ABC presenter Michael Rowland has announced he will leave the broadcaster after 39 years, stepping away from daily news to care for his unwell wife in a decision he described as both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Speaking on Monday morning, the 57-year-old confirmed he will depart Australian Broadcasting Corporation later this week, saying the choice to walk away from a career he loves was “bittersweet”, but one he knows is right.
“After almost four decades in the grinding environment of daily news and current affairs, and having watched luck run out for so many people, I’ve decided now is a good time to step away,” Rowland said.
“My wife, Nikki, who you all know, has been unwell over the last year or so, and I’m wanting to spend more time with her and family and move at a gentler pace.”
Rowland said the decision had not come lightly, but was guided by a growing sense of perspective.
“It’s just the right time for my family and friends to step back from full-time work and move on to the next stage of life,” he said. “I know this is the right decision for me, my family and my life going forward. But I’ll miss the viewers. I still get a wonderful reception when I travel around Australia.”
Rowland joined the ABC in 1987 as an 18-year-old news cadet, beginning a career that would span reporting, political and financial correspondence, and some of the broadcaster’s most significant global moments.
In the early 2000s he was posted to Washington as North America correspondent, covering the election of Barack Obama and the turmoil of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Since 2010, Rowland has been a familiar and steady presence on ABC News Breakfast, co-hosting the program for 15 years alongside journalists including Virginia Trioli and Lisa Millar.
Away from the studio, Rowland’s story has long been intertwined with that of his wife, Nicola, whom he met in the early 2000s when they were both working as political journalists in Canberra. The couple married in 2002 and later welcomed two children, Tom, now 22, and Eleanor, 21.
In a rare joint interview in 2020, Nicola offered a glimpse into the partnership that now sits at the heart of Rowland’s decision to step away.
“I still look forward to seeing him every day,” she told Woman’s Day at the time. “Michael goes at Michael’s pace. He’s very calm and steady. My world before I met him was chaos… but he’s the ballast in the ship for me.
“We balance each other. We make each other laugh. We frustrate each other as well. It sounds such a cliché – but we’re a really good team.”
Rowland will present his final broadcast on Friday, closing a chapter defined by calm authority, empathy and endurance – and opening another, quieter one focused on care, family and time.
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