Brooke Boney has opened up about her decision to walk away from the Today show after five years and move to the UK.
The 37-year-old, who revealed she was leaving her role as a Channel Nine news and entertainment presenter one year ago, has revealed why she decided to move abroad and how her fellow presenters reacted to her shock exit.
Speaking to this week’s Stellar Magazine, Brooke said that when she was offered the opportunity to study a Master of Public Policy at Oxford University, she questioned whether she was making the right choice.
‘I remember getting the email to say I’d got in and thinking, am I even allowed to go? Are they going to let me do this?’ she admitted.
However, after some thought, the newsreader decided to make the leap to pursue her dream and was backed by all of her co-workers in the process.
Brooke admitted she initially thought ‘everyone would be angry’ at her for leaving but was relieved when they supported her decision.
Brooke Boney has opened up about her decision to walk away from the Today show after five years
‘I felt so relieved but also kind of sick. You can’t go back after that. And once I’d said it on TV, that’s it,’ she explained.
Brooke also reflected on telling fellow Today show hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, revealing that the pair were sad to hear that she was leaving the broadcasting channel – and jealous that she’d be saying goodbye to early wake ups.
Despite being down about Brooke leaving the program, the TV pair made a lighthearted quip.
‘They were both like, “Oh, you’re going to get off the early mornings, we’re so jealous!”‘
Brooke became teary-eyed as she was given an emotional farewell on the Channel Nine breakfast show, ahead of her moving to England for her studies in August.
The reporter was given flowers from her colleagues as she gave a heartfelt statement live on-air.
‘I’d like to say thank you to the audience for accepting me. I’m grateful to every one of you for tuning in every day,’ Brooke began.
‘It’s a privilege to go over to Oxford, but it is even more of one that I have got this much love around me. It makes it difficult to leave.’
Speaking to this week’s Stellar Magazine, Brooke said that when she was offered the opportunity to study a Master of Public Policy at Oxford University, she questioned whether she was making the right choice
In August last year, Brooke became teary-eyed as she was given an emotional farewell on the Channel Nine breakfast show, ahead of her moving to England for her studies
The veteran presenter added her appointment on the show was a huge milestone for Indigenous Australians, and thanked the team for taking a chance on her.
‘Today was the first breakfast show in the country to put an Aboriginal person on as a full time host. Now it is a very normal thing to do in this time slot, and I’m proud of that.’
Several months earlier in March, Boney broke down in tears when she announced her resignation live on air.
Channel Nine later confirmed that Jayne Azzopardi, who co-hosts Weekend Today with Clint Stanaway, would be Boney’s replacement.
