Lisa Wilkinson reflects on leaving Today: ‘It was something I’d been thinking about’

AS SHE prepares to make her debut on The Project tonight, former Today host Lisa Wilkinson has opened up about the high-profile events that led her there.

AS SHE makes her long-awaited debut on The Project, Lisa Wilkinson has opened up about the surprising events that led her there.

In this weekend’s Stellar magazine, the popular TV presenter admitted her high-profile resignation from Nine’s Today show last year after a decade in the job wasn’t as sudden as it appeared.

“(It was) something I’d been thinking about for a couple of months, and very seriously,” Wilkinson, 58, told the publication.

“The timing was just right. Publicly, it may have seemed like it happened very quickly, but it was something I was seriously contemplating. Then everything just fell into place.”

Lisa Wilkinson on the cover of Stellar. Credit: Todd Barry/Stellar

It was widely reported at the time that the veteran journalist’s unequal pay with co-host Karl Stefanovic was a catalyst for her decision, with the move sparking a national discussion about the gender pay gap.

While Wilkinson refused to delve too deeply into her reasons for leaving, she admitted salary was a factor.

“There were lots of reasons why it was time to make a move, and that [pay gap] was part of it. I was very happy that it reignited the conversation, because the gender pay gap is real.”

The presenter opened up about her departure from Nine. Credit: Todd Barry/Stellar

Shortly after the presenter’s split from Nine, the relationship with her former employer quickly turned frosty, with the network’s CEO Hugh Marks taking the unprecedented step of outlining publicly why he thought Stefanovic was worth more than Wilkinson — and what she had wanted.

“I went to an incredible amount of trouble to build that [$1.8 million] package for her. She wanted $2.3 million. It wasn’t a $200,000 shortfall to [Karl’s] $2 million magic number. It was $500,000,” he told the Daily Telegraph at the time.

Reflecting on the way things ended, Wilkinson admitted that she felt a little sad about it.

“These things are always a learning curve. That’s also really good for you,” she told Stellar.

“TV can be shallow, there’s no headline news there, but the relationships that really matter to me are intact.”

All eyes will be on Wilkinson tonight as she makes her hosting debut on The Project, but the star insisted she’s prepared.

“I’m going to approach this job in the way I’ve approached every other TV job I’ve had. I may be really good, I may be really bad, and I’m just about to find that out — along with the rest of Australia.”

Lisa Wilkinson in Stellar. Credit: Todd Barry/Stellar

Wilkinson’s first interview on The Project is a heartbreaking look at one couple’s fight to have a child through surrogacy, with the help of their best friend.

“I’m so proud that tonight I get a chance to help tell the incredibly heartbreaking but ultimately beautiful and important story of Bec and Gareth, a young couple who went down the surrogacy path with Bec’s best friend,” Wilkinson told news.com.au.

“But the roller coaster they all went on, the twists that happened on that journey that no-one saw coming, and the wonderful village of people who are helping to ensure the happiest possible outcome in the saddest of situations, says everything about why I made the switch to The Project.”

Wilkinson also found time for a quick Q and A with news.com.au about life after Today:

Q: You had three months “gardening leave” — what did you do other than garden?

A: Caught up with lots of friends (trying to make up for years of “really sorry I can’t make it but I have to get up early in the morning” apologies), cleaned out just about every cupboard in the house, worked with some of the wonderful charity groups I’m involved in, hung out with my kids, annoyed my kids, started renovating a bathroom, read a dozen books I’d begun but never finished and, most cherished of all, I slept. (But please don’t leave out my gardening, because my hydrangeas are looking bloody fantastic this year!)

I’m really, genuinely looking forward to going back to work. I love a challenge and stepping outside my comfort zone, and I’ll be working with and learning from people I’ve admired for a long time.

Q: How long has it been since you had a break of three months?

A: I’ve never had a break of three months. I’ve never known anything but working. I have been doing either full-time work, part-time work/part-time mum-ing or full-time mum-ing, since I got my first job at the age of 19 ... which is like, a thousand years ago.

Lisa Wilkinson at last week’s Nutri Life lunch held at Altitude Restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Q: For the first time in years you had Christmas Eve with family. Has has the past three months been a lot of rediscovering things that previously couldn’t fit in with your Today schedule?

A: Totally. But I’m not complaining ... all of that was my choice. I wouldn’t change anything of the last eleven years. And I definitely wouldn’t change anything that’s happened in the last six months. I’ll never be able to thank the public enough for the support and encouragement I was shown, and I feel so much stronger for everything that happened. I really feel like all of this was meant to happen for a very good reason.

Q: What’s the most challenging part of the new gig as you go in? Are there nerves?

A: Of course there’s nerves! Let’s be honest, I could screw this up horribly. But after having so long off, I just want to get back to doing what I love ... covering the news and helping to tell people’s stories

First up, I love The Project. “News, delivered differently” says it all, and I’ve been a viewer ever since The Project started. So I’m really looking forward to working with a team I genuinely admire, people I can learn from, and getting my teeth into longer form journalism that wasn’t really possible on breakfast TV.

Q: Give us a hashtag which describes your 2018 as you dive into a new show. And no, #TheProject doesn’t count.

A: Can I do the thumbs up emoji instead? I think it must be my most-used emoji so far this year — after the smiley face.

For the full interview with Lisa Wilkinson, head to the Stellar website.

Stellar is available in Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Herald Sun, on sale now.