‘I kind of like to wing it’: Olivia Molly Rogers on carving her own path
She’s a former beauty queen, author, speech pathologist and a mental health advocate, but after an intense period of growth Olivia Molly Rogers is in her happiest phase with a new podcast. She reveals what’s next and why she doesn’t always plan.
VWeekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from VWeekend. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Olivia Molly Rogers will be the first to admit things haven’t always gone to plan.
But the Melbourne-based model, podcaster and influencer has never felt more content and unapologetically herself than at this very point in her jam-packed 33 years on Earth.
Filled with some of life’s dreamiest highs and testing lows, the past decade has undoubtedly cemented itself as an intense period of growth for the well-known mental health advocate.
“If you had met me four years ago, that would have been very different. I was more of an anxious person and I doubted myself a lot more,” a candid Rogers says when complimented on her calm demeanour as curious bystanders gathered to watch VWeekend’s cover shoot at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Markets. Pausing briefly, perhaps taking stock of just how far she’s come with the help of therapy, Rogers continues: “I do still overthink, but not as much. I also kind of felt uneasy a lot of the time, whereas I don’t feel that anymore and it’s a real relief.”
Make no mistake, Rogers certainly does not present herself as a sob story, but instead a woman stepping into her power, one who recognises that life throws plenty of curveballs along the way, and these days, she’s better equipped and willing to embrace them.
She’s arguably at the highest point in her career to date, partnering with some of the world’s biggest brands, having penned self-help book Find Your Light, each day growing her legion of fans through her beauty and fashion content, and attending luxurious events seemingly almost daily. Just this month, a couture-clad, jewel-dripping Rogers attended Glamour on the Grid alongside her incredibly dapper plus-one, business consultant boyfriend Hugo Breakey, in yet another high-fashion display synonymous with her personal brand.
But it is her hosting duties for top-rating podcast Tell Me More which offers a deep sense of fulfilment for the former beauty queen, who first launched into the public eye after taking out the crown of Miss Universe Australia 2017. “I just felt like there was something missing,” the qualified speech pathologist, who lists a chat with tennis great Jelena Dokic as a series highlight, says of the podcast’s inspiration.
Noting the great fortunes in her line of work, she adds: “I also felt like I wasn’t that fulfilled from just taking photos or going to events. As fun as it can be, I studied speech so that I could help people and do some meaningful work, and I felt a void for a long time in that space. A lot of the time when I attend events, there’ll be a lot of small talk and surface level chat, but you don’t often go deep. But I’m an over-sharer and I love getting vulnerable with people, so I saw the podcast as a good way to do that.
“I just get so excited because now more than ever when I’m out and about, people have stopped me on the street and said, ‘I love your podcast.’ That gives me so much more satisfaction than someone saying that they follow me on Instagram. It just holds a lot more weight for me, so it’s nice that it’s resonating and that our audience is growing.”
Naturally, questioning turns to its forthcoming, highly-anticipated season two, though a playfully coy Rogers, who lights up with excitement at the mere mention of it, knows better than to give everything away.
“We just want to make sure that we’re really focusing on that key messaging, which is that the episodes can still be fun, and they don’t have to always be super serious. But I want people to come away from the episode feeling like they’ve learned something or opened up their mind to something they haven’t thought about,” she says. “At the end of the day, I just feel like by sharing our vulnerabilities and our hardships and stories that it helps you to empathise with other people more.
“I think also it can help you to just be a bit kinder to each other, because everyone’s going through something and you don’t always know what that is.”
Of course, being an open book doesn’t always come easy, she explains. Such as late 2022 when Rogers’ separation from ex-husband Justin McKeone, the same year they married, began making headlines.
“What has been difficult is finding a balance between being vulnerable and sharing things that I think can help other people, but also keeping my life somewhat private and not owing everything to everyone. That was definitely challenging, going through a marriage breakdown and all of that,” Rogers says of what to share publicly these days.
“I think (it comes down to) finding a way to share some things but also remain private when I need to, and to protect other people because, at the end of the day, there’s my story, but there’s also other people involved and it’s not up to me to share stories that involve multiple people … Yeah, I think it’s a constant battle …
“The line is that I still want to protect my partner’s privacy and then also my family. It’s something I’m always navigating.”
She pauses briefly.
“In the early days of my relationship with Hugo, I didn’t want to share a single thing because I felt like I really wanted to protect it, and no one knew for certain that I was in a relationship for quite a while. No one knew his name for a while and that was nice being in our own bubble but I feel like I’m more willing to let people in a little bit now,” she says.
So what does she make of her name being dragged into national headlines purely because of a former partner’s behaviour? Is it frustrating?
“Yes,” she states matter-of-factly.
“But I’ve done a lot of work to work through those challenging times, personally. For a lot of people who are not in a public space, they can completely detach from an ex relationship and move on with their life but I feel I can’t really do that because of my job. I just have to try and ignore and rise above, and focus on what I’m doing and not on what other people are doing.”
Well-documented is Rogers’ sliding doors moment when, while recovering from an eating disorder fuelled by a stint modelling in Sydney, she eventually agreed to take part in Miss Universe Australia after multiple approaches by scouts. There was trepidation, she recalls, at stepping into a world which ultimately thrives on comparison and demands each beauty has a desirable figure, captivating smile and carefully crafted responses – the complete antithesis of what’s recommended in the midst of recovery.
Rogers explains the decision behind it: “From the beginning, I told them I wasn’t going to do it if they told me I had to change the way I looked.
“I was also like, ‘OK, I’ve got to have a purpose for this, I’ve got to have a message. So I decided that would be talking about mental health and the fact that I’ve had an eating disorder. I saw that as a way to help people, but also somewhat as a way to help myself to heal, because I thought if I put it out there, that holds me accountable to make sure I’m doing my best to look after myself and I can be a good role model to other people.”
That fateful decision, paired with a tireless work ethic and enduring hunger to give every opportunity a red hot crack, would set in motion a whole new trajectory for her life.
“That’s kind of just what I saw myself doing and I was more than OK with that,” the former Seymour College student recalls of her time working as a pediatric speech pathologist before stepping away in 2021. “I was pretty certain that my one career in life would be speech pathology, so it’s funny how things took a turn.”
That turn, recalls Rogers, who celebrated her 33rd birthday earlier this week, led to a “daunting but exciting” shift interstate to Melbourne; a decision which undoubtedly proved fruitful in more ways than she could ever have imagined.
It also meant leaving behind her adoring parents Nicky and Mark, who split when Rogers was in primary school, and four wonderful siblings – some from her father’s second marriage.
“I was 25 and I was like, ‘Well, let’s see what happens.’ I feel like your mid-20s is a great time to take a leap like that. I had my degree to back me up but I didn’t have a job planned over here at that point,” she says.
“I just got really lucky with how things panned out.
“There’s been a lot of luck, but there’s also right place, right time and being willing to put yourself in weird or challenging situations.
“I can definitely see myself going back (to speech pathology) at some point, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Nowadays, there are so many opportunities that pop up last minute and I want to keep myself open to those because I’m fully aware that this could be a temporary career, right?”
Rogers, offering a refreshing take, continues: “I just can’t see it lasting forever and I feel like I’ve got to make the most of the opportunities that come my way.”
So, what’s next given she’s lived what feels like so many lives already?
Well, Rogers – who describes this current season of her life as “aligned” and “content” – is happy to keep letting the universe do its thing.
“I’ve always struggled with this question,” she says. “I remember my dad asking me when I was about 25, ‘What are you going to be doing in five years?’ I was like, ‘Oh, Dad! I don’t know.’ And if we look back now at that time and how it all unfolded, I don’t think I ever could have predicted what was going to happen.
“I like to plan a lot of things in my life, but I also kind of like to wing it a bit because being in the industry that I am in, I have to just take the opportunities as they come and I can only plan so much.
“So I will continue to do that, make the most of this little roller coaster that I’m on and, hopefully, continue putting out as much good as I can in the world.”
Snow White and the seven … what?: How Disney got this movie so wrong
I grew up in the ‘80s, in Disney’s peak era, so I was beside myself over the new Snow White, until I realised they got a fundamental part of the film very wrong, writes Nikki Osborne.
Simon thought he had reflux, minutes later he nearly died
Simon Toussaint was playing cricket when he went to sit down as he thought he had reflux. Moments later he went into cardiac arrest. He’s lucky for what happened next.