Seven star Matt Doran has opened up about his struggles with depression live on The Morning Show after sparking concerns over his mental health in recent years.
The breakfast show host, 41, revealed his troubles on Friday as he and co-host Kylie Gillies interviewed psychologist and author Mark Cross.
As the guest spruiked his latest book, Mental State, on Australia’s mental healthcare system, Matt bravely opened up about his own struggles with depression.
‘Are we getting better, do you think, Doctor, at putting our hand up like you did and saying, “I’ve got a problem with anxiety”?’ Matt asked Dr Cross.
‘I’ve had huge problems with depression over the last couple of years, too, but people, I think, are still frightened to come forward and say that.’
‘It’s amazing you say that… the more we talk about it the better it is,’ Dr Cross said, commending Matt for speaking so openly about his depression on television.
Matt has sparked concerns in recent years after he mysteriously disappeared from work on two separate occasions.
In June, he failed to arrive to the Seven studios for work on Weekend Sunrise, leaving producers scrambling to find a fill-in host, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Seven star Matt Doran, 41, (pictured) has opened up about his struggles with depression live on The Morning Show after sparking concerns over his mental health in recent years
He was replaced by news reporter Chris Reason who returned to host the breakfast show alongside Monique Wright on Saturday, June 8.
A Channel Seven spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia at the time that Matt was ‘on leave’.
Matt’s disappearance came one year after he sparked a frantic police search when he vanished during a work assignment in the Hunter Valley in June last year.
The star reporter had been sent to cover a wedding bus crash that claimed the lives of 10 people but failed to show up for his 5:30am shift on June 13.
Insiders said when producers went to look for Matt in his Singleton hotel, knocks on his door went unanswered.
The breakfast show host revealed his troubles on Friday as he and co-host Kylie Gillies interviewed psychologist and author Mark Cross
The high-profile crime reporter had last been seen speaking to members of the Singleton community at a local football ground.
Earlier, locals had seen Matt leaving the home of newly married couple Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell, whose wedding was at the centre of the tragedy.
When the reporter failed to answer calls, texts and emails ahead of his scheduled appearance on Sunrise, a producer went to check his hotel room.
Worried colleagues contacted police, who issued a missing persons alert.
Matt was eventually found at a nearby café and was swiftly replaced by his colleague Liam Tapper on air.
It comes after Matt sparked a frantic police search last year when he vanished during a work assignment in the Hunter Valley. The star reporter had been sent to cover a wedding bus crash that claimed the lives of 10 people but failed to show up for his 5:30am shift on June 13, 2023
Insiders say several factors could have contributed to his troubling behaviour, with one suggesting Matt may have struggled with the confronting nature of the wedding bus crash tragedy.
Matt took several weeks of personal leave after he vanished in the Hunter Valley and was reportedly spending time at home ‘prioritising his health’.
He was replaced by his colleague Michael Usher on Weekend Sunrise.
Matt, who started his career as a police reporter at the Herald Sun, joined Seven in 2017 after spending almost eight years in Network Ten’s newsroom.
Two years later, he was promoted to his current role as co-host of Weekend Sunrise, alongside Monique Wright, after intermittently filling in for weekday host David Koch.
