Erin Molan’s toddler Eliza is just too cute. After Erin and Eliza did a photo shoot together for TV WEEK, Erin and her partner Sean Ogilvy couldn’t help but post a behind-the-scenes pic of Eliza on Instagram.
“I never really share her face,” Erin tells TV WEEK. “But Sean and I were both like, ‘Uh, we have to post this – she’s way too cute not to share.’ She’s just divine.”
Erin says two-year-old Eliza was “very excited” about doing the shoot, which was one of the first she’d done.
“She was quite terrifyingly good with camera awareness, I’ve got to say. Obviously gets it from her father!”
The Nine Network presenter and her police officer partner might soon be posting photos of two cute kids on Instagram. Erin admits that she’s really started to feel clucky, “only in the last month or two”.
“I see so many little bubbas and just get incredibly clucky and think, ‘Oh my gosh – I’d love another one.’ So we’ll see. I’m getting on. I’m 37,” she says.
Erin and cute-as, camera-loving Eliza.
(Bauer/Phillip Castleton)Right now, Erin has a lot to keep her busy, hosting Nine’s coverage of the NRL finals alongside James Bracey. Although the finals will be played in front of smaller crowds than in previous years, she thinks fans are used to it now.
“I don’t think it will detract too much from what’s been an incredible season,” she says. “The quality of football in some of these contests has been as good as I’ve ever seen.”
Erin has also been kept busy launching a line of baby singlets. The singlets, which do up on the side instead of having to be pulled over a baby’s head, were inspired by Erin’s own struggles.
“When Eliza was born, she just hated anything being put over her head,” Erin explains. “I remember going, ‘Oh my God – how can I be a mother if I can’t even put a bloody singlet on my child?'”
Erin is loving being a mother.
(Bauer/Phillip Castleton)It’s taken Erin two years to perfect the design, get a patent and produce the singlets. She’s done a lot of the work during the early hours of the morning.
“I’ll go to bed about 7.30-8pm with Eliza and then she’ll wake for a bottle between midnight and 1am,” Erin says. “Then I’ll then just do a heap of work on it and then I might drop back off at maybe 4am or 5am and get another couple of hours of sleep – if I’m lucky.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Erin has also been devoting time to lobbying the Government to bring in tough new laws on cyber-bullying.
Erin herself has experienced plenty of it, being viciously trolled when she was the host of the NRL Footy Show in 2018. One troll even threatened the life of her unborn baby.
Erin credits her dad, army major-general-turned-Liberal senator Jim Molan, with helping her stay strong.
“I’ve got a great support network – my dad’s incredibly tough and resilient and has been to war – so I’ve got great perspective,” she explains.
But she admits there have been times she’s been “immensely hurt” by some of the things that have been said, and it’s affected Sean too.
“Seeing me hurt hurts him, absolutely” Erin says. “And he’s a policeman, so he’s used to being able to solve these problems and hold people to account. But it’s just the online world – you can’t really do it.”
She says she’s never considered walking away from her media career because of cyber-bullying.
“Me walking away lets the tiny minority of people who do this win, and that’s never been my style and never will be,” Erin explains. “I’ll walk away when I want to, not when someone suggests to me via a threatening message on Instagram that I should.”
Erin, who recently met Prime Minister Scott Morrison to talk about cyber-bullying, says this isn’t about her, but those who are more vulnerable. She says she’s had thousands of messages of support – from actors, reality stars and athletes, but also from parents whose children have been bullied or even taken their own lives.
“I just went and visited a little girl who’s 10 years old with cancer, and she’s being bullied online and offline about not having hair,” she says. “I think it won’t stop until there are consequences.”
It’s clear that Erin is determined to make a difference. She reveals that one day, she might consider going into politics like her dad.
“I’ve never admitted that before, but I’m very passionate about helping people,” she says. “So, down the track, I’d certainly look at something like that.”
Erin’s future is only looking brighter and brighter.
(Instagram)For now, though, Erin isn’t planning on doing anything that would mean spending more time away from Eliza. A few months ago, she knocked back a “great” opportunity that would have seen her working five days a week.
“It was hard for me to say no,” Erin admits. “But I said no for her and for me, because I want to be with her.”
With Sean travelling “a fair bit” for work, Erin does as much of her job as she can at home with Eliza.
“I get a lot of hair and make-up now done at home just so I can be with her a little bit longer,” she explains. “She’s always on my lap when I’m getting stuff done.
“The thought of looking back and regretting not having a lot of time with her, or regretting putting other things ahead of her, would just make me feel physically ill.
“Being the best mum to her is my priority times a billion over anything else.”
