Samantha Armytage recently made a surprise return to Sunrise to talk about the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife after leaving the breakfast show three years ago.
And after her appearance on the show, rumors spread that her replacement, Natalie Barr, was “not comfortable” with Armytage, 47, returning to the show amid the couple’s alleged ongoing feud.
“When Nat found out the week before that he was coming, he just punched her on the chin and, as Nat does with everything, decided to go professional,” a TV source told Woman’s Day.
“That said, you could sense from her body language that she was feeling a little tense,” the source added.
‘Fortunately, Nat and [co-host Matt Shirvington] Shrivo is very close and Shrivo probably realized that Nat wasn’t 100 percent comfortable being on the same set as Sam and that he was there to support her.
Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr was reportedly “not comfortable” with Samantha Armytage appearing on the breakfast show to promote the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife.
Seven has since denied the allegations, saying the pair got on very well and even had a “long catch-up” after Armytage’s interview about the reality show.
‘A Seven spokesperson refutes any claims of tension between the couple. Natalie and Sam caught up for a long time as soon as Nat went off the air. They also offered mutual support and kind words following the death of their colleague Nathan Templeton.’
However, viewers claimed to have detected tensions between the former colleagues during the rare appearance.
“He seems SO happy to be there…” one user sarcastically wrote on Australian TV forum MediaSpy at the time.
It was Armytage’s first time appearing on Sunrise as part of FWAW’s publicity tour, after she snubbed the morning show in 2022.
Instead, she was interviewed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show while the farmers sat down with Barr and Shirvington.
During the interview, Armytage, a real-life farmer’s wife who married horse breeder Richard Lavender in late 2020, praised her life outside the Sunrise studio and her role as host of the matchmaking series.
‘It is perfect. This show has been great for me. I’m really enjoying it and getting to know these guys. It’s fantastic,’ she said.
It was Armtage’s first time appearing on Sunrise as part of FWAW’s publicity tour, having turned down the morning show in 2022.
Armytage became co-host of Sunrise alongside David ‘Kochie’ Koch in 2013, before leaving in 2021.
She was replaced by Barr, who remains on the morning show with Shirvington after taking over Koch’s duties in 2023.
Armytage is said to have “upset” Barr with a sarcastic tweet after leaving the show in March 2021.
‘Look, I’m out. Nat always wanted the job…and she finally got it. “She just needs to move on and enjoy it, and forget about me (even though I’m unforgettable),” she tweeted at the time.
Barr was reportedly “gutted” by her predecessor’s hurtful tweet months after her departure in 2021, suggesting she was desperate for the top job.
He didn’t expect the former presenter to be so “sarky” after working together on Seven’s breakfast show for years, a source told New Idea at the time.
Armytage (front left) became co-host of Sunrise alongside David ‘Kochie’ Koch in 2013, before leaving in 2021. She was replaced by Barr (front right), who remains on the morning show with Shirvington after who took over Koch’s duties in 2023.
“No one was more shocked and saddened by Sam’s comments than Nat,” a source said. “She’s devastated and has no idea why she continues the sarcasm, even though Sam is gone.” [from Sunrise] for months.’
Meanwhile, Barr previously revealed that he did not have a close relationship with Armytage.
When asked about rumors that they were not close, Barr told The Australian Women’s Weekly that the pair “got on well in the office” but rarely spoke after the cameras stopped rolling because they didn’t have much in common. .
“The truth is, we didn’t really see each other outside of the office,” Barr said.
“I guess we had very different lives,” the mother of two added. ‘We were in different places. She was with her friends and I was spending time with my family.
“So, yeah, we were in different places.”
Armytage offered a very revealing response to Barr’s statement during an appearance on The Kyle and Jackie O Show shortly afterward.
Instead of directly addressing their frosty relationship, he paraphrased Oscar Wilde’s famous quote: “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
Radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson addressed the issue, saying: “[Natalie] I did an interview where he said that you guys weren’t that close because you didn’t have much in common and that you didn’t really talk when the cameras were off.
After a pause, Armytage dodged the question by saying, “Yeah, well, look, I mean, it’s better to be talked about than not, isn’t that how it is in life?”
She then took a subtle swipe at Barr for mentioning her in an interview after she decided to take a step back from the television industry.
She said: “I thought everyone would forget about me when I was on my little gap year, but it doesn’t seem like that, you know?”
—Look, the truth is that nothing interesting is happening there. “I’m just doing my thing on the field,” she added.
Armytage “upset” Barr with a sarcastic tweet after leaving the show in March 2021: “Look, I’m out.” Nat always wanted the job…and he finally got it. She just needs to move on and enjoy it… and forget about me (even though I’m unforgettable)’