From the moment The Rock host Roger Farrelly and his eldest daughter Olivia arrive at their photoshoot with the Weekly, it’s clear the pair have a tight bond. The duo aren’t shy about sharing a kind word about the other and are quick to laugh as they strike a pose for the camera.
“We’ve always been close,” enthuses Olivia. “My dad is my best friend.”
Adds Roger with a smile, “She went flatting, so we didn’t see her as much, but she’s just moved back home, so I get to see a lot more of her. It’s great.”
The apple of Roger’s eye.
It’s a welcome moment of fun for Roger and his daughter after finally coming out the other side of a trying few years.
At the start of the first nationwide lockdown in 2020, she was one of the many thousands of people who lost their jobs. She spent the next five months applying endlessly for positions to no avail.
“I had no purpose,” recalls Olivia. “I had nothing to do all day. It was not a good feeling. My mental health really suffered.”
So she was over the moon when she finally secured a position as a receptionist for an office supply company. But it soon turned into a nightmare, when, two weeks in, Olivia was called into a meeting with her boss. She expressed concerns that Olivia mumbled when she answered the phones, which would drive customers away because they couldn’t understand her.
When Olivia told her about her stutter, which is only noticeable if she’s stressed or tired, her boss abruptly fired her. It was humiliating and shocking for the then 19-year-old. In her years working at fast food drive-throughs and reception jobs, it had never been an issue.
“It knocked my confidence like you wouldn’t believe,” she tells. “I cried a lot. It was a really bad time.”
As a parent, it was painful for Roger to see his daughter so low. Olivia wanted to forget about it and move on, but Roger and his wife Lisa, both 49, insisted she needed to stand up for herself.
Olivia’s glad she took her dad’s advice.
Roger helped her find an employment lawyer who agreed they had a strong case.
Because of Covid, the hearing for her unlawful discrimination claim kept getting delayed. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year that Olivia finally got her day in court.
Roger went with her for moral support and admits it was harrowing to watch her being “endlessly questioned” by lawyers.
“It was the most gut-wrenching day I’ve ever had in my life,” recalls Roger. “They just made her go through every single detail of the two weeks she was there.”
More waiting followed. Then finally in August, Olivia received the news she’d been waiting for. She had won the case and was awarded $22,000 in damages for hurt, humiliation and lost earnings.
“When I got the call from the lawyer, I cried in my car,” confesses Olivia. “I was so proud that we’d done it, and relieved that I could get it out of my mind and move on.
“Thirty years at The Rock for my best friend,” posted Olivia.
“I’m really happy that my parents encouraged me to stand up for myself, otherwise, I would never have gone through with it.”
While some children may find watching their parent do ridiculous stunts in front of the nation embarrassing, Olivia has never batted an eyelid at Roger’s radio antics. Even when he competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2018, her only worry was for his welfare.
“I was so nervous for him that something might go wrong,” she confides. “But I cried after his first dance because he was actually really good. I was so proud.”
The reality dancing competition is one of the most gruelling challenges Roger has faced in his 30 years of radio. Now, with his 50th birthday on the horizon, he admits he has started to think about when his last day on air might be.
Olivia’s 21st with younger sister Grace, her dad and mum Lisa.
“I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, but there has to be an end date,” tells Roger, who is also dad to Grace, 17. “I started doing the breakfast show in 1994. That is a long time to get up early.
“I don’t know when the time will be, but I certainly won’t be doing the show in 10 years’ time.”
