,

0:48:04.480 --> 0:48:07.760
<v Speaker 2>do you want to do this? And I'm like, yeah, sure,

0:48:08.280 --> 0:48:11.160
<v Speaker 2>let's make this happen. And a little did I know

0:48:11.160 --> 0:48:13.400
<v Speaker 2>that that was kind of a job interview with a

0:48:13.400 --> 0:48:14.960
<v Speaker 2>whole lot of red wine throwing in, And so I

0:48:14.960 --> 0:48:16.520
<v Speaker 2>flew back to Sydney toime. My wife said this is

0:48:16.600 --> 0:48:22.160
<v Speaker 2>this is happening, and it just all happened from there.

0:48:22.280 --> 0:48:25.200
<v Speaker 2>And then the seventh thing, yeah, the same kind of thing.

0:48:25.239 --> 0:48:28.680
<v Speaker 2>I got a call from from seven early on, you know,

0:48:28.719 --> 0:48:30.600
<v Speaker 2>if you want to come back. And then I connected

0:48:30.600 --> 0:48:33.600
<v Speaker 2>with Anthony to seglee and he said, there's some stuff

0:48:33.640 --> 0:48:37.680
<v Speaker 2>going on. It's in your wheelhouse. Great, and it's sort

0:48:37.680 --> 0:48:43.000
<v Speaker 2>of just progressed slowly. And Ray Cooker came in to

0:48:43.040 --> 0:48:45.200
<v Speaker 2>replace Anthony because he's of course gone over to Perth

0:48:45.840 --> 0:48:49.560
<v Speaker 2>to head up the the Perth Bears Nurl franchise. And

0:48:50.880 --> 0:48:54.080
<v Speaker 2>it was lovely, you know, dealing with Ray and because

0:48:54.080 --> 0:48:57.320
<v Speaker 2>he's an old friend and he said, hey, this is

0:48:57.360 --> 0:48:58.960
<v Speaker 2>going to be great. You know, we're going to do

0:48:59.200 --> 0:49:02.880
<v Speaker 2>this new is offering and we can't wait to have

0:49:02.920 --> 0:49:06.239
<v Speaker 2>you back. So that's where I find myself now. And

0:49:07.719 --> 0:49:10.840
<v Speaker 2>it's just it's life, isn't it you've just got to

0:49:10.920 --> 0:49:13.040
<v Speaker 2>kind of go with it, and that's what I'm trying

0:49:13.040 --> 0:49:19.960
<v Speaker 2>to do with three small kids. Has its challenges, you know,

0:49:21.120 --> 0:49:24.920
<v Speaker 2>but look, home is wherever your family is. I'm a

0:49:24.920 --> 0:49:29.680
<v Speaker 2>big believer in that. And we're gonna we're gonna enjoy Melbourne.

0:49:29.760 --> 0:49:32.440
<v Speaker 2>I know we are. It's it's a wonderful place and

0:49:34.000 --> 0:49:37.919
<v Speaker 2>Sidney will still be. It's not going anywhere, but we're

0:49:37.960 --> 0:49:41.440
<v Speaker 2>really open to new, exciting experiences.

0:49:41.680 --> 0:49:47.080
<v Speaker 1>There's something sometimes about moving, as logistically demanding as it

0:49:47.080 --> 0:49:49.920
<v Speaker 1>can be, but moving to a wonderful new city and

0:49:49.960 --> 0:49:52.920
<v Speaker 1>a new beginning, which sounds very trite, but it is

0:49:53.040 --> 0:49:56.520
<v Speaker 1>literally what is happening. Yeah, this week definitely is. There

0:49:56.600 --> 0:49:59.799
<v Speaker 1>is whole new beginnings for you. You're starting one new job,

0:50:00.160 --> 0:50:04.799
<v Speaker 1>announcing another, and you and your family are rebuilding your

0:50:05.000 --> 0:50:07.480
<v Speaker 1>life as a family in a new city. I mean,

0:50:07.600 --> 0:50:13.080
<v Speaker 1>it's quite symbolic, isn't it, in terms of cleaning the slate,

0:50:13.160 --> 0:50:17.440
<v Speaker 1>taking the good lessons with you, leaving some behind. That's

0:50:17.480 --> 0:50:19.320
<v Speaker 1>really one of those watershed moments.

0:50:19.360 --> 0:50:23.000
<v Speaker 2>It is. It's a new skin. It's like a rebirth

0:50:23.640 --> 0:50:28.520
<v Speaker 2>in a sense. You know, life was good when I

0:50:28.560 --> 0:50:31.239
<v Speaker 2>was doing Breakfast TV. It was you know, we had

0:50:31.239 --> 0:50:33.400
<v Speaker 2>a house, we had our kids, we had you know,

0:50:33.400 --> 0:50:36.680
<v Speaker 2>we're living in a great city. It was. And then

0:50:38.239 --> 0:50:43.160
<v Speaker 2>that happened, of course, and so that's a big shift.

0:50:43.360 --> 0:50:47.640
<v Speaker 2>And now it's like you say, it is it's a

0:50:47.680 --> 0:50:50.640
<v Speaker 2>new skin, it's a new beginning. Not everyone gets that,

0:50:51.120 --> 0:50:57.040
<v Speaker 2>you know. It's funny. I was our car broke down

0:50:57.080 --> 0:51:01.719
<v Speaker 2>and this NRMA came to to the rescue and they

0:51:01.719 --> 0:51:06.120
<v Speaker 2>had this guy, this safety auditor with him, the mechanic,

0:51:06.239 --> 0:51:10.040
<v Speaker 2>and he goes, oh, you're that guy from today, Shelmon. Yeah,

0:51:10.200 --> 0:51:12.799
<v Speaker 2>this is not long after it all went down, and

0:51:12.800 --> 0:51:16.120
<v Speaker 2>he goes, mate, I worked at Macquarie Bank for thirty

0:51:16.120 --> 0:51:20.960
<v Speaker 2>forty years. I was out the door and I don't

0:51:20.960 --> 0:51:22.560
<v Speaker 2>know what I was going to do, had small kids.

0:51:23.040 --> 0:51:26.080
<v Speaker 2>I went down to Kuljie Beach five in the morning,

0:51:26.080 --> 0:51:29.160
<v Speaker 2>smoked a pack of cigarettes and went back to my

0:51:29.200 --> 0:51:31.680
<v Speaker 2>wife and and then I got a job with the

0:51:31.760 --> 0:51:33.960
<v Speaker 2>n M And I said, you're happy, and he goes, mate,

0:51:33.960 --> 0:51:38.759
<v Speaker 2>I've never been aubier And just those random little experiences

0:51:38.800 --> 0:51:43.080
<v Speaker 2>that I've had along the way, and there's yeah, there's

0:51:43.200 --> 0:51:48.839
<v Speaker 2>there's that's pretty cool. You know that I can start

0:51:48.880 --> 0:51:52.800
<v Speaker 2>again in a sense, yeah, in a New City and

0:51:54.040 --> 0:51:58.399
<v Speaker 2>control what I can control. I can dive back into

0:51:58.400 --> 0:51:59.120
<v Speaker 2>that next chapter.

0:52:00.120 --> 0:52:05.520
<v Speaker 1>Can I just ask Alex about the recognition? So the

0:52:05.640 --> 0:52:08.680
<v Speaker 1>raising of the profile, there's like infamy and then there's

0:52:09.480 --> 0:52:13.680
<v Speaker 1>simply then fame, and it's like, there's that transition, isn't there?

0:52:13.719 --> 0:52:16.439
<v Speaker 1>So you were already in a very high profile job.

0:52:16.560 --> 0:52:19.000
<v Speaker 1>You worked in media for a long time. You're on

0:52:19.120 --> 0:52:23.080
<v Speaker 1>national television five days a week. There's a certain level

0:52:23.480 --> 0:52:26.279
<v Speaker 1>of recognition. But you've obviously, through the course of your

0:52:26.320 --> 0:52:29.680
<v Speaker 1>career worked with some of those people that are absolute

0:52:29.760 --> 0:52:33.759
<v Speaker 1>household names. And I mean, you know, Karl Stephanovic is

0:52:33.800 --> 0:52:37.279
<v Speaker 1>one of the most recognizable and identifiable people. If you

0:52:37.320 --> 0:52:39.880
<v Speaker 1>walk through an airport with Karl Stefnovic, everyone comes up.

0:52:39.880 --> 0:52:42.279
<v Speaker 1>You would have seen it. How has it been for

0:52:42.320 --> 0:52:45.239
<v Speaker 1>you to have that shift in recognition? You're on the

0:52:45.280 --> 0:52:48.640
<v Speaker 1>cover of Stellar today. I mean, even that coming from

0:52:48.640 --> 0:52:52.080
<v Speaker 1>me sounds self important, But if it was anyone else

0:52:52.120 --> 0:52:53.440
<v Speaker 1>from the industry, they would say, oh, you're on the

0:52:53.480 --> 0:52:57.440
<v Speaker 1>cover of Stellar today, Like that's definitely a sign of recognition.

0:52:58.080 --> 0:52:59.960
<v Speaker 1>How is that aspect of.

0:53:01.520 --> 0:53:05.320
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's it's quite a change. And I want to

0:53:05.360 --> 0:53:07.239
<v Speaker 2>thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving

0:53:07.280 --> 0:53:10.839
<v Speaker 2>me this opportunity. You know, it was a long time

0:53:11.040 --> 0:53:14.200
<v Speaker 2>becoming this and the build up to it, and you know,

0:53:14.239 --> 0:53:16.520
<v Speaker 2>speaking for the first time about this, So so thank you.

0:53:16.920 --> 0:53:19.640
<v Speaker 2>I love what you guys do and it just feels right.

0:53:21.080 --> 0:53:27.920
<v Speaker 2>But yeah, it is. It's quite the shift. And luckily

0:53:27.960 --> 0:53:33.160
<v Speaker 2>I've had someone like Carl to kind of listen to

0:53:33.600 --> 0:53:39.040
<v Speaker 2>on that front, Like he is amazing and his ability

0:53:39.360 --> 0:53:42.480
<v Speaker 2>to just not let it face him is amazing in

0:53:42.520 --> 0:53:48.040
<v Speaker 2>that sense, like he I remember walking from it was

0:53:48.080 --> 0:53:50.799
<v Speaker 2>at the austral And Open one year and it wasn't

0:53:50.800 --> 0:53:52.480
<v Speaker 2>long after the nurse and stuff had all gone down

0:53:52.560 --> 0:53:56.720
<v Speaker 2>and Juno's We're just at him, just trying to get something,

0:53:56.840 --> 0:53:59.799
<v Speaker 2>you know, and you know it's their job, and we

0:53:59.840 --> 0:54:03.880
<v Speaker 2>were just walking along and he was just cool, wasn't engaging,

0:54:05.600 --> 0:54:09.880
<v Speaker 2>and people were just all coming up to him selfies, gosh,

0:54:09.920 --> 0:54:14.160
<v Speaker 2>there you going, and and I'm like, wow, you know

0:54:15.560 --> 0:54:19.240
<v Speaker 2>he is. He's so much to so many Australians and

0:54:19.360 --> 0:54:21.200
<v Speaker 2>I'm so thankful that I got to share those five

0:54:21.280 --> 0:54:24.839
<v Speaker 2>years with him. And he was very supportive throughout that

0:54:25.239 --> 0:54:28.880
<v Speaker 2>and we had a great chat after it all happened,

0:54:28.880 --> 0:54:32.279
<v Speaker 2>and he congratulated me on these new roles, which was

0:54:32.280 --> 0:54:34.960
<v Speaker 2>which was really lovely, and so I sort of had

0:54:35.040 --> 0:54:39.839
<v Speaker 2>him to go to kind of to learn from, you know,

0:54:40.120 --> 0:54:43.279
<v Speaker 2>and it's just water off a duck's back for him.

0:54:43.440 --> 0:54:45.560
<v Speaker 2>I know it gets to him in some capacity, but

0:54:45.640 --> 0:54:49.880
<v Speaker 2>he's just like you know, who cares a lot of

0:54:49.920 --> 0:54:53.919
<v Speaker 2>the time. And and he's right, you know, like people

0:54:53.960 --> 0:54:58.840
<v Speaker 2>are busy. People are they've got businesses, they've got kids,

0:54:58.840 --> 0:55:02.160
<v Speaker 2>they've got jobs and and that's another thing I learned,

0:55:02.160 --> 0:55:05.960
<v Speaker 2>Like it moves on, that that great Tom Hanks line,

0:55:06.000 --> 0:55:09.880
<v Speaker 2>you know, this too shall pass, and it does pass eventually.

0:55:11.200 --> 0:55:12.840
<v Speaker 2>And like I say, people are busy, you know, they

0:55:13.080 --> 0:55:19.919
<v Speaker 2>they move on too. But yeah, it has been quite

0:55:19.960 --> 0:55:23.280
<v Speaker 2>the shift. And it's all happened really quickly, really quickly,

0:55:23.600 --> 0:55:27.799
<v Speaker 2>you know, bang front page, whoa. And I was walking

0:55:27.800 --> 0:55:32.000
<v Speaker 2>through the Botannic Gardens I remember in Melbourne and these

0:55:31.800 --> 0:55:34.160
<v Speaker 2>this woman and these two women in front of me

0:55:34.239 --> 0:55:37.239
<v Speaker 2>sort of looked around and look back and sort of

0:55:37.280 --> 0:55:40.759
<v Speaker 2>whispered to each other and went, oh God, sort of

0:55:40.800 --> 0:55:42.920
<v Speaker 2>put my cap down and it just kept walking. And

0:55:42.920 --> 0:55:45.080
<v Speaker 2>that's fine, you know, that's that's the that's the job

0:55:45.120 --> 0:55:48.680
<v Speaker 2>we we have. That's the the industry we're in and

0:55:48.719 --> 0:55:51.239
<v Speaker 2>you've just got to You've got to wear it. You've

0:55:51.239 --> 0:55:57.799
<v Speaker 2>got to deal with it, and and and just care

0:55:57.880 --> 0:56:03.680
<v Speaker 2>about what those closest to you k you know what

0:56:03.760 --> 0:56:08.000
<v Speaker 2>I'm saying. There's a bitter way of saying that you're

0:56:08.000 --> 0:56:12.200
<v Speaker 2>worried about those closest to you and their worries and

0:56:12.320 --> 0:56:17.600
<v Speaker 2>concerns and everything else. You know, it's up to the individual.

0:56:18.800 --> 0:56:20.560
<v Speaker 1>You will have to come back at some point. We're

0:56:20.560 --> 0:56:22.880
<v Speaker 1>in the middle of well not in the middle of

0:56:22.920 --> 0:56:25.560
<v Speaker 1>renovating our studio, but we are going to give it

0:56:25.560 --> 0:56:28.520
<v Speaker 1>a refresh scene because I think one question that if

0:56:28.560 --> 0:56:31.600
<v Speaker 1>I asked you you might not be able to answer now.

0:56:31.760 --> 0:56:33.760
<v Speaker 1>When we're in the middle of things in our life,

0:56:33.800 --> 0:56:38.040
<v Speaker 1>pivotal moments, sometimes they feel like the best things that

0:56:38.080 --> 0:56:40.560
<v Speaker 1>have happened to us, and then sometimes they feel like

0:56:41.320 --> 0:56:43.879
<v Speaker 1>one of the hardest things that have happened. And when

0:56:43.880 --> 0:56:45.960
<v Speaker 1>you're in the middle, you think I might think I

0:56:46.040 --> 0:56:48.080
<v Speaker 1>might get to the other side of this, and this

0:56:48.400 --> 0:56:52.080
<v Speaker 1>was such an important thing to happen and it changed everything,

0:56:52.160 --> 0:56:55.480
<v Speaker 1>And that feels I'm hearing that so much from you.

0:56:56.120 --> 0:56:58.640
<v Speaker 1>But I feel it would be premature of me to say,

0:56:59.480 --> 0:57:03.719
<v Speaker 1>are you lad that this moment happened, or do you

0:57:03.760 --> 0:57:06.279
<v Speaker 1>wish that it never had happened? Maybe I could give

0:57:06.320 --> 0:57:07.000
<v Speaker 1>me your answer now.

0:57:07.200 --> 0:57:09.160
<v Speaker 2>That's a great question in a year and that's a

0:57:09.160 --> 0:57:13.400
<v Speaker 2>really good question because it's funny. I haven't quite come

0:57:13.440 --> 0:57:16.720
<v Speaker 2>to an answer on that yet, you know, do I

0:57:16.760 --> 0:57:19.600
<v Speaker 2>regret it? I haven't come to an answer on that

0:57:19.680 --> 0:57:22.640
<v Speaker 2>yet because I'm going to see how the next little

0:57:22.680 --> 0:57:26.280
<v Speaker 2>while goes. What I do regret is the pain it

0:57:26.320 --> 0:57:33.200
<v Speaker 2>caused my family. That was hard, you know, and the

0:57:33.280 --> 0:57:40.760
<v Speaker 2>uncertainty and the kind of not knowing where the next

0:57:40.760 --> 0:57:44.400
<v Speaker 2>paycheck is coming from, not knowing how I'm going to

0:57:44.440 --> 0:57:48.520
<v Speaker 2>support my family. That that's a very difficult place to be.

0:57:52.000 --> 0:57:56.680
<v Speaker 2>I can't change it, you know. I just there's nothing

0:57:56.720 --> 0:58:00.760
<v Speaker 2>I can do about it now. And hindsight a wonderful thing.

0:58:02.200 --> 0:58:07.360
<v Speaker 2>And yeah, in another year's time, I'll have a better

0:58:07.400 --> 0:58:09.920
<v Speaker 2>answer for you on that, Sarah. I promise You've.

0:58:09.720 --> 0:58:15.080
<v Speaker 1>Had some really reflective and honest dancers with me today.

0:58:15.280 --> 0:58:17.600
<v Speaker 1>Alex has been a pleasure to talk to you. Thank

0:58:17.600 --> 0:58:20.200
<v Speaker 1>you also for fitting us in in the middle of

0:58:20.240 --> 0:58:23.520
<v Speaker 1>your move. All the best in Melbourne are looking forward

0:58:23.560 --> 0:58:26.400
<v Speaker 1>to seeing you soon on seven News and of course

0:58:26.440 --> 0:58:30.280
<v Speaker 1>from tomorrow. Alex Cullen begins on The Christian O'Connell Show

0:58:30.320 --> 0:58:33.680
<v Speaker 1>weekdays from six am and weeknights from seven pm on

0:58:33.800 --> 0:58:36.840
<v Speaker 1>Gold one oh four point three. Alex all the best

0:58:36.840 --> 0:58:39.400
<v Speaker 1>with everything and we will hear from you soon.

0:58:39.560 --> 0:58:40.400
<v Speaker 2>Sarah, you're Jim.

0:58:40.520 --> 0:58:42.840
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much, thank you, and I'll be back

0:58:42.880 --> 0:58:45.480
<v Speaker 1>in your ears with another exclusive guest on the Stellar

0:58:45.520 --> 0:58:48.960
<v Speaker 1>podcast next week. Thank you for joining me today. If

0:58:48.960 --> 0:58:51.480
<v Speaker 1>you've enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a

0:58:51.520 --> 0:58:53.160
<v Speaker 1>review or send it to a friend.