After a difficult few years, Polly Gillespie had cautiously hoped 2023 might be a little more settled. But with the shock closure of Today FM, the talk radio station on which Polly hosted a popular evening show, she was once again plunged into unemployment and uncertainty. Losing her job was a blow she really didn’t see coming.
“It felt like being hit on the side of the head with a baseball bat,” says the legendary Kiwi broadcaster, who was made redundant from her More FM job two years earlier. “It was shocking because there was no warning. No warning at all.”
Although she was stunned by the closure less than a year after its much-hyped launch, the seasoned radio star is surprisingly sanguine as she sits down to chat with Woman’s Day at our exclusive photo shoot. After more than 30 years in the business, she’s learned to approach life with “zero expectations”.
“Nothing is sure any more – nothing is concrete. I didn’t want to lose my job and I had no idea it was coming, but to be honest, I was too busy to be angry or upset. I had other stuff going on.”
The “other stuff” Polly is referring to is the recent sale of her rambling 110-year-old villa in Wellington’s Island Bay. It was a huge decision to say goodbye to the home where she and former husband and radio co-host Grant Kereama raised their children Tom, 28, Katherine, 27, and McGregor, 24. But with her mortgage payments almost doubling and the cost-of-living crisis beginning to bite, the time
had come for a fresh start.
Preparing the home – which she and Grant bought in 1995 – to put on the market was a mammoth task. “I remember being up on the roof painting, and people were texting and calling wanting to talk to me about losing my job. I was like, ‘I don’t have time!’ and to be honest, I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t be bothered because the reality was I had way more important things to worry about.”
Two months on, the house is sold and she’s on the hunt for a place to call home. Downsizing is the name of the game, she says.
“I want something that’s contained. I don’t want to be like Miss Havisham sitting at my large dining table with cobwebs on my head.”
Polly with (from left) Roseanna, Tom, Katherine, McGregor, Grant and Lisa.
And as well as the big move, Polly has some exciting job news, with the star staying on at Mediaworks for the launch of her own podcast series, The Polly Podcast Network. With titles such as Polly’s Got Problems, From Polly With Love and Getting Real With Wellness, her suite of podcasts will deliver entertainment, inspiration and motivation – all with a healthy serving of her inimitable humour.
She jokes that she’s well-placed to delve into the trickier aspects of life, given she’s dealt with her share of challenges. Love, relationships, divorce, dating, grief, parenting and everything in between – nothing will be off-limits.
“I can find the funny side of almost any situation, which I guess is my way of dealing with the hard stuff, but I do know what I’ve been through makes me more empathetic to others,” she says, adding that she loves creating a community of listeners with her shows. “I love helping others and I find that sharing my own misadventures makes people not only laugh but feel less alone.”
She’s also looking forward to delving into the wellness industry, going beyond self-care slogans to find out how women can really take care of themselves.
“All this talk of wellness and self-care – what does it even mean and who the hell has time for it?” she asks. “All that stuff about living your best life and needing to love yourself before you can love others… I don’t know about that. I want to know what’s real and what’s psychobabble.”
Although thrilled about the next chapter, Polly tells us she took her time before signing up. In fact, she refused to take calls about potential opportunities for the first few weeks after the end of Today FM.
“I learned that businesses are like men –the more you ignore them, the more they want you.”
She’s excited about the job, but it’s whānau that brings Polly the greatest happiness. She was thrilled to become a grandmother for the second time last year with the birth of her daughter Katherine’s second child and says being grandma, or “Minnie” as her family call her, to Roseanna, five, and Malone, nine months, is her best role yet. She looks after her mokopuna several times a week and feels lucky to play such a big part in their lives.
“I tell my kids I love the grandchildren even more than I love them,” she says with a laugh. “It’s not true because I love them all equally and endlessly, but there’s something particularly wonderful about being a grandmother. It’s so fun. I love dancing around with them and being silly. Malone is adorable – he’s a little blancmange. And Roseanna, well, she’s arty and out-there and vivacious and creative and dramatic, and I tell her all the time she’s my favourite person on the planet.”
Polly counts her ex-husband Grant and his wife Lisa among her dearest friends. Remaining close post-divorce is something Polly’s incredibly proud of.
Grant and Malone.
“It’s the way it should be if people try and I am so grateful we’ve been able to do that. We are still a family. We have Christmases together and we spend time together with the kids – it’s wonderful. Lisa has even offered to go to open homes with me.”
Polly’s sons Tom and McGregor still live with her in the family home, but come August, when she hands over the keys to the new owners, the boys will go flatting and Polly will begin her new chapter. She’ll miss them, but living alone will certainly have its benefits, she jokes.
“It’s very hard to have a private life when you live with your grown-up kids. If I’m ever home late, they’ll poke their heads around the door and say, ‘Where have you been?’ God forbid I had a man in my room – that just wouldn’t work!”
Polly with sons Tom (left) and McGregor.
Despite the home being so full of memories, Polly is nothing but positive about moving on.
“It feels like the right thing to do,” she says, admitting that her finances had got so tight in recent months that she often had to choose between paying the bills or feeding herself.
“It was at the point where most of my money was going on mortgage payments. It was a case of, ‘Will I buy petrol this week or groceries?’ I know there are people far worse off, but we’re in uncertain times when people who look good and function on the outside are not sure if they’ll be able to eat that week or not.”
With change afoot, Polly is focusing on the positives. A new job, a new home and her loving family nearby ensures she’s still smiling.
“Losing your job is a very good ego-check and a great reminder that life is about rolling with the punches. I have my kids and my family, and that’s all I need, really.”
Polly’s new podcasts are available now on Rova and all good podcast platforms.
