Jessica Rowe just celebrated 1,000 episodes of Studio 10.
And her down-to-earth personality has won her a loyal army of fans.
So it’s hard to believe that not so many years ago, Jessica thought her TV career was over.
“There was a time when the phone wasn’t ringing,” Jessica remembers.
“I was calling all sorts of people and no-one was ringing me back.
“I couldn’t get a job, and I really despaired for a while. That coincided with having postnatal depression and it was a really difficult time.”
Jessica had just come off a stint on Today, working with Karl Stefanovic, where she was under attack in the media.
“I care less and less what people think and I’m just myself.”
There were claims that Nine Network boss Eddie McGuire had said he wanted to “bone” (fire) Jessica.
She left Nine in 2007, and things went quiet for her.
“I did struggle for a long time,” she admits.
“I was someone who had always defined myself through my career, my job title, which I’ve subsequently learned isn’t really a sensible thing to do. I felt very lost for a time. I thought, ‘What am I now? What do I do? What are my skills?’”
After leaving the Nine Network, Jessica’s career was at a standstill.
There’s one person she credits with keeping her TV career alive.
“Adam Boland, who was heading up Sunrise and then Weekend Sunrise, gave me a lifeline,” Jessica reveals.
“He was wonderful. He was the only person who gave me an ongoing job and believed in me. I needed that. I suppose that’s what kept me in TV.”
Jessica with her Studio 10 co-hosts Joe Hildebrand, Ita Buttrose and Sarah Harris.
Fast-forward a decade and Jessica is now in a job where she can be herself and people love her for it.
At 47, she feels she’s in a “much happier place” in life.
For the full story, pick up this week’s issue of TV WEEK.
