‘Not good enough’: Radio duo reveal truth

Jase & Lauren shared some shocking insight into how they were axed from their radio show in favour of Kyle & Jackie O.

Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips were revealed as the new king and queen of Melbourne radio this week, just months after their shocking axe from KIIS FM in favour of Kyle and Jackie O.

In a surprise turnaround their Nova 100 show is now the number one FM breakfast show in Melbourne, after they leapfrogged market leader Christian O’Connell in the latest round of radio ratings released.

To celebrate the momentous occasion, the pair appeared on The Project on Tuesday evening where they shared some juicy details about how their axing from KIIS came about.
“I think we thought the fairytale for us was getting a second chance and going to Nova,” commented Phillips, before going on to reveal the bad blood between the duo and KIIS FM.

“Today is like a little cherry on top. We were pretty graceful in defeat.”

Jase & Lauren have claimed that they were told they "weren't good enough". Picture: Twitter.

She went on to claim that bosses told the pair that they simply weren’t up to scratch for the timeslot.

“We accepted the fact we’d been replaced by what we were told was a much better product than us. Being told ‘You’re not good enough’ puts fire in your belly.”

It’s been an incredible comeback for Jase and Lauren, who were axed from KIIS FM at the end of last year to make way for Kyle and Jackie O’s expansion into the Melbourne market.

The pair previously told news.com.au they were “devastated” when they were let go, with Lauren even contemplating leaving Australia.

“Late last year I was ready to leave the country and move overseas,” Lauren told us back in July.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do. I felt pretty lost in the world.”

KIIS 101.1’s Kyle and Jackie O are currently the fifth highest rated FM breakfast show in Melbourne. Picture: Twitter.

Then, in early 2024, Jase, Lauren, and their co-host Clint Stanaway, were offered a lifeline by Nova 100 who expressed interest in hiring them to host their breakfast show.

“It happened very quickly and it happened with a really honest conversation,” Jase told news.com.au.

“We all just sat down together and we said, ‘Let’s have a chat about this, see how it feels, and it doesn’t feel right for us, let’s all just walk away.’”

The trio decided to give it a go, hosting their first show on Nova on March 8.

Since then, the show has steadily climbed up the ratings and now they’re the number one FM breakfast show in the city.

Despite their megabucks deal, KIIS 101.1’s Kyle and Jackie O only rose 0.2 per cent in the latest figures and currently stand as the fifth highest rated FM breakfast show in Melbourne with a 6.1 per cent share.