Her solid work ethic and likeable personality have taken her to the top of the morning show ladder, but Sunrise star Natalie Barr only recently revealed the hardships she’s had to overcome along the way.
When she was still a teenager, a niggling back pain turned out to be osteomyelitis, a bone infection that, in Nat’s case, had eaten two of her vertebrae – resulting in immediate bed rest for two months and the fear she may not recover.
“I can remember thinking, lying in that hospital bed, that I may never walk again and I don’t know what my life is going to be like,” the 55-year-old tells Woman’s Day.
Barr has been hosting Sunrise since 2020.
(Image: Getty)But despite being a terrifying ordeal for the previously carefree country girl, Nat only grew stronger and more determined by the experience, letting it shape her life in a positive way.
“I’ve reflected back on it many, many times over the years because it felt like an unusual thing to happen for a 15-year-old,” she says.
“It certainly made me think that things can change on the turn of a dime and you have no control over it – and so you better make the most of things. That was definitely in my mind and it has been ever since.”
Barr grew up in Bunbury, Western Australia.
(Image: Getty)TAKING OPPORTUNITIES
With no lingering health issues and an ambition to make it in the world of journalism, the girl from Bunbury, WA, forged ahead building her successful career. But no matter how busy or demanding her television work has been over the years, maintaining her health has been a constant priority.
“I know this body is the only one I’ve got,” says Nat. “I’m by no means a fitness freak but I make sure I don’t let myself get totally out of control. I eat as much chocolate and lollies as anyone else but I try to get back into healthy eating as much as I can when I know I’ve overdone it.”
A shoulder injury in recent years has meant twice-weekly visits to a physio rehab, where the TV presenter focuses on strength movements to “make sure my body is getting stronger so I can get back into proper exercise”.
But since taking over the top job at Sunrise, workouts have taken a back seat to her workday – which begins at 3am, continues until the morning show wraps at 9am, then sees her “dip in and out all day” in line with the relentless 24-hour news cycle.
“I’m finding since taking over the top job, there’s a lot more reading.”
(Image: Getty)“I’m finding since taking over the top job, there’s a lot more reading,” says Nat.
“I’ve always been a news junkie and I spend a lot of the day reading news articles but I really feel like I need – and want – to keep on top of all news stories. If you’re talking to the country’s top politicians, you’ve kind of got to know what you’re talking about!”
One thing that has made the work-life juggle easier is the fact her sons Lachlan, 21, and Hunter, 18, are now grown, with the eldest finishing university in Melbourne and the youngest doing his HSC.
“It was very different when I started and I had an 18-month-old!” Nat recalls. “So I’ve gone through the years of them waking up in the middle of the night, and screaming at dinnertime, and going through the witching hour at five o’clock… that was the hardest part. But now they’re older, you just have to be there when they’re ready to talk about things.”
Another thing that’s made work easier lately is her new co-host, Matt Shirvington, 44, who smoothly took over when long-running host David Koch retired last month.
Kochie announced his retirement from Sunrise in May 2023.
(Image: Getty)“I talked to [Kochie] last week and he watches the show before he goes to work,” Nat says of his digital media business. “His staff tell him he’s less grumpy in the afternoons now!”
Nat says of her new co-host, “Shirvo is fantastic, he’s just slotted in so well. We’ve worked together for a couple of years anyway, so I really feel like it’s been seamless. He’s a very good chatter – he talks almost as much as I do!”
With audience favourite Matt by her side, Nat’s keen to keep Sunrise at the top of the ratings ladder against Today and friendly rival Karl Stefanovic.
“We look at the ratings every day and yeah, we want to win,” she says.
“I was on radio with Karl a few weeks ago, I’ve known him for a long time and we like each other, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to beat each other! We don’t want them to win.”
