Kylie Gillies has spent 18 years delivering the news to Australians on The Morning Show, and now she has opened up about her life in a candid interview with TV WEEK.
The 58-year-old presenter, who has co-hosted the popular show with Larry Emdur since it began, reflected on her journey from a country newsroom in Tamworth to national TV.
“I’m a Tamworth girl,” she said. “I grew up in the country, started off in a regional newsroom, reporting sometimes from the middle of a paddock.”
It was in her hometown that she met her husband, Tony, who worked at the local newspaper while she was at the TV station.
“I knew straight away [that he was the one],” she said. “We met both as working journalists in the same small country town, with shared interests and shared goals.”
Now married for 36 years, the couple have raised two sons, Gus, 22, and Archie, 20, who recently went on to build their own careers.
“Gus has already done an 18-month stint in Europe,” she said.
“And he’s heading back there because his career path in film and commercial production has taken off. And my other son is at uni in the world of design. He’s in his third year and doing really well and finding his own way in the world as well.
“So maybe they both have a little bit of the media flair in their DNA somewhere,” she joked.
While she’s proud of her sons, she admitted it’s an emotional time. “It’s both exciting and scary – and I’m happy and sad all at once,” she said.
“You know what? That’s actually what motherhood’s about. Feeling 87 emotions all at once.”
With the kids now independent, Kylie and Tony are looking forward to having more time together. “The kids used to have sometimes four games of footy in a weekend. Now those days are over, maybe we will start to travel a bit more,” she said.
Despite the changes at home, Kylie has no plans to slow down professionally. “I have got so much more out of the show than what I’ve ever had to sacrifice,” she said.
“My two beautiful boys have grown up with their mum being known for The Morning Show, and me being able to pick them up from school.”
Kylie also reflected on one of the toughest stories she’s ever covered, the Lindt Café siege, which unfolded while she and Larry were live on air in the Sydney CBD.
“That is one that definitely stays with us – and for all the bad reasons,” she said.
Still, she credits her long-standing partnership with Larry for the show’s success. “We have this sort of gorgeous rhythm,” she said. “I think a lot of viewers see their own family reflected in us – and we can banter until the cows come home.”
And after nearly two decades of working side by side, she’s proud of what they’ve built.
“The fact that we’re still here, we still care, we’re still excited by it, we’re still asking what’s happening tomorrow – that longevity is what I’m most proud of,” she said.
Images: Instagram
