Jackie Os Manager Drama: Amanda Goffs Role Unveiled

It's the age-old question: would you rather be rich and miserable, or poor and happy?

These days, the answer feels obvious. With the world teetering on disaster and the at record highs, who wouldn't pick the money? 

With bills going up and daily essentials more expensive than ever, quite frankly, I'm not about to nobly test the merits of poverty, even if it comes with a side of inner satisfaction. Happiness I can figure out later. Right now, I just want to be able to afford .

That little thought experiment was on my mind this week after  walked away from her $100million deal to host KIIS FM's The Kyle & Jackie O Show, less than two weeks after a painful verbal incident with co-host .

It's a big deal. A bloody big deal.

The news only broke on Tuesday afternoon. Already there have been a million think pieces about why Jackie threw in the towel - and yet what I keep hearing from behind the curtain in media land is that Jackie's best friend and manager Gemma O'Neill, the gatekeeper to the most expensive woman in radio, is somehow behind it all - or at the very least allowed it to happen.

And look, I don't claim to be privy to closed-door discussions Gemma and Jackie may have had during her nearly two-week standoff with ARN management, but there's an objective observation to be made here - so I'll state it plainly.

Back in the day, Jackie's affairs were handled by her old manager Brad March, the former CEO of Austereo. I don't know Brad personally, but terms like 'industry veteran' and 'seasoned pro' are often thrown around when his name is mentioned.

When she left his roster and joined forces with Gemma - also a considerable force in the radio business, I should add, having previously served as Head of SCA's Hit Network - anyone could see the shift happening.

In recent years, coinciding with her partnership with Gemma, 50-year-old Jackie has moved away from Sandilands' shock jock style, .

There were the Besties events, the flowery lifestyle podcast with Gemma (Her Best Life), and the not-at-all subtle pivot into wellness/self-care/empowerment - the sort of messaging that resonates far more with Zimmerman-clad Double Bay mums than tradies on the M4 at 6am chuckling along to 'What's in Jackie's mouth?' on KIIS FM.

As a columnist, it's my job to know what's going on behind the scenes, and the chatter about the most famous duo in Australian radio is loud indeed. 

Insiders are saying their diverging paths contributed to the simmering tension that finally exploded on February 20, when Kyle launched his blistering on-air attack over Jackie's interest in astrology - and apparent lack of interest in contributing to Sydney's No. 1 breakfast radio show.

It was messy, it was public, and it was humiliating for Jackie, who has always prided herself on being the 'professional' one. It left the radio industry absolutely stunned.