Jessica Rowe: ‘A part of me died’ after quitting TV career to be a housewife

Jessica Rowe has spoken about her decision to abandon her television career to raise her family, revealing that a part of her ‘died’ when she became a full-time housewife.

The 52-year-old journalist and author, who shares daughters Allegra, 16, and Giselle, 13, with her husband, Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton, announced in March 2018 that she would be leaving Studio 10 to spend more time with your family.

Rowe has since made occasional guest appearances on television, but has not had another hosting role.

she revealed in The Great Jess Rowe Talk Show podcast, her daily conversations were becoming more and more empty and meaningless as she spent more time at home cleaning up after her children, and she feared she was losing her mind.

The former co-host of the Today show once found herself asking, ‘What happened to me?’ after having a bizarre debate about whether or not Elmo the Muppet has a penis.

Speaking of the shock she experienced after taking a break from her career to focus on motherhood, Rowe said there were times when she despaired of how “boring”, “routine” and “exhausting” life as a housewife could be. home.

“I felt like a part of me was dying inside,” he began.

‘My brain had gone on vacation and I thought, ‘What happened to me? This vibrant person who could interview people.’ Now I realize I’m having debates about whether Elmo has a penis. she added.

‘And, you know, I’d have these discussions with my daughters and I’d say, “How did I get myself down this rabbit hole?”

‘Why did I even say yes? And they said, “But where is (Elmo’s penis)?” And I said, “he hides under his fur.”

And I remember later saying, “Why did I say that?” Why didn’t I just say, “He’s a Muppet? No, he’s not.” Why didn’t I say that? Instead, I had to debate whether or not I had a penis.

The 52-year-old journalist and author, who shares daughters Allegra, 16, and Giselle, 13, with her husband, Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton (all pictured), announced in March 2018 that he would be leaving Studio 10 to spend more time with his family.

While she admitted that going from a high-profile career to being a stay-at-home mom was difficult at times, she is a firm believer that it is possible to be a stay-at-home mom and a feminist.

‘The term housewife for me has to do with empowerment. It’s about living life,’ she said.

Rowe stepped down as a panelist at Studio 10 in March 2018 to spend more time with her family. She is now a podcaster, blogger, and cookbook author.

“There wasn’t a lightening moment in terms of making this decision, but we went on a family vacation last year (and) I started thinking long and hard about how being present with them made them feel and it made me feel,” she said. at that moment.

Rowe stepped down as a panelist at Studio 10 in March 2018 to spend more time with her family. She revealed a year later that she had been close to breaking point when she decided to leave the role of her.

She told Australian Women’s Weekly a year later that she had been close to breaking point when she decided to quit her morning TV role.

“I could feel at the end of every show, not every day, but most days I would be on the verge of tears,” he said.

“I would feel that behind my eyes and it was just a matter of holding it together. And I thought, “Why am I doing this to myself?”

“I knew I was sinking, I knew my anxiety was there, that it was getting me down, and if I didn’t make a change, I would start to falter.”