In a land of egos, gloss & glamour, Sarah Harris is one genuine Aussie TV face who tells it like it is

IN A land of egos, gloss and perceived glamour, Sarah Harris is one of the genuine Aussie TV faces who tells it like it is.

IT IS something that many women in the media perennially discuss: longevity, equality ... and all that damn maintenance.

“It’s awful and it’s constantly holding up a mirror and looking at yourself. It’s so narcissistic and can make you feel really insecure,’’ says Sarah Harris, co-host of Ten’s Studio 10.

“I know at home if I start using derogatory language about myself, whether I’m having a fat day or feel disgusting, Tom will pick me up on it and say don’t use that sort of language because we don’t want to use that language around our kids when we have them.”

Sarah announced her pregnancy just last week, after marrying her ‘IT nerd’ husband Tim Ward in July 2014.

Nothing fake about her wedding day though: Sarah Harris married ‘IT nerd’ Tom Ward last year.

Sarah joined The Morning Show’s Larry Emdur and the original Bachelor-turned-fitness-guru-turned-Dancing With the Stars contestant Tim Robards in a new ‘On the Couch’ video series with news.com.au, talking fame, celebrity and ‘real’ life in between.

“When I’m in the make-up room or wardrobe department and we have young female stylists there, they don’t need to hear me say those sorts of things.

“It’s one of those things, you have to start with change but you want to impress people with what comes out of your mouth and what is in your head, rather than the size of your bum.”

Last year, a number of TV faces chose to go make-up free on national TV, but did that exercise actually prove anything?

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to wear make-up,’’ smiles Sarah. Hear, hear!

Sam Armytage.

Natural beauties: Rebecca Gibney.

Bec Judd.

Jackie O.

“What I think it did show is that all of this is fake,” Sarah says.

“I had a girl who follows me on Twitter and is 16 and she sent me a message and said ‘you always look so happy on TV’ and ‘happy in your Instagram posts’. ‘You look like you have got your life together, what is your advice?’

“And I was like NONE of that is true,” laughs Sarah.

“I am like everyone else, I am trying to keep all the balls in the air. I’m not putting up me sitting on the couch watching Law & Order, eating grated cheese out of the bag because that is pretty much what I am doing most days.

“Every day is a struggle for me to get up and do some exercise so I can feel better about myself. “Lena Dunham is using this new phrase: ‘It’s not about the ass it’s about the brain.’”

“We want people to like us”: TV’s Sarah Harris tells it how it is.

“It’s so true — you should exercise for your mental health. We present these polished, picture perfect lives to people and it’s not true and I think what taking the make up off showed was ‘hey we are just normal people’.”

Sarah admits that social media platforms like Instagram often promote a filtered, fake and often unrealistic lifestyle.

“It all comes from a deep insecurity — we want people to like us. And you hope you can get ‘likes’.”

Fortunately Sarah has a gang of friends that have been with her forever and keep her well and truly grounded. Always upfront and genuine, Sarah also admitted that it was an ill-fitting bra that made her think she may have been pregnant.

Take. One. Top troika On the Couch.

“I have a really solid group that I have had for many years,” she says.

“They are the ones who will tell you when you are getting too big for your boots or being a wanker and will pull you back down to earth.

“My husband is the same. He is completely out of the media which is great. He is an IT nerd and he kind of keeps things in perspective.

“I think sometimes it is pretty easy to get caught up in the finer details of this crazy media game and he is there to just go you know “you’re not a nurse who just pulled a 15 hour shift at a hospital, come on, you are working in television, pull yourself together.”

“And that is what you need. You need to hear that sometimes. It is good to surround yourself with those sorts of people, otherwise you can’t keep your head in place.”

Follow Melissa on Instagram and Twitter @melissahoyer