Kate Ritchie on why she walked away – and why she’s back
The long-time darling of Australian television and radio, Kate Ritchie knew it was time to walk away – and to get professional help.
Confidential
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The long-time darling of Australian television Kate Ritchie knew it was time to walk away.
Her marriage had broken down, she had been suspended from driving after a low-range drink driving incident and she knew she had to get professional help.
For the actress and radio host who had been solidly working since she was eight years old, everything had gotten too much.
The much loved actor, broadcaster and media personality shocked fans and even colleagues when she made the tough decision to stand down from Nova radio’s Drive shift in October to focus on family and health.
“It was a long time coming,” Ritchie said.
“I sought professional help, the help that I needed. I think what was most important was that I felt that I was able to do that because, for a long time, I think we all feel that we can keep putting one foot in front of the other and sometimes enough is enough,” Ritchie said.
“Life has thrown me its challenges over the last few years, but I am not alone in that.
“It doesn’t matter who you speak to, everybody has their fair share of challenges to deal with and I was fortunate to be able to take time and, in turn, I gained clarity and that is why I feel so good about coming back now.”
Ritchie sat down with The Sunday Telegraph exclusively ahead of returning to the airwaves with a new radio job.
From 6am on Monday, Ritchie will be heard on air alongside Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael Wipfli on the Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie breakfast show on the 96.9 FM dial in Sydney, with the show syndicated nationally at 6pm weeknights.
On Thursday it was announced Ricki-Lee Coulter would replace Ritchie in Nova’s Drive shift alongside Tim Blackwell and Joel Creasey.
“I am used to working. I am used to showing up and I just wanted to be a better version of myself for me and for my family really,” she said.
“I am coming back not only clear and refreshed but I am walking back into the building with such a lovely sign of support and faith from the Nova network to have offered me one of the best jobs in the country.”
Despite being one of our most familiar celebrity faces, Ritchie is known for being extremely private – not in the sense that she is guarded but in that so much of her life has been public that she wants to keep something for herself.
Ritchie was married to former rugby league player Stuart Webb from 2010 to 2019 and the pair are parents to beloved daughter Mae.
In August, Ritchie was suspended from driving for three months after a low-range drink driving incident in August.
The former Home and Away star is a Gold and Silver Logie Award winner and was most recently seen on TV as a judge on Australia’s Got Talent.
She first joined Nova in 2006 and has been working full time since the age of eight, when she made her debut on hugely popular TV soap, Home and Away.
While other children growing up enjoyed carefree summer holidays, she was working.
And in adulthood, she too has worked consistently.
Ritchie did not want to single any one particular issue out as the reason for her break.
“I always think by specifying things, they can isolate them,” she said.
“I don’t think it was one factor, and I mean this honestly, it was a combination of many factors over a long period of time. I am no different to anyone else, I just needed to put my hand up and say, ‘this is what I need’.”
Ritchie has relished the time she’s spent with eight-year-old Mae, who just happens to be the same age her mum was when she became a household name on Home and Away.
“I have been doing the school drop offs and the pick ups,” she said.
“That is what is great about this change for me is that there are so many elements to this story. Yes, I’ve had a rest. Yes, I’ve been fortunate to gain that clarity.
“But this is going to change my parenting landscape as well, and so when Nova offered me the move to breakfast, I grabbed it with both hands really because I was not only considering what this meant for me as a broadcaster, but also what it meant for me as a parent and the way that things would look for me now.”
Reflecting on her daughter’s age, she said: “I want to keep her as protected from that (fame) as possible, but I also want her to know that what mummy does is to be celebrated and I love my work and always have.”
It was friends and family that pointed out to Ritchie that she needed to take a break.
“In fact, that was something that was interesting, was that other people noticed before I did,” she explained.
“So when I was fortunate enough to be able to take some time off, it was first and foremost other people that said it was absolutely what I should be doing, that I had been working for such a long time and had a schedule handed to me since I was an eight-year-old child.
“They said, ‘absolutely whatever you need, we will support’, and that goes from my close knit family to the people here at Nova. That is what I feel most grateful for, being able to speak up and say that I needed some time to rest and refresh and gain some clarity around things that I haven’t been able to take that time before.”
She continued: “I probably didn’t think I could take the time before. I don’t think we ever really I guess grant ourselves the time when we most need it so I feel really fortunate that I have been supported in every area.”
One of the big difficulties for Ritchie has been learning to stop.
“I did find it hard to slow down, I have to say,” she explained.
“I have lived with structure for such a long time, that I didn’t really know my way around life without it. That is what was important about taking this amount of time off, a fortnight was not going to cut it I think.
“So I need structure but I also need rest and I need spontaneity. I needed to learn to be still and that is a learned skill.”
She added: “I’ve had to teach myself mindfulness. It is so incredibly important. Whatever it means for you and sometimes that is walking the dog and sometimes that is having a nap because I am not good at that stuff.
“I’ve had to teach myself and I think my daughter has been an excellent teacher in that area because they (kids) really know when you are not present, and I have been going to the cross country carnival, picking up from school and picking up a Slurpy from the fuel station in the afternoon, things like that are so valuable and you can sometimes lose sight of that. It has been really nice to feel connected.”
It isn’t Ritchie’s first stint in breakfast radio. She co-hosted Nova breakfast alongside Merrick Watts and Tim Ross for two years before starting in Drive.
“I managed to survive that so I am not too worried about that,” she said of the early morning starts.
As an actor, it has been a decade since Ritchie has been seen on the small screen. She filmed TV drama, The Claremont Murders, in Perth last year with the two-part miniseries to air this year telling the story of one of Australia’s most notorious crimes.
“It was so wonderful. It was so beautiful to walk back on to a set and for it to feel fresh and new again,” she said.
“I realised how much I miss it but I have always realised that, with radio being away for this period, and so I would like to think that I can juggle both (acting and radio).”
On the personal front, Ritchie has been photographed with a male companion several times over the past few months. She did not want to divulge details of her love life other than to say she is happy.
“I have a lot of love in my life and I have a wonderful support network around me,” she said. “I would like to afford them the space and privacy that they deserve and that goes in all walks of life.”
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