Why Abbie’s dating life is now strictly off limits
After revealing on social media in June that she was in a relationship – and branding herself the “queen of monogamy” – Abbie Chatfield opens up on why her new romance is “the one thing that I won’t talk about.”
Stellar
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News.
In the four years since we met her on The Bachelor Australia, Abbie Chatfield has taken on myriad opportunities – podcaster, social media influencer, TV personality and radio presenter among them. But the 28-year-old media maven has felt the toll of wearing so many hats at once. So to get back on an even keel after leaving her radio job, she headed to the Northern Territory for a getaway, and invited Stellar to tag along. As she reflects on her welcome break, Chatfield declares, “I’m putting energy into things that I really, really care about”
Abbie Chatfield is having her own Baywatch moment, channelling Pamela Anderson in a red one-piece bathing suit for an on-location shoot in the Northern Territory.
“I dressed myself, and it was just what I had,” the podcaster and TV presenter tells Stellar. “I was mainly in swimmers. We went to so many water holes, Ormiston Gorge and Ellery Creek Big Hole, and swam in this crystal-clear, ice-cold water when it was 34 degrees.”
Wearing ensembles by House of Darwin, a social enterprise specialising in clothing and apparel and one of her favourite First Nations brands, Chatfield was more than happy to be a conspicuous presence. “It was like spot the tourist – a House of Darwin water bottle, cap, top and tote all on me at one point,” the It’s A Lot podcast host says.
For Chatfield, being seen in the NT is one thing – far more important is being heard. As Tourism Northern Territory’s newly appointed “Chief Sensory Officer for Summer in the NT”, her collaboration with Tourism NT includes fronting ChatNT, a new AI-powered travel tool that offers inspiration and advice for holidaying to the NT in summer – all in Chatfield’s signature tongue-in-cheek tone. “Using my tone of voice, it’s like a little bot,” she explains. “And it will help people plan their ultimate summer vacation in the Northern Territory. It’s so hi-tech – I feel like the future is now.”
And if you find yourself using ChatNT this summer and hear Chatfield’s voice in your head, know that her recommendations come straight from the heart. “I love the Northern Territory,” she enthuses. “I’m a free ambassador regardless of this new role. When Covid was happening, no-one could go overseas and that made me look into where in Australia I could go. I hadn’t been to Darwin before, or the NT, and I went in 2021 for the first time. It was the best four days of my life.”
That positive outlook has been hard-earned after a period of burnout, the signs of which, she says, were apparent during her most recent cover shoot for Stellar in May. Despite being genuinely excited for the opportunity, Chatfield later posted to her social media that she had spent much of the shoot in tears, before asking herself, “Why am I crying on the set of a cover for a f*cking magazine? Why do I care so much about how I look? Am I so vain? Has this industry rotted my brain so that I have insecurities I never had?”
Three months later, in August, she announced her exit from – or, as she puts it now, “aggressively quit” – her radio show Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield, which she had hosted for 18 months on the Hit Network. Her mental health, she says, was “the worst it has been in years. The first quarter [of 2023] brought a level of work stress I had never experienced. I also felt like the other parts of my life were suffering, not just personal – I don’t think my podcast was as good; I had to spread out content. The podcast means more to me [so] I’m putting energy into things that I really, really care about.”
So how is she feeling now? “I have gained back so much freedom and autonomy – I feel like it was the absolute right decision,” Chatfield reports. “I finally pulled the trigger and I’m so much happier. It has honestly been life-changing. I think radio, if it was my only job, would have been fantastic, but I have so much going on.”
Chatfield is taking her power back in other ways, too. After revealing on social media in June that she was in a relationship – and branding herself the “queen of monogamy” – the topic of her dating life is now strictly off limits. “I’m just not commenting on it,” she insists. “It’s the one thing that I won’t talk about.”
She’s also choosing what she lends her time – and her name – to more carefully. She was a passionate and vocal supporter of the Yes campaign for the Voice to Parliament Referendum. After the No result, Chatfield says she found it “really difficult” to accept. “I hope for systemic change, but I don’t know how we get there now that this hasn’t gone through.”
And last month, Chatfield announced she would step down from hosting this year’s national R&B and hip-hop concert tour Fridayz Live, citing in an Instagram statement that it was because of an “active lawsuit involving the headline act, including an allegation of sexual harassment”. Simplifying her workload, it turns out, has reaped benefits for her overall health.
Not long after she quit radio, Chatfield was hospitalised for migraines and then a kidney infection. “I’m feeling physically better, but I haven’t been able to work out for six weeks,” she says, adding that, at the bare minimum, her goal has been “trying to not go back to hospital with a kidney infection or a migraine”.
To that end, Chatfield expects 2024 to look very different to the past 12 months. “Honestly, I’m so exhausted. I’m ready to throw my phone into the ocean,” she admits. “I’ve done so much. I’m hoping I can maintain a lower level of work. I’m going to think about how I spend my time and how I can be most efficient. I’ve learnt from this year not to say yes to every single thing. It will burn you out. I’m trying to reassess. I just want to make sure my dog is walked and happy.”
ChatNT launches today. To find out more, visit northernterritory.com/summer
This story was produced in partnership with Tourism NT
Originally published as Why Abbie’s dating life is now strictly off limits
Barnsey’s daughter’s next big move
As she is interviewed by her half-brother David Campbell, Mahalia Barnes – the daughter of Aussie rock icon Jimmy Barnes – reveals she is taking on a high-profile new role.
Erin Molan’s X-rated beauty treatment
Erin Molan has revealed the extreme lengths she went to in her beauty routine recently, trying what she has called ‘the next big cosmetic thing’ – and it’s not for the faint of heart.