Family tragedies forced Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy to walk away from Triple M radio gig

Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy have revealed the twin family tragedies which forced them to quit Triple M’s Hot Breakfast and refocus on the “things that matter”.

Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy say family tragedies helped inform their decision to walk away from Triple M’s Hot Breakfast show.

Darcy’s father, former VFL footballer David Darcy, passed away on August 1. McGuire’s mother Bridie died two days later.

“The self reflection, and losing someone close to you … you re-evaluate things that are important and, for me, it always comes back to family,” Darcy said.

“It had a massive impact on me, and a part of my decision making (to leave breakfast radio) as well.

“We need to work and pursue great things like the Hot Breakfast to look after our families, but at the same time, you don’t want to miss the point of life. I’m massive on that life balance part.

“This year, we’ve had the chance to stop, reflect and look at our situations.”

McGuire said: “Darce’s father was such a great friend of the show, and so well loved. My mum passed two days later, but we knew it was imminent. My view is, If you don’t learn from this year, you won’t learn from much.”

A month after Bridie’s passing, McGuire, and his son Joe, who puts Eddie to air whenever he broadcasts remotely, spent two months in the AFL hub on the Gold Coast.

“I spent a lot of time with my son Joe, and spent no time with my son Xander and my wife Carla who were back in Melbourne. You think, ‘Hang on, these are the things that matter.’

“We came to work every day for our family,” McGuire said. “We don’t regret that we weren’t there to drive them to school. That would be great in a perfect world where money falls off a tree.

Eddie’s mother Brigette McGuire (second from left) passed away in August

“Darce comes from a family of publicans who knew nothing but hard work. I always joke my dad was in the coalmines when he was 12, so getting up and coming (into Triple M) was – and I used to mentally frame it as, this was my going to the coalmines.

“It did hurt, but so it should,” McGuire said. “You’ve got to put in. The rewards were fantastic — the friendships, the opportunities; you couldn’t ask for a better run.”

Darcy reflected on family moments that happened on the show, including standing in Anzac Cove with McGuire and his family, and relaxing in Hawaii with his wife, Bec, and Carla McGuire.

Earlier this week, McGuire and Darcy announced they will pull the pin on the breakfast radio show they’ve co-hosted for 11 years.

McGuire said a conversation with wife Carla and sons Joe and Xander inspired him to walk away after warning they warned the media king: “Enough. This is going to kill you.”.

In January, after broadcasting the show from his holiday home, McGuire planned a short nap at 10am and didn’t wake up until 3pm.

“Carla and the boys said to me at that stage, and they were very strong on this, ‘Enough. This is going to kill you.’”

Luke Darcy with his late dad David Darcy

McGuire added: “As much as I try to put as much into every working day, there comes a time where there’s a breaking point. I got too tired in the end. I would nod off in meetings, nod off at home, and I’d be zoned out at dinner.

“That’s part of life, that’s what every business person does. I’m not crying for help here. But in the end it was enough.”

While McGuire and Darcy are looking forward to sleeping through the 4.30am alarm, they still have high profile jobs at Channel 9, Fox Footy, and Channel 7, respectively.

Darcy will also continue calling games on Triple M Footy, and McGuire is working on new projects for the station.

“If I died tomorrow, people would go, ‘Yeah, he was a good bloke or broadcaster, but he kept working all the time. He didn’t have a life,’” McGuire said. “You get to a stage in your life where, no matter how much you enjoy doing the show, it hurts every morning.

“You’re sore, and you’re tired, and life goes on around you.”

McGuire paid tribute to former Hot Breakfast co-hosts Tony Moclair, Mieke Buchan, Mick Molloy and Wil Anderson, and the show’s long time voice of reason, Rosie Walton.

The past 11-years had seen “children born, parents buried, and ups and downs aplenty,” McGuire said.

Luke Darcy and Eddie McGuire are walking away from breakfast radio. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Darcy said he was privileged to do the show.

“Some of the best experiences in my life have been in the past 11 years,” he said.

“The last 11 years has been the most enjoyable experience you could imagine.”

Darcy said he told his youngest son Max about his plan to quit Triple M on Tuesday.

“That’s cool, Dad,” Max replied. “I’ve never seen you in the morning. You haven’t walked me to school before.”

Darcy said his time on breakfast radio had been “magnificent, humorous, mischievous and extraordinary.”

He added: “I had no idea of the privilege it was to talk to Melbourne every day. I didn’t understand it. I do now, and it’s an incredible honour.”

MORE CONFIDENTIAL

HELEN KAPALOS ASKED TO CHANGE HER SURNAME TO SMITH

AUSTRALIAN STARS WHO SWAPPED FAME FOR REAL LIFE

BRYNNE EDELSTEN EMERGES FROM LOCKDOWN FREE AND SINGLE