Hit Network content chief Gemma Fordham told Mediaweek just last week she was having discussions about the future of Em Rusciano on 2Day FM breakfast ahead of Rusciano having a baby early next year.
She had nothing to report last month. She does today, however.
This morning on Em, Grant & Ed, Em Rusciano shared she will not be returning to her 2DayFM breakfast show role next year after her third child is born.
Rusciano will focus on enjoying this amazing and unexpected time in her life – her third child, 18 years after her first daughter was born.
Gemma Fordham said this morning, “We are so thrilled for Em and her family that after everything they experienced last year they will have a beautiful baby in their world early next year. Em had a heart-to-heart with me last month and let me know that she would like to wrap up breakfast hours and focus on her growing family and her other many creative pursuits.
“The business 100% supports and understands Em’s decision. Em has always been forthright and honest with our listeners, sharing every intimate detail of her life, and she will continue to be part of the 2DayFM family when she can for the remainder of this year.”
2Day noted it will send Em off in spectacular style this Friday morning with Em’s Big Baby Brunch celebration. Rusciano has made no secret of the hunger she has experienced this pregnancy and she will be joined by 100 pregnant listeners to feast on the ultimate grazing table.
In the meantime Ash London will fill in alongside Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee until a replacement for 2019’s lineup has been determined.
Rusciano told her fans this morning via a blog post why she made the decision:
Casual bombshell alert: This Friday will be my last day on air for 2dayFm Breakfast.
Before anyone gets into a flap, let me make it crystal clear that this is entirely my decision and not one I made lightly. I appreciate how lucky I am to be in a position to leave on my own terms. Usually in radio, you are not afforded such a luxury.
The truth is when I found out I was pregnant, I made my mind up on the spot that this year would be my last year of breakfast radio. I had intended to work through until December, but as my pregnancy is progressing I’m finding it increasingly harder to fulfil the requirements of my job. So after talking it through with my family, and my boss Gemma, it was decided that I should finish up.
I must admit typing that feels strange but, if I’m being completely honest, it also fills me with relief.
Relief that I will no longer have to get up at 4am.
Relief that I will no longer have to come up with my share of three hours’ worth of content every single day.
Relief that my kids won’t just remember me as being tired and grumpy when they grow up.
I want to spend the next few months focusing on my family, eating, sleeping, possibly wearing overalls and attempting to grow some veggies. But most importantly, I want to properly prepare for the arrival of my new human early next year.
So I want to start by thanking the team behind 2DayFM Breakfast.
Thank you for your support, thank you for your hard work, thank you for your understanding and thank you for your encouragement. It’s a special kind of glorious hell, those first hours of the day; it’s when you’re at your most vulnerable. Coming in each day was made easier by the producers being so supportive. We will always have that bond – we have become a lovely, dysfunctional family and know more about each other’s lives than we do about some of our closest friends. I also want to thank my co-hosts Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee for supporting my decision to leave. I wish them both all the best in their future endeavours and in Grant’s case: total TV domination.
My time at 2Day has been a mixed bag. I’d be flat out lying if I said any differently. It’s been heart-breaking, hilarious, soul-destroying, uplifting, disappointing and bloody hard a lot of the time. Thanks to radio I’ve learned so much about myself; it really puts a spotlight on your strengths and weaknesses like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. But the best thing to come out of it has been me rediscovering my sense of self. For a time I believed that being a strong, decisive and ambitious woman was something to hide. I must thank radio for reminding me that those are my greatest attributes, not my worst.
So what’s next?
Well, I plan on re-acquainting myself with my family. I have recently signed on to write adult fiction with Harper Collins and I now owe them a book by April. I also have a line of maternity wear coming, and I’ve somehow tricked Kate Miller-Heidke into helping me write the music for my new stage show, which I’ll be touring at the end of next year. Kate wrote Muriel’s Wedding the Musical (and won a bloody Helpmann for it) so I felt my show was a natural fit for her genius.
I will also be starting a huge new podcast and, of course, there is the small business of giving birth!
I want to thank everyone who listened right from the Em Rusciano Radio Show days. However you consumed our show – be it podcast, Facebook videos or listening to us live, I appreciate it. I still marvel that people actively choose to let me into their lives for a small portion of their day. That’s my favourite part of this job, and something I sometimes forget that’s even happening when I’m sitting in that small studio talking into a stick.
Thank you also to Gemma Fordham for believing in me, for supporting my decision to leave (even though it makes your life far more difficult for the foreseeable future) and most importantly, for being my friend and not just my boss.
Finally I want to thank my husband Scotty, my Mum and Dad and my kids Chella and Odie. You all allowed me to take this huge thing on. It has defined our lives for the past two years, and I could not have achieved all that I have without your love and support.
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Top Photo: Em with her husband Scotty and kids Chella and Odie