Jessica Rowe reveals the exact moment she knew she had to quit Studio 10 for her family
Jessica Rowe shocked her co-hosts when she announced she’d be departing Studio 10 in March earlier this year.
Even though it was “the best job she’d ever had”, Jess had made the difficult decision to leave the gig to “be more present for her daughters”.
“It was a big decision to leave full-time work but I knew it was the right thing, and right time, for me,” she told 9Honey. “I thought long and hard about it for about six to seven months.”
After weighing up the pros and cons for months – she jokingly admits she must have bored her husband, Channel Nine news anchor Peter Overton – she wasn’t closer to making the big decision.
But one moment after returning from a family holiday in Thailand made her choice crystal clear.
"I was happy and relaxed and the girls were too. Suddenly I thought, ‘I need to bring this state of mind back with me - how can I do that?’ I realised it meant changing my work,” she explained.
The mother to Allegra, 11, and Giselle, 9, said her girls are growing up fast and she wanted to be with them every step of the way.
“I was finding in the afternoons I'd be getting grumpier and I don't like feeling like that and I thought something has to give,” she told the publication.
“When they were younger I felt they needed me physically, and now it's more emotional, and I want to be there for them.”
It’s been a couple of months since she left the morning show, but Jess said she has no regrets.
In fact, a conversation with her youngest daughter proved she had made the right decision.
“I had never taken Giselle to school as I started Studio 10 at the same time,” she said.
“We were walking down the road and she was holding my hand and she said: 'Mummy I love you taking me to school,’ with this big smile on her face and I knew everything was right.”
Now she’s spending more time with her family, Jess says she feels “happy, lighter and taller”.
“Families always have to juggle and weigh up things, but you have to be open to change, often it can be hard and frightening but it’s good.”