Abbie Chatfield has continued to lighten her busy schedule after seeking treatment for a ‘work addiction’.
The former Bachelor star has been ditching various work commitments for the past year, but it wasn’t until September that she sought help at a luxury retreat in Thailand.
In addition to dropping multiple jobs, it’s also unlikely that Chatfield will return for a second season of Binge’s dating show FBoy Island, after Foxtel, which owns Binge, noticeably failed to include the show at the 2024 Upfronts last month.
The first signs of trouble Chatfield started in December, when she withdrew from a live podcast recording at the Beyond the Valley music festival in Victoria – just hours before she was due on stage.
She posted a statement to Instagram the morning of the event and said that she felt utterly ‘exhausted’ after a challenging year and needed some alone time to refresh.
Abbie Chatfield has dropped four major work gigs in less than 12 months amid a struggle with ‘work addiction’ that landed her in a Thai health retreat for stress
‘I’ve been mentally and physically sick for most of the year. I’ve run myself into the ground, pushing through when I couldn’t do it anymore,’ she said.
‘I need to listen to my body and mind and take a rest. If I don’t I will start the year ill.’
Abbie said that she’d been losing her voice from working too much, pleading, ‘I can’t keep doing this to myself.’
She insisted that she wasn’t having a ‘breakdown’, but had gotten ‘close to the edge’.
Abbie continued to scale back her schedule by putting her fledgling clothing line on pause earlier this year.
‘I’ve been mentally and physically sick for most of the year. I’ve run myself into the ground, pushing through when I couldn’t do it anymore,’ she said this year
Abbie had to put her fledgling clothing line Verbose on pause this year following a wave of customer complaints
This came after a wave of complaints from customers who claimed that they hadn’t received their orders and had been ignored when requesting refunds.
‘I’ve just been too busy to do a clothing brand properly right now, so I’m pausing it until my brain is not so [preoccupied]. I need a break,’ she told Rolling Stone in September.
‘It’s just majorly paused because I can’t add another thing to my plate right now.’
Just a few months later, Chatfield kissed her lucrative radio career goodbye in a move that shocked the industry.
The star, who spent time in a health retreat this year to treat stress and her work addiction, pulled out of a live podcasting gig in December due to health woes
Despite the success of her Hit Network show Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield, the 28-year-old walked away from the gruelling gig to focus on her podcast, her budding television career, and her personal life.
‘I simply need to put my energy into projects that bring me joy and that energise me, rather than drain me,’ she explained.
‘I’m looking forward to socialising with my friends and family as well! Always a bonus,’ she continued.
‘It’s also time to give someone else a go who would enjoy and appreciate the opportunity more than myself. I have so much on, and daily radio takes up so much time. I simply wasn’t enjoying myself day to day in that environment,’ she said.
Her exit came amid reports of turmoil behind-the-scenes of the Hit Network show after her co-host Rohan Edwards and her executive producer Max Corstorphan both abruptly quit under mysterious circumstances.
Just a few months later, Abbie kissed her lucrative radio career goodbye amid rumours of turmoil on the show after her co-host and executive producer both quit the gig
Last month, Abbie exited another work commitment by stepping down as the host of the R&B Fridayz Live tour, which is also part of the Hit Network.
Despite saying just two months earlier that she was committed to sticking with Fridayz Live, the podcaster shocked her fans on October 27 when she said she had to ditch the gig because headliner Jason Derulo was facing sexual harassment allegations.
Aspiring singer Emaza Gibson filed a lawsuit against the Whatcha Say singer in Los Angeles in early October – claiming in the legal filing that Derulo turned cold after she declined to spend time with him or drink alcohol, routinely berated her in front of production staff and, on one occasion, angrily charged at her in front of her mother.
Derulo, 34, has described the claims as ‘false and hurtful’ and said he ‘stands against all forms of harassment’.
‘I simply need to put my energy into projects that bring me joy and that energise me, rather than drain me,’ she explained after dropping her radio show
Despite this, Abbie said that she couldn’t continue with Fridayz Live in light of the allegations.
‘While these are presently allegations and there has been no resolution in court, I personally don’t feel comfortable performing my duties as co-host while these legal matters are outstanding,’ she wrote on Instagram.
Chatfield continued: ‘This is my personal stance and I have decided to remove myself from the lineup.
‘I’m sorry to disappoint anyone who was excited to come and see me at Fridayz Live this year. I wish the other acts on the lineup the absolute best for their shows and am disappointed I can’t be there.’
Last month, Abbie exited another work commitment by stepping down as the host of the R&B Fridayz Live tour, which is also part of the Hit Network
It comes as sources told Daily Mail Australia that Southern Cross Austereo were running out of patience with Abbie after the end of her radio show and her abrupt exit from Fridayz Live.
However, Southern Cross Austereo directly refuted this in a statement to Daily Mail Australia and brushed off any rumours of a rift by confirming that they’ve actually renewed their podcasting contract with the reality star.
‘The It’s A Lot podcast with Abbie Chatfield continues to be a major part of our LiSTNR portfolio of original podcasts and we’re thrilled to confirm that we’ve recently renewed Abbie’s contract to continue our successful podcast partnership. Abbie is a much-loved member of the SCA family,’ they said.
In addition to dropping multiple jobs, it’s also unlikely that Chatfield will return for a second season of Binge’s dating show FBoy Island, after Foxtel dropped the series
Meanwhile, Abbie also ditched a lucrative book deal that she signed back in 2020 with Affirm Press to write a feminist manifesto.
‘I tried to write, I couldn’t write anything,’ she confessed in March.
The reality star said that she even attended a writer’s retreat to help, but grew bored and left two days early before canning the deal altogether.
Daily Mail Australia reached out to Chatfield’s management for comment.
Abbie has EXTENDED her podcasting contract with Southern Cross Austereo into 2024
Meanwhile, amid her career turmoil, Abbie checked into a luxury health retreat in Thailand to treat her ‘genuine addiction to work’.
‘I’ve been absolutely depleted and burnt out by the start of this year for a number of reasons,’ she said at the time.
‘But I’ve been here for about five days and I think I’ve realised that my priorities need to shift a bit, to be honest, I’ve taken on so many jobs and so many roles.’
She continued: ‘I’m trying to figure out what I do and don’t want to do and I’m trying to not push myself to work way harder than I need to.’
Abbie was named Podcast Host of the Year at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), and she made sure to thank the ‘amazing team’ at LiSTNR for the win
Abbie also opened up about her work-related health woes in a September interview, claiming that she’d been ‘paralysed’ from stress.
‘I had so much on… I am not going to lie, I came back at the start of the year and it was worse than it was at the end of last year and I was really not coping,’ she told Perth Now.
‘I don’t want to say I was catatonic, but I couldn’t talk for around half an hour one day, I was so paralysed with stress.’
READ MORE: Abbie Chatfield was left ‘catatonic’ from stress caused by work addiction which landed her in a health retreat in Thailand
Despite ditching multiple gigs, Abbie still has a lot on her plate.
In addition to her popular podcast It’s a Lot, Chatfield is a judge on Channel 10’s The Masked Singer Australia.
She also keeps herself busy with endorsement deals, and has recently been paid to promote Bacardi and TBH Skincare.
Abbie was also named Podcast Host of the Year at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), and she made sure to thank the ‘amazing team’ at LiSTNR for the win.
Despite losing an endless string of gigs this year, the former reality star is also still a host of The Masked Singer
