2DayFM radio host Em Rusciano: ‘I’m trying to make the world better for my kids’

SHE’S the newest addition to the cutthroat world of Sydney breakfast radio. Em Rusciano enjoys speaking her mind, which is proving a winner for the rising 2DayFM radio star.

Speaking her mind is proving a winner for radio personality Em Rusciano. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

EM Rusciano lives her life by two rules: be kind, and don’t let people treat you badly. It’s a contradiction that perfectly sums up a comedian known for being loud and outspoken but who is also plagued by anxiety and insecurity.

The newest addition to the cutthroat world of Sydney breakfast radio, Rusciano — with Harley Breen — replaced the struggling Rove and Sam Frost on 2DayFM in January.

Three months in, they are already gaining on morning stalwarts Kyle and Jackie O at KIIS FM and Jonesy and Amanda at 101.7 WSFM.

Rusciano and Breen showed a slow but steady rise in their audience share, taking 4 per cent of the breakfast market when the first ratings of the year were released in March. They trail breakfast frontrunners Kyle and Jackie O, who enjoy a 10.5 per cent market share, and Jonesy and Amanda with 7.3 per cent.

And while Rusciano, 37, has tackled the big topics in the past, including marriage equality, feminism and mental health, it was a little domestic item that lit up the airwaves recently.

“I did not see this coming, I have gone head to head with Mark Latham, spoken out about mental health and marriage equality, and the thing people got angry at was when I told my husband I needed him to help me more around the house,” Rusciano laughs.

Em Rusciano embraces a touch of glamour at The Ivy Penthouse in Sydney but is not afraid to court controversy at the occasional protest. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It was an off-the-cuff comment on air, it was something like ‘Scotty, I need you to cook the dinner, I’m so tired,’ and all of a sudden it was about the division of domestic labour and that I was bullying my husband and he didn’t have a right of response, blah, blah, blah.”

If Rusciano’s hard shell enables her to stand up for the underdog and stick her neck out on the topics she believes in, the gooey centre comes from a history of mental health problems.

Em Rusciano and her husband Scott Barrow with their daughters Odette (front) and Marchella (rear), says she’s “trying to make the world a bit better for my kids. Picture: Instagram

Mother to two daughters, Marcella, 15, and Odette, 10, she has spoken out about having depression, and in particular a serious bout of post-natal depression after the birth of her second daughter.

“I think generally, as a society, we are more accepting of mental illness, but I think when you drill down, and for post-natal depression in particular, a lot of mothers feel ashamed and guilty,” she tells BW Magazine.

“I had it the second time around and was in denial, I just went into survival mode and was functioning on adrenaline until the adrenaline ran out. There are people who still deny it exists but as someone who has experienced it first hand, let me tell you, it’s real, and it’s not fun.

Em Rusciano is juggling her role as a mum with her career. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I still get really bad anxiety and walk around in a mild state of panic for no reason, I’ve always had ups and downs in terms of depression, and I’m pretty sure I had it as a kid, but didn’t know what it was. I don’t think it ever goes away.”

Like most modern day mums, Rusciano juggles her role as a mother with her career — which at various times includes being a comedian, radio announcer, author, columnist, singer and interior designer.

But her juggle now has the added challenge of straddling two states — she lives in Melbourne with husband Scott and their daughters and records the radio show out of Melbourne, but travels to Sydney two days a week for 2DayFM commitments.

“I just have a really great support network, I certainly don’t do it alone, I couldn’t, I would break into a million pieces, I would turn to dust,” she says.

“I’ve done both, the stay-at-home mum thing when my eldest daughter was born and working mum, and I think staying home is harder. But it’s not a competition about who has it the hardest and either way you feel guilt.

“I thought when I went back to work I’d be like, ‘Oh great, I’m contributing to the household income.’ But then I’d be like, ‘I’m not with the kids, I’m missing important milestones.’

“I just want mothers in general to feel like we’re all in this together and not up against each other, it’s not a big competition about who’s doing it better.

“I know I’m a really good mother and I’m rock steady on that, but I still get attacked all the time, and mostly by other mothers. My two children are brilliant humans and they contribute and have good hearts, and that didn’t happen by accident. I think what we need to focus on is being good enough — is my kid loved, fed and watered at the end of the day? And if so, then that’s a good day.”

Radio personality Em Rusciano first found fame as a singer. Picture: Tim Hunter

It was on the topic of motherhood that Rusciano has attracted the greatest amount of ire, she recalls. The incident was her first column for news.com.au and in it she revealed she didn’t discipline her children if they swore. She admits they have barely uttered a curse word in their lives while she swears “like a fishwife” but, once again, it was this seemingly innocuous topic that had readers fired up.

“People say I’m a role model for strong women and I love that,” Rusciano says. “I say to my girls every day: be kind and don’t take shit, they’re my two big rules in life.

“I don’t regret anything I’ve said because everything I say comes from a place of good, I actually do think before I speak. Part of my charm, and my downside, is that I’m off-the-cuff and I cover serious topics because there are a lot of things people don’t talk about out of fear. So I try to put air in them and discuss them in a way that’s accessible.

“I’m trying to make the world a bit better for my kids. I’m scared for the way the world is going and the world they are going out into.

“But at the same time, sometimes I feel really raw and exposed and late at night I second guess the things I say and lay awake worrying.

“But I’ve given up trying to control the perceptions people have about me.”

* The Em Rusciano Radio Show with Harley Breen airs weekdays from 6am on 104.1 2DayFM