Tell us about your family. How many Kids?
I have two kids, Millie Valentine, who’s 14, and Teddy, who’s 7. Millie and I co-host our podcast, Move Over Mama, together, which means she is simultaneously my favourite collaborator and the person most likely to call me out mid-recording.
Teddy is pure chaos and pure sunshine.
Between the two of them, I haven’t sat down properly since 2011.
We also have a dog, Roxie, a rescue Mini Poodle, and of course my husband Gerard, who owns the national mould removal company, Mould Men.
What’s the part of being a mum that fills you up the most?
Watching them become actual people.
When Millie walks into a room full of adults at an event I may be hosting and completely holds her own, or when Teddy says something that floors me with how smart and emotionally aware he is, those are the moments that fill me up.
I thought the baby stage would be the most rewarding, but the most rewarding part has been watching them grow into who they’re going to be. So far, so good.
What’s one thing that genuinely helps you stay afloat in the day-to-day juggle?
Knowing what I can outsource and what I can’t.
I can’t outsource being present, but I can outsource a lot of the noise around it. That mindset shift changed everything.
How do you carve out space for career, motherhood, love, friends, and still find a moment for you?
I honestly decided one day that I needed to think of my career as my me time.
Some people won’t agree with this, but I’m blessed to be doing exactly the job I’ve always wanted to do. Instead of thinking that I don’t have time for hobbies, me time, massages or getting my nails done, I remind myself that my job is my me time. I love it, and it’s incredibly rewarding.
That’s how I make peace with the things I miss out on.
Where do you find fashion that genuinely feels like you?
I’m an all-over-the-place girlie.
You’ll often see me at an event wearing head-to-toe Kmart, but then at the next event I might be sponsored by a luxury designer like Sonia Stradiotto and wearing something worth $3,000.
If I’m completely honest, I can’t afford the high-end things. I’d rather pay off my house and spend money on amazing holidays and experiences with the kids. So really, I’m more of a Kmart girl.
I follow a lot of fashion influencers for tips on how to dress myself, and somehow I’ve fallen into who I am.
What does living a healthy, grounded life look like in your world?
Moving my body, being outside, hugging my kids a lot, and spending time with my really good girlfriends. Those are the best health benefits for me.
Everything else, I just try to make good choices when it comes to eating and exercising, and so far I’ve managed to live a pretty healthy life.
How do you keep your body moving in a way that feels realistic and sustainable?
I’m in my late 40s, and there isn’t a fitness trend or fad I haven’t tried. I believe you have to be fluid with it.
I was into running for a while and completed some half marathons, but eventually that stopped fitting into my lifestyle. I had a PT for a while too. She got me into great shape, but it became expensive and difficult to fit into the family budget and schedule.
At the moment, I’m doing a 15-minute weights workout the minute I wake up, pyjamas, bad breath and all. Then I’ll go for a walk with the dog in the afternoon. That’s how I’m staying on top of my fitness in a sustainable way.
I fully believe the PT work I did for 18 months made me strong and fit, and now those 15 minutes a day are helping me maintain it.
What’s one non-negotiable that keeps your mind and body well?
Sleep.
It’s a boring answer, but it’s an honest one. Everything falls apart without it.
When you think of balance, what does that actually mean to you in real life?
Balance is a myth I stopped chasing about five years ago.
What I have instead is rhythm.
Some weeks it tips towards work. Some weeks it tips towards the kids and my husband. I’ve made peace with the fact that neither is a failure.
What does your morning routine look like, honestly?
I do breakfast radio, so my morning routine actually starts the night before.
I lay out everything I’m wearing so I don’t have to think about it in the morning. I put velvet rollers in my hair and sleep in them, which means my hair is done in seconds when I wake up.
The first thing I do is check my phone for any overnight updates from my breakfast show team or any breaking news I need to get my head around before I go on air.
I do my quick workout, jump in the shower and, if I’m feeling particularly tired, I’ll have a cold shower.
Then it’s makeup, rollers out, clothes on, straight into the car.
I don’t eat in the morning. I have a couple of cups of tea and then eat once I’m off air.
How do you wind down at night?
Quite simply, I go to bed.
Because of my early starts, evenings can be a bit chaotic once the kids get home from their sports and activities. It’s dinner, tidy up, showers, and then the kids and I climb into bed and watch a couple of episodes of whatever we’re into at the moment.
Right now, it’s Young Sheldon because the kid is quite obviously autistic, much like our neurodiverse family.
Then it’s kisses and cuddles, lights out, and the whole family heads to sleep at the same time.
What’s something about you that would genuinely surprise people?
I’m an absolute neat freak.
Some people would say I have OCD. I don’t call it OCD. I say I’m functioning on a higher cleaning frequency than everyone else.
What’s a truth about yourself that took you years to finally admit out loud?
Probably the above.
I’ve had a lot of therapy over my life for different things that have gone right and wrong. One thing I’ve learned is that every trauma creates some kind of behavioural response, and sometimes you have to learn to love those behaviours because they protected you.
For me, cleaning and keeping things tidy is a reaction to a tumultuous upbringing with a brother who had behavioural difficulties. Keeping things clean helped keep the house in order, even when life wasn’t.
I still live by that today.
When do you feel most like the truest version of you?
On stage, on the mic, or in a conversation that goes somewhere real.
When I’m performing or hosting, that’s not me putting on a mask. That’s me taking one off.
What’s a single moment that quietly shifted the direction of your life?
I don’t know if it quietly shifted the direction of my life, but my husband and I separated a couple of years ago, and it was completely devastating for me and our whole family.
During that time, my husband received a diagnosis of ADHD and Level 1 autism, and that changed the direction of our lives.
It uncovered a lot of neurodiversity, not only within our children but across our extended family as well. His diagnosis has genuinely made life easier because people understand themselves better.
A diagnosis like that can feel scary, but I truly believe it changed our lives for the better.
What’s a mistake you’re genuinely grateful you made?
I haven’t made one yet like that.
I’ll let you know when I do.
Most of my mistakes, I’m not grateful for. I wish I could say they made me stronger or altered my path in some meaningful way, but I haven’t reached that level of enlightenment yet.
I still wish I hadn’t made them.
What’s one boundary that completely changed your life?
During our separation, I realised I spent a lot of time holding in my emotions and thoughts while trying to be the perfect wife.
If I look back at my childhood, being the perfect daughter felt easier in a family navigating some really difficult things.
Once I realised that staying silent hadn’t actually helped our relationship, especially while rebuilding it, everything changed.
Now, I speak my mind.
I just make sure I do it kindly.
What part of yourself do you judge the most?
Whether I’m doing enough and whether I’m successful enough.
As a mum, a broadcaster, and a business owner, the measuring never fully stops. I wish I could just be content, but there’s something in me that keeps pushing me forward and driving me harder.
I try to think about it as having a really full life. Busy isn’t a dirty word. It means I’m making a difference.
I judge myself when it doesn’t all come together the way I thought it would or the way I’d planned.
What’s something you pretend you don’t care about, but secretly do?
That the podcast I’m creating with Millie would have more listeners.
I try to tell myself that every listener is getting something out of it, and that should be enough.
But if I’m being completely honest, I’m disappointed it hasn’t grown as quickly as I’d hoped.
Finding the audience takes even more time than creating the podcast itself.
What’s something about you that people would never guess?
I’ve been a stage performer for most of my life.
I’ve appeared in musicals like Mamma Mia! and, most recently, Priscilla at The Star.
People know me from radio, so the theatre side of my life tends to catch them off guard.
If you could live an entirely different life for a year, what would you choose?
It sounds cliché, but I’d move somewhere in Europe and live in a little cottage.
I’d spend my days reading, riding bikes around town, cooking beautiful food, drinking wine in the evenings, and getting plenty of sleep.
What’s something that still feels uncomfortable but you’re pushing yourself to do anyway?
Continually learning new things.
At the moment, I’m diving headfirst into learning about AI, and honestly, it can be baffling. Once I master it, I can already see how much time it could give back to my family.
It’s been uncomfortable getting my head around it and learning how to use it for more than just finding recipes or replacing a Google search.
We’re implementing it across our family life, our podcast, and my work on air. It’s pushed me well outside my comfort zone, but it’s been incredibly rewarding.
What’s a version of yourself you’re trying to become?
I’m in perimenopause at the moment, so realistically, I’m still figuring out who I am right now.
I’m in that bittersweet stage of life where I’m coming to terms with change and wondering why being a woman has to be so hard sometimes.
Puberty is hard. Pregnancy is hard. Perimenopause is hard.
The three Ps can all go and get stuffed.
I’m hoping that on the other side of menopause I’ll finally be free from the hormonal rollercoaster that women spend so much of their lives navigating, and that I’ll emerge as a stable, intelligent, wise woman.
When you think about your younger self, what do you wish she knew?
I wish she knew how smart she was.
I’ve never really felt smart, and that’s stayed with me into adulthood.
I blame maths. I was never good at it. I never understood it. I had tutoring for years and spent so much time focusing on what I wasn’t good at instead of what I was.
One thing I’m determined to do differently with my children is help them understand that intelligence comes in many forms. I want them to build confidence in their strengths instead of obsessing over the things that don’t come naturally. I wish I’d had that perspective when I was younger.
I spent too much time worrying about maths results and not enough time recognising that I was a talented performer.
What’s the hardest part of motherhood for you to admit out loud?
I’ve only really come to this conclusion now that I have a teenage daughter, so it’s a fairly new realisation.
I found motherhood, particularly the baby years, really difficult.
I found it boring, lonely, and incredibly hard. I loved my children deeply and adored all the squishy baby cuddles, but it was the relentlessness of it all that I struggled with.
Before kids, I was a high-functioning career woman moving easily from event to event. Then suddenly I was packing bottles, carrying nappies, forgetting things, and trying to navigate an entirely different life.
For a long time, I felt selfish because I didn’t love that stage.
But now I have a teenager, and I find this season of motherhood incredibly enriching.
My message to mums is simple: there’ll be an era that suits you.
Don’t beat yourself up for not loving every stage. The stage you’re meant for will come.
That realisation came from watching my own mum.
She’s obsessed with babies and absolutely thrives in that stage. She’s a grandmother to 16 grandchildren, and we all joke that once they hit five years old, she’s ready for the next baby.
But that’s her gift.
I don’t judge her for that. I admire it.
The era I’m good at is the teenage years, and I’m absolutely loving it.
What’s a small joy that gets you through this season of life?
The podcast.
Genuinely.
Creating something meaningful with Millie isn’t just a project. It’s a privilege.
Five things you can’t leave home without?
Baked beans.
Probably not the answer you’re expecting, but if I don’t have a can of baked beans in my bag and my neurodiverse son has a hangry moment, out come the beans and a spoon and everyone’s happy.
After that: lip gloss, my phone, chewing gum, and water.
Visit, Buy, Do
Visit: Vietnam
Buy: Your groceries online
Do: Go for a walk every single day for your mental health
What inspired you to become a radio announcer and presenter?
I’ve always been someone who needs to communicate loudly, honestly, and preferably to more than one person at a time.
Radio just happened to turn that into a job.
What has been the biggest challenge?
Staying in the industry long enough to get good at it.
Commercial radio moves fast and has a short memory.
Building longevity takes a lot more patience and hard work than people realise.
Have you had moments where you wanted to give up?
Literally never. I’ve had moments where I’ve been frustrated and hated the situation I was in, but I’ve never wanted to give up.
Not my work.
Not my marriage.
Not being healthy.
Not my friendships.
I’m simply not a give-up person.
When did you realise you were going to be a success?
I never really thought I was going to be a success.
Truthfully, there are still times I don’t think I’m successful enough.
That’s just the standard I’ve always set for myself.
Have you had to make any changes since becoming a mum?
Everything changed.
My body changed.
My mindset changed.
My lifestyle changed.
The money in my bank account changed.
Everything changed.
I don’t think many women would answer that any differently.
Can you share anything that’s coming up for you?
More seasons of Move Over Mama are already in full swing.
A big part of our vision is expanding into events.
Millie and I want the podcast to be more than conversations with successful Australians about their teenage years. We want to create experiences that inspire young people to see that success comes in many forms and is usually built through hard work.
We have our Move Over Mama Luxe Lunch coming up at The Star on 11 October.
We’ll be recording a live podcast with the TikToker of the Year and we’re hoping to raise at least $30,000 for Act for Kids, a charity that provides free therapy to children up to 18 years of age.
Therapy has played such an important role in our family’s life, and we want more children to have access to that support.
What’s your advice for someone wanting to follow their dreams?
Take a big bite and chew like hell.
My husband and I have always said that about any dream we’ve ever had.
Another version is: hard now, easy later.
Do the hard work upfront and life gets easier down the track.
I’ve certainly found that to be true.
