Hello and welcome to Something to Talk About. For Stella Podcast. I'm Sarah La Marquin, your host, and every week I sit down with some of the biggest names in the country because when Australians celebrities are ready to talk, they come to Something to talk About. In January of this year,
things were looking good for Alex Cullen at work. The Today Show presenter was in Melbourne covering the Australian Open while at home, he and his wife were preparing to send their twin daughters off to their first day of kindergarten. But within a matter of days everything changed. After a live cross involving Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli, better known as Lambeau Guy, Alex was stood down from nine and very publicly exited one of the most high profile jobs in
the country. Now, in his first interview since finding himself at the center one of the biggest news stories of twenty twenty five, Alex opens up about what really happened, the toller took, on his mental health and how close he came to walking away from the media altogether.
This is a brutal game. It's tough, you know. I've had a lot of up and downs in this job.
But as you'll hear today, that's not what happened this week. He begins a new life in Melbourne, a new job on breakfast radio, and as he exclusively reveals to the Stellar podcast he's about to make a return to television in a role with Seven News. This is a story about public fallout, private resilience and what it takes to start again when the whole country is watching. Alex Cullen, Welcome to the Stellar podcast S.
Thank you Siah. It's wonderful to be here, it really is. I love what you guys do, admired you from Afar and it's just really nice to sit down with you today.
It's really lovely to have you here, and there really is a lot to talk about, something to talk about, definitely truth in that title today, but let's actually start with the fact that as we speak, you're in the middle of packing up your life, your young family, you and your wife Bonnie, you have twin daughters, your son Max, you are all moving from Sydney to Melbourne and you are starting a new job tomorrow morning on the Christian O'Connell show on Melbourne Radio. So that is quite a lot.
How are we doing Thanks for fitting us in here, Sarah.
It's chaos, it is absolute chaos, but you've just got to go with it. You've just got to put one foot in front of the other and just go with it. We've been frantically getting our house ready in Sydney, packing up. It's been kind of interesting and kind of therapeutic, you know, getting rid of things that you've sort of held on to for so long and a bit of a clean out and moving to Melbourne. And it's just quite surreal, to be honest. I had a moment a few days
ago and I went, we're actually doing this. We're actually moving our family, three young children into state. It's not like it's overseas, but it's still, you know, another city and a wonderful city in Melbourne. I love Melbourne. We've always loved Melbourne, and it's funny. Whenever we were down there, we were like, oh, we could live in Melbourne, and here we are about to do exactly that, and we've got a lovely house. We went down a few weeks ago and had to look around and met the team
at the Christian O'Connell show, which was really special. But we're looking forward to it you know, we've sort of built up to it for so long now and it's upon us and we're doing it, and I can't wait.
Your son, Max isn't old enough to be at school yet, but the girls, as our understand are in KINDI so, who do you think is more nervous about first day at school at a new school, Lamb or yourself?
Well, all of us. But I think the girls are going to be okay because they've got each other. You know, they're twins, they're six years old. They're going into term three at their new school and they're in the same class, which is quite nice. Max. I'm a little bit more worried about He He's funny, he's a very emotional little guy, and he really cares about people, and he really for a three year old, it's quite amazing. But the other night in the bath, he just burst out crying, saying,
I don't want to leave. I want to stay. I don't want to go to Melbourne. And we're like, oh, Maxie, it's going to be great, You're going to be fine. We're all there, we're all going together and it's going to be okay. He's all right now, But you know, you think they don't notice, but they do. They see what their parents are going through in the stresses. But at the same time, they're young kids. It's not like they're sort of teenagers, you know, have got you know,
that established friendship group. They're going to miss their friends, of course, but they're really excited about it. And one of the requests was when we were looking for a house, make sure it's two story. It has to be has to have stairs, sirs, It's got stairs, So they'll be happy with that.
That's good. Yep, you've ticked that list. Okay, yeah, well they might not think it's so exciting when the novelty wears off and they're carrying their backpacks and everything. Oh I've got to go all the way downstairs now yeah in.
That Melbourne weather which we keep getting warned about, but we've got our thermals will be okay.
Yes, you're arriving literally midwinter, so so good timing then right in the middle. And of course the Christian O'Connell's show is Breakfast Radio. It starts at six am. Now, you did five years on the Today Show Breakfast TV, so can you just not get away from setting that alarm at someone godly hour out.
I know, I've had people say to me, what are you doing? You going back into that early alarm phase. You know, it wasn't that enough getting up at three point thirty in the morning. And look, it's gonna be tough, but I love it. I live for it. I can't wait to get stuck in and those early mornings, you know, as long as you're in bed early, and it's not as early as the Today Show. It's like six am
till nine am. The Today Show, I was getting up at quarter past past three on air at five am, and that's makeup and hair, and with radio you can be a little bit bored, disheveled, you know. I haven't got to be, of course, presentable. Absolutely there's cameras in the studios these days, but you know, not not as you know, there's no makeup and hair, et cetera. So
I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to be able to talk about sport, which is one of my great passions, and I'm going to the sporting capital of the world. Really it's it's a wonderful place for sport. You know, you've got the MCG You've got you know, the f one, the Australian Open and everything else in between. So yeah, the early mornings are tough, but it's I just love it and I can't wait to get back into it.
Have you been easing back into it? Did you find in the six months you haven't been having to get up at that time? Were you starting to sleep in as much as you can when you have a young family.
Yeah, well as much as you can exactly. But it's funny. I the first thing you notice is the sleep, and it's like, I haven't got to get up at three point thirty in the morning. I haven't got a look at that alarm clock and go, oh god. I just walk into the bathroom And what I used to do was I used to splash water on my face. I had this routine going. I'd get up, I go to
the bathroom, try and not wake anyone up. Of course, the first thing I did was just splash the water on my face, and that was like, right, it's on. Now I'm going and get to the studio. And I
was getting sleep. You know, you're getting sleep, and you pretty soon you get into that pattern because you know breakfast TV, it's you jet lagged, you know, it's it's you never get enough sleep, and you've got to do everything you can to stay you know, I guess healthy and you know you've got to eat well, plenty of water and stuff. But and when I when I was doing it, I had three small kids. You know, that was we were in the trenches.
I mean, you had babies being born while you were doing that home shift, and that your life. You've got that whole juggling act.
Oh yeah, and my wonderful wife, you know, so much of it was on her and she had to do so much, you know, all the mornings and getting those kids ready for for preschool and you know school, and yeah, she's she's a trooper.
Some people will also be wondering when they might see you back on TV, and in fact, it's not going to be too far off. I understand you've got some news to show with us today. I've heard you might be getting signed for seven News in Melbourne.
Yes, it's really exciting and it's been in the works for a little while and it's wonderful to be going back to seven. You know, I had sixteen seventeen years at seven and a lot of the people that I worked with during that time are still there. And after everything went down, Seven were one of the first people on the phone to say, you know, you have our support and if you want to come back, we're a phone call away. And I can't tell you how much
that meant to me and my family. They know what I can bring, and I thank them so much for this opportunity to come back and do what I love doing, you know, in that wonderful city we call Melbourne. So I'm really appreciative and it's just nice to know that I can sort of return there.
Yeah, when you are returning to this, you're going to have busy mornings because Radio five mornings a week, and then you'll be I believe then appearing on seven News throughout the afternoon. Is that right?
That's correct. So seven are going to be adding some news offerings to their daytime lineup. So that's that's really exciting, and news in this country across the board a broadcast television news numbers are up, ratings are up across the board, and that's and that's that's a really exciting thing. Like people want their news, they want it fast, they want it right, and seven is going to be adding to that lineup, which is really exciting. I'm going to be a part of that. I can't wait to be a
part of that. You know, you look at the Aaron Patterson trial like that, that was just people are so interested, people are so engaged and connected, you know, and that's what I'm really looking forward to establishing that that connection again with the audience. And they're supportive Bunch seven, like they They've been very supportive of me, and there's a and there's a real level of honesty there, which which I really appreciate as well.
You are very interested in news, and you've been working in sports for a long time. So with this new role at seven, do you see yourself more broadening out and getting back into a bit more of the news.
Definitely, And there's going to be sort of different roles, different shows, different capacities, which I'd like to think. I'm pretty versatile. Like I've always loved news and sport, and that's what I've done my whole career. I've been lucky in that I haven't had to choose between the two.
I've sort of always had one bubbling away and and you know, with the Today Show, I was able to sort of shift into you know, those hosting roles that weren't necessarily sport, and so I'm glad that I'm keeping the news chops. You know, I'm so curious. I'm so fascinated by people and how they work and what makes them tick, and and I'm so blessed to have the career that I've had up until January of this year.
But you know, traveling the world, you know, interviewing Ricky Gervais, John bon Jovi, rescuing sun bears in Vietnam, sharing your desks with amazing people on the Today Show. It's been quite the ride. So I'm just really looking forward to getting back into it and just connecting with people telling their stories. It's not very nice being the story. It's better telling the story.
You did find yourself at the center of a story, and not just any story, really, Alex, one of the biggest news stories of the year, which is a really unexpected position for most people to find themselves in. Most people will not find themselves in that position. Of course,
this is January we're talking about. It was a live cross on the Today Show and you referred to Melbourne businessman Adrian Portelli, who's often referred to as Lambeau Guy by a new nickname he was trying to popularize, McClaren man. He offered fifty thousand dollars to the first reporter or presenter who used that new nickname on air. That would prove to be you, with Adrian later sharing a screenshot of a bank transfer of the fifty k that had
been transferred into your account. Over the following days, you were stood down from today while mine reviewed the incident, and days later it was announced you'd be leaving the network. As I said, was absolutely massive story. This is the first time that you've ever spoken about it. Can I begin by asking you how it felt to be in the eye of that storm in the immediate after marth and while it was unfolding.
Oh, Sarah, it was the hardest toughest week of my career by a country mile. You are in the eye of the storm, as you say, you're the front project there, old son. You're across all the new sites, and that is a crazy place to be. You know, never in a million years did I expect that all to go down. Luckily, I had my family with me. I had my children, my wife. I don't think I would have really got through it without them. And that week was just a whirlwind.
It was like, is this really happening? And and yes, it absolutely was. And I just somehow got through it. And we had to get through it because the kids were with us in Melbourne, and get this, it was the girl's sixth birthday in the middle of that week, and so you just had to put on this brave face for them and make everything okay and happy. And so we're getting the balloons and the cake and the streamers and with all this going on in the background,
and you just got to do it. As a parent, you know, you try and shield your kids from what's going on. Did they know what was going on? I think they did. I think the girls did. They saw what I was going through, and you know, you're on the phone and you're pacing and you're trying to survive it all. And my my wife made this wish and one of the girls said, oh, do you wish daddy got his job back? And that really hit us. We're like whoa, Like that's that tells us that they know
what's going on. And so that was very difficult, and but you've just got to put one foot in front of the other. You know, it's a tight old cliche, but it's true. And I had a great team behind me, you know, Profile Talent Management, and my wife was such a pillar of strength. She was just like, We've just got to get through this. Those closest to me, my
friends as well. And I can't tell you the support that I was getting online from viewers, from people on social media, and it was just it was quite overwhelming, you know. It was there were thousands of messages, like I was just like whoa and and I couldn't reply to all of them. And I thank them from the botto of my heart because it it meant so much, Like it was like, oh wow, you know, I've got this support. I've got these people who who know who I am and who believe in me and and just
want the best for me and my family. And that was that was big. That was really big. And I still get messages. It's funny, you know, like it's really lovely because you sometimes we forget in broadcast television that we have that connection with people, you know, and there's people out there that are suffering and and let me say but it also that people are out there are going through a lot worse than I went through, you know, of course, you know there are parents right now going
to visit. There's six children in hospital. You know, there's people a lot us off than I am. And and I often was saying we're okay, we're healthy, not to be morbid, but no one's dying. You know, we're going to be all right. We just got to get through this. But yeah, the supports incredible and that connection we had, which which I miss a lot, you know, and initially I missed a lot, that connection with our viewers and and just for them to come up to me sometimes
in the street, you know, how you doing? Are you okay? And that's all people have to say. You know, when you know someone says and cares about you and are you okay, that's a really nice thing. And even I did a function out at Penrith and Western Sydney a couple of nights ago and Ray, I don't know. Ray, he said, mate, I hope you're doing okay, and I'm like, yeah, I am. And he said just promise me one thing. He said, you just keep being you and oh I just went wow, I will. Ray. You know, it's a
good luck in Melbourne. You know, I wish you and your family all the best and that and that means the world to me.
Keep being You were there moments where that did become difficult, especially.
On that roller coaster, because you question your judgment, you question your you know, you question everything. Really, You're like, why did I do? What? What? What happened there? What? How did I get in this situation? I mean, I know how I got in this situation. But you just think to yourself, you idiot, you know, and your confidence is shot, you know, your your ability to to make judgment on things, and you're just like, oh my god.
So you've got to really reset yourself. You've got to You've got to look around yourself and and look at what's important and you know, my family, you know, my health, and just try and try and get through. Yeah. It's I went to some dark places, you know, I really did. And because everything you work towards, everything, you know, everything you love is suddenly gone and you're like, whoa, okay, what now? You know? And that was that was a
hard pill of swallow. I thought I'm out now, there's no way I'm getting back in, you know, there's I thought I'm done. What am I going to do? I had a mate ring me and say hey, there's some work at our nursery. Why don't you come and do some work. You know, I'm like, okay, yeah, thanks mate, and then he goes and then another mate's rang and said, we got a property up near Nimbon. It's my dad's property. You needs a farm manager. Do you want to manage it? And I was like, oh, let me think about it,
and you know, you're entertain these thoughts. You think maybe that's what I've got to do. Luckily I have the Penrith Panthers. I do a lot of MC work with them. And one of the first people on the phone was Brian Fletcher, the Panther's boss, and he said, you have our support any work that's going your way. So I had that and plus other corporate gigs as well. So yeah, it was It was a difficult time, Sarah.
It's been six months, Alex. Were there times where you thought, well, this is the end of the road for me in media and it is time to start a new career. Don't know, if I see you at a nursery, I mean friends to that well meeting friend but whatever plants And if you did think that, did you think that was becauseful circumstances that's I won't get another shot in
the industry. Reputational damage is just too much. But also, well, I'm done now as in the scrutiny this moment happening on a public scale, I just don't want to put myself back in the situation. How much, if at all, did you entertain.
That you will know, this is a brutal game. It's tough, you know. I've had a lot of ups and downs in this in this job, you know, starting out in regional TV and then going into seven in Perth, but to seven in Sydney. You know, Peter Meekin pulling him into his office and saying, mate, I've got good news and I've got bad news. This is when I was presenting sport at the time next to Ian Ross. Wow. I was like, I'm this kid from cananble in the middle of nowhere. I'm sitting next to Ian Ross. This
is crazy. And we did that for a while and then I was next to Bathy and it was going well. But Peter Meekan pulls me and he says, mate, I got good news and bad news. Bad news is you're not doing sport anymore. The good news is you going to Sunday Night. Great amazing and I'm this, you know, twenty eight, twenty nine year old guy traveling the world for the next ten year is just having a ball. And that was incredible. You know that that was just a wild, amazing time. And then that show got asked
and I was in New Zealand. We were shooting this story on the Pike River mine disaster where twenty nine men lost their lives in this mine in New Zealand. Terrible story, very sad. And we travel over with the mother of one of these miners, Joe Upha, and we did this incredible story. We shot it. It was great. Anyway, we knew the end was nigh for Sunday and night and we finally got the phone call and it's done.
The show's done. Come back cochr And that's it. And we luckily we got to shoot the rest of the story and it went to where and it was one of my one of the stories I'm the most proud of. And I'm pacing up and down this New Zealand hotel ringing my wife. We have eight month old twin daughters. Hey, darling, I'm out of a job. What are we gonna do and she's like, oh my god, are you serious. I'm like, yes, yes.
So it was good in the sense that I was there for those those twins, those beautiful, wonderful, amazing twins of mine, and you know, helping out with the sleep and the routine and stuff. But at the same time I was like, oh God. And then of course Channel nine getting contact and that was wow, fantastic, Hey, back of the job, you know, today's show amazing. And then fast forward to January of this year. So it's a brutal game. And yeah, I've had those thoughts definitely, like
I'm done, I can't go through this again. But I love it. I've always loved it. It's all. It's all I've ever wanted to do. Since I was twelve years old. I had a tape recorder. I would I would go around interviewing people, you know, the old tape recorder. We had hit record and play at the same time. I do, and I recorded myself commentating imaginary over league games and AFL and tennis matches, and and I played it at
the class in year six and they loved it. I went, oh, this is me, this is great, and I just I can't imagine doing it myself doing anything else. I just I just love it. I love that connection with people. I love, you know, telling people stories and if and if you help that person, all those people even better, you know, And I just love I just love it.
And I think I'm okay at it. You know, I've survived this long and and I'm so thankful that that gold FM arn and Channel seven and going to give me those opportunities to come back and do what I love.
Doing and coming up. Alex opens up about what it's like to find out who your real friends are, both inside and outside the media during those months. Did you feel support from people in the industry? You often can tell who your friends are and what people are made of and he'll be loyal and the people that will be there for the good times and run a mile. I'm sorry. Have we ever met during the not so
good times? Yes, necessarily asking you to name names, although you're absolutely very welcome, But generally in terms of the people that you've worked with over the years, different networks and people behind the scenes and people on air, did you feel, as you say, you had that great outpouring of support from the public, And I think that was quite visible also to a lot of people. You've got
that sentiment. But within the industry, what was the mood and how has it things been on that front the past six months?
Good? Great, you know, and you know that they can sympathize because they all know how tough this industry is and how brutal it can be. And I've had a lot of messages of support from from people in the media and former colleagues too, which is which is really spiritual. But you do you learn a lot about yourself, and you learn a lot about the people around you, and you learn about the people who are there for you and then learn about the ones that aren't. And that's
that's quite a learning curve. You're like, oh, okay, they haven't reached out, that's fine, that's okay. And then people out of the blue, like mates from school that I haven't really talked to in years, calling me, mate, are you okay? I saw what happened? Oh my god, you know, let's let's let's catch up for coffee, you know. So, but look, yeah, colleagues have been have been really supportive,
especially in the aftermath, which has been good. And you know, it's it's It's happened again recently with the project, you know, and I know a lot of people on that on that show, and I've reached out to them because what I've learned is that you know, you've got to be that compassionate person. You've got to you know, there are other people going through what I've gone through, and it's
a lived experience. You know. I have that experience. Now I know what it's like, So I'm going to be even more likely to and to pick up the phone and ring that person and go, hey, it's going to be okay.
I imagine it would change you as a journalist as well, because this is part of the culture that we're living in, and a lot of it is fed on social media because it's quite anonymous and faceless, and that's the home really of you know, mob mentality and pylon culture. But it then becomes a sentiment that everyone becomes that feeding frenzy,
and we intellectually understand it. But to find yourself in the middle of that, would I imagine that lived experience will completely change your perspective, that empathy for the person that's at the heart of it, whatever has brought them there. Would that be true? And you think that will change you as a person, but also as a journalist one.
Oh, yeah, you know, and that experience, yeah, has taught me to be more compassionate, to be resilient, to be present, to listen and and be there for people that are going through similar things, because it's yeah, mental health is a big thing, you know, and it didn't used to be, especially in this industry. You know. Gee, you know what it's like. And you know, the old school news editors and news bosses and jeez, I've seen some tough ones,
some equally great ones. But now we're all a lot more attuned to being okay and and letting other people know that we're not okay. But yeah, I've learned a lot about my mental health and my capacity and when I need to, you know, take a step back and and have that perspective too, and really look at what's important to me. Control what I can control, don't worry about the other stuff. And I say that to people now,
you know. We had this this coach at school and he said, control the controllables or the uncontrollables will control you. And I'm like, that is so true. It's so it's so hard sometimes and Bonnie. My wife's like, stop worrying, stop overthinking things. What are you doing? And I'm like, that's just who I am. But it's a real exercise in trying to keep those negative thoughts away and out and just you know, controlling what you can control in.
The context of not only your career but your life. Would this chapter what happened professionally, the impact on your career, the impact on your family, it happening at such a huge, highly scrutinized scale. Would this have been the worst thing that you've been.
Through in my career? Yes, definitely in my life. No, The death of my father is like, you know, that is that was big and I think that experience with him stealed me for life's challenges ahead. He he was my hero, you know. And oh sorry, it's a it's a funny thing. I still get upset about it. And he was such a big influence on my life and still is and I miss him every day. It's it's upsetting that he never got to meet my kids, you know, but that's life. And he's always there with me, you know.
I he would always say you'll be right, mate, you know, this big burly farmer you'll be right. He was the most positive, caring, compassionate man, and you know, I just if I can be like that. You know. It was funny thinking about him before I sat down with you, and he was, you know, shy counselor for thirty plus years in town and I just went out there that
they opened a bridge named after him. And I remember going to town with him, and I was like, oh God, go to town with Dad, because he'd be there for hours, like talking to everyone, interested in people, and I'm a bit the same. But you know, it's weird, you know, I and I my kids like that with me. Now they're like, oh, Dad, come on, we're gonna go. I'm like, no, I'll talk to Anthony the hairdresser, and I'll be at
the coffee shop if you're talking to them. And I think I share that that interesting people and that that kind of compassionate. I don't know, I am. I just love being around people. I love hearing their stories. And Dad was an amazing storyteller, you know, like his father as well and my uncle. And I remember as a kid, like you're sitting around listening to these yarns, you know, in a wool shed and It was incredible, and I like to think I can I'm doing that now with
my job. You're doing the storytelling and listening to the rhythm and the cadence and the punchlines and the It's an art form, you know, those bush yarns. And I missed that so much with Dad. And every time we tell a story, he would embellish it and we were like, oh god, Dad, come on, that didn't happen. Yes it did, It's fine. And yeah. He was a big influence and he was going to be a journal himself, which is
which is kind of interesting. He had a cannetch it with the Daily Mirror at the time and his dad, this is back in the mid sixties, and his dad was like, no, no, you've got to come home and cut scrub for this drought nineteen sixty six droughut one of the worst time record. And I think he Yeah, he really wanted to be in the media, I think, you know. And he he would always write for the local paper. He had his column, and I remember the editor ring and gain is your father home. I'm like,
oh god, what have you done? Now? What have you said? You know, It's like I'm going to get super many. I'm going to get super a million dollars, but I don't put an apology in the paper, so he'd had begun and do it. But he was very well read. I loved what I was doing, so supportive and said to me on a couple of occasions, Mate, don't come back here, you know, to the farm. He never pressured me to come back to the farm, which I was
so grateful for. And yeah, he was. He was great at sort of picking up on when I was down and when I was. He was a great reader of people, and I miss him terribly. But yeah, that was. That was the toughest And yeah, there'll be there'll be many, you know, tough situations ahead, but yeah, that was. That was a very, very difficult period.
We've talked a bit about some of the reflections and what you've learned about yourself and what you're When you look at what happened on air that day, how do you characterize it? Do you think of it as a mistake? Is there a word that comes to mind when you think about what happened.
Yeah, it was a silly mistake and one I should have thought through, of course, and but hindsight, it's a wonderful thing, you know, And I can't go back and change it. I can't change any of it. It's it's there, It's for all for everyone to see. It's it's online, it's if you if you want to have a look at the story. It's it's all there, and which is which is quite you know, weird as well. It's all It's all out there still, and that's okay. I get the chance now to rewrite the next chapter, you know.
I get the chance to to go out and do what I'm what I'm sort of wanting to do and what I love doing. But I can't change it. You know. I've learned to be resilient. I've learned to think a lot harder before I speak. And yeah, yeah.
I know there's some parameters around what you can say about partying ways with Nine. We had worked on the Today Show for five years. Are you at peace with how your relationship with the network ended?
I am, Yeah, I'm okay with it. Look, Nine made their decision. I made mine, and that's okay. You know. I don't harbor any negative thoughts. That's not good for me or anyone. And I choose to look back on my time at nine as a really great time, you know it was. It was a wonderful five years with
some really great people. I got to sit in that chair with Karl and Ali and Sarah and Brooke and Tim and Renee and just shoot the breeze each morning and talk about sport and life and and we got to travel around the country as well, and you know, state of Origins and those sorts of things. But no, I'm okay with it. You know, I'm looking forward now. You know, I'm ready for the next chapter. I'm ready for what comes next.
And can I ask you about Adrian for Telly? Obviously he in the days after he's confirmed, well actually nine confirmed that the money had been returned. But then Adrian came out and said he then had donated the money to the RSPCA and the Salvation. Have you spoken to him since, and how are things with the two of you? How's he feeling about?
Yeah, we had a really good conversation after it happened, might have been a month or two after, and he was very respectful, very honest. He felt bad about what had transpired, and I assured him that, hey, it was me standing there that morning saying those words. Don't feel bad about it, and we had a really good conversation and he's a busy man. I'm about to be a very busy man. And we left it at that. So now we had a good chat, and it was important we did sit down and talk about it because it
was a pretty seismic moment in my life. And yeah, we left it at that.
Very few people, I think listening or reading or watching will find themselves in this position, as in I was saying, I don't know exactly know what the percentage is. But the people that, for whatever reason, from any walk of life that find themselves in this I have a media storm because whatever circumstances can happen, we see viral moments to people that are completely unexpected, whether they work in
the media or not. You've spoken a little bit about what your advice would be, what you've learned about how you'd react, What would your advice be to anyone that's in the middle of a situation or find themselves suddenly you know, a meme, a moment on the front page of all of the news sites in the country. Any lessons just in case, little user guide from Alex Salin.
Exercise walks, long walks, they have got me through a lot long walks, podcasts or a run. That's that's the elixir of getting through because you can kindind of shut yourself off for a while. You can get it. You're out in the open, you're out in nature. Nature is a big one, you know, getting into walking, running, whatever it is, and meditating. I strongly advise people to meditate. And I've never really meditated before, and I only discovered it from this experience. A made of mine sent me
this book called ten Percent Happier. It's about this American journo who had a very similar creed of mine actually, and he was going through a tough time in that industry in the US, and he discovered Buddhism and meditating. Now I haven't gone down the Buddhism road, but I have gone down the meditating road. And it makes such
a difference. You're shutting yourself off from those negative thoughts and those negative thoughts like, oh my god, they're so overwhelming for me they were, but shutting yourself off from those, shutting down that internal monologue. He has this great term, you sit behind a waterfall. So imagine you're behind a waterfall and the water is cascading down in front of you. They are the negative thoughts, they are the negative feelings, and sit there. Imagine yourself sitting there. I was like, oh,
that's so interesting. So ten minutes is what I often do. I haven't done it much recently because of the move and everything just been too busy.
No time to get behind the water.
No no way, and and we're going down to raid there, aren't we. But it's so important that you do that. You take time, You take deep breaths, even deep breaths, you know, and also lean on those around you, like if you're lucky enough to have people around you, you know, like family. And I couldn't have done it with that Bonnie. She is this amazing, smart, compassionate, fiery redhead. I'm terrified of her. Sarah, I've met her, Yeah, who was just the toughest person I know. She's so strong and I
wouldn't have got through without her. And so I'm very lucky to have that, you know, that amazing support and those amazing friends, and yeah, and try and get perspective. You know, you're going to be okay, you know, and people are often in a lot worse situations than you. We live in a great country. We you know, we have running water, we have electricity, we have you know,
we're doing all right, you know. So yeah, I mean exercise, you know, walking, running, meditation and perspective and just remembering what is important.
Is only July as you and I are sitting here, so we've literally just ticked over the half year mark a couple of weeks ago, and I imagine you feel like you have lived one hundred lifetimes. You're talking about those changes, the perspective that shifted the logistics of your life. You're moving into a city, a new job, two new jobs,
a new network. Everything feels different. Could you even imagine how much do you recognize in Alex Cullen from the very beginning of the year, like, you know, December, first week of January to the person sitting here today in July.
It's wild. It's so wild, Sarah, never in a million years so I think I'll be sitting here doing this and with these wonderful opportunities ahead. Uh yeah, it is. It is just really Oh, there's there's ah. I've just got to step back sometimes and go this is happening. You know, I come from you know, Cannanble northwest New South Wales, grew up on a farm, and you know, I've just sort of done my thing and and and enjoyed enjoyed the ride. And never did I think I'd
be doing this right now. You know, it's just crazy, but that is life. Pardon my growley stomach there, but it's fine. That's life. That that's the rich tapestry of life, and you've just you've got to go with it. And I'm really thankful. I'm really thankful for those people who believed in me and knew what I could do and knew the person I was and am to give me another shot. You know. Christian O'Connell is he is great. Like the Christian O'Connell show is humming in Melbourne. It's
doing so well. This guy coming from the UK dominating the airwaves over there, bringing his wife and two daughters to Melbourne, establishing himself as the number one FM radio station in Melbourne. And that's no mean feat. That's incredible. And he is such a nice guy. And we get on lock a House on Fire. He rang me out of the blue one day and it was it all
came through my manager. I had to say my manager, I sound like a Hollywood d list, but they knew each other and he said to Christian, there's this guy moving down from Sydney because you know, they needed someone on the show. And he's like, okay, yeah, talk to me, and yeah, he loves his sport. Maybe you guys will get on. You should, you should do it. Give him a call. Christian rings me, Hey mate, they are you going? We're on the phone for nearly an hour. My wife's going,
who is this? Who are you on the phone? What's going on in there? And I came out going, oh my god, that was Christian O'Connell. We got on so well. He wants me to fly down meet the team and we're just going to see how it goes. So I go down meet everyone, an amazing bunch of people, really passionate, really professional, really hard working, and met them all and we chatted and Christian's like, right, we're going to lunch
at midday. I'm like, okay, yeah, cool. I go into was it a Tartane in Richmond and he's sitting there with a beer and I'm like, okay, cool. We sat down, we had lunch, we had wine, we had more one more one again, and at the end of it, He's like, do you want to do this? And I'm like, yeah, sure, let's make this happen. And a little did I know that that was kind of a job interview with a whole lot of red wine throwing in, And so I
flew back to Sydney toime. My wife said this is this is happening, and it just all happened from there. And then the seventh thing, yeah, the same kind of thing. I got a call from from seven early on, you know, if you want to come back. And then I connected with Anthony to seglee and he said, there's some stuff going on. It's in your wheelhouse. Great, and it's sort of just progressed slowly. And Ray Cooker came in to replace Anthony because he's of course gone over to Perth
to head up the the Perth Bears Nurl franchise. And it was lovely, you know, dealing with Ray and because he's an old friend and he said, hey, this is going to be great. You know, we're going to do this new is offering and we can't wait to have you back. So that's where I find myself now. And it's just it's life, isn't it you've just got to kind of go with it, and that's what I'm trying to do with three small kids. Has its challenges, you know, but look, home is wherever your family is. I'm a
big believer in that. And we're gonna we're gonna enjoy Melbourne. I know we are. It's it's a wonderful place and Sidney will still be. It's not going anywhere, but we're really open to new, exciting experiences.
There's something sometimes about moving, as logistically demanding as it can be, but moving to a wonderful new city and a new beginning, which sounds very trite, but it is literally what is happening. Yeah, this week definitely is. There is whole new beginnings for you. You're starting one new job, announcing another, and you and your family are rebuilding your life as a family in a new city. I mean, it's quite symbolic, isn't it, in terms of cleaning the slate,
taking the good lessons with you, leaving some behind. That's really one of those watershed moments.
It is. It's a new skin. It's like a rebirth in a sense. You know, life was good when I was doing Breakfast TV. It was you know, we had a house, we had our kids, we had you know, we're living in a great city. It was. And then that happened, of course, and so that's a big shift. And now it's like you say, it is it's a new skin, it's a new beginning. Not everyone gets that,
you know. It's funny. I was our car broke down and this NRMA came to to the rescue and they had this guy, this safety auditor with him, the mechanic, and he goes, oh, you're that guy from today, Shelmon. Yeah, this is not long after it all went down, and he goes, mate, I worked at Macquarie Bank for thirty forty years. I was out the door and I don't know what I was going to do, had small kids.
I went down to Kuljie Beach five in the morning, smoked a pack of cigarettes and went back to my wife and and then I got a job with the n M And I said, you're happy, and he goes, mate, I've never been aubier And just those random little experiences that I've had along the way, and there's yeah, there's there's that's pretty cool. You know that I can start again in a sense, yeah, in a New City and control what I can control. I can dive back into that next chapter.
Can I just ask Alex about the recognition? So the raising of the profile, there's like infamy and then there's simply then fame, and it's like, there's that transition, isn't there? So you were already in a very high profile job. You worked in media for a long time. You're on national television five days a week. There's a certain level of recognition. But you've obviously, through the course of your career worked with some of those people that are absolute
household names. And I mean, you know, Karl Stephanovic is one of the most recognizable and identifiable people. If you walk through an airport with Karl Stefnovic, everyone comes up. You would have seen it. How has it been for you to have that shift in recognition? You're on the
cover of Stellar today. I mean, even that coming from me sounds self important, But if it was anyone else from the industry, they would say, oh, you're on the cover of Stellar today, Like that's definitely a sign of recognition. How is that aspect of.
Yeah, it's it's quite a change. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity. You know, it was a long time becoming this and the build up to it, and you know, speaking for the first time about this, So so thank you. I love what you guys do and it just feels right.
But yeah, it is. It's quite the shift. And luckily I've had someone like Carl to kind of listen to on that front, Like he is amazing and his ability to just not let it face him is amazing in that sense, like he I remember walking from it was at the austral And Open one year and it wasn't long after the nurse and stuff had all gone down and Juno's We're just at him, just trying to get something, you know, and you know it's their job, and we
were just walking along and he was just cool, wasn't engaging, and people were just all coming up to him selfies, gosh, there you going, and and I'm like, wow, you know he is. He's so much to so many Australians and I'm so thankful that I got to share those five
years with him. And he was very supportive throughout that and we had a great chat after it all happened, and he congratulated me on these new roles, which was which was really lovely, and so I sort of had him to go to kind of to learn from, you know, and it's just water off a duck's back for him. I know it gets to him in some capacity, but he's just like you know, who cares a lot of the time. And and he's right, you know, like people
are busy. People are they've got businesses, they've got kids, they've got jobs and and that's another thing I learned, Like it moves on, that that great Tom Hanks line, you know, this too shall pass, and it does pass eventually. And like I say, people are busy, you know, they they move on too. But yeah, it has been quite the shift. And it's all happened really quickly, really quickly,
you know, bang front page, whoa. And I was walking through the Botannic Gardens I remember in Melbourne and these this woman and these two women in front of me sort of looked around and look back and sort of whispered to each other and went, oh God, sort of put my cap down and it just kept walking. And that's fine, you know, that's that's the that's the job we we have. That's the the industry we're in and
you've just got to You've got to wear it. You've got to deal with it, and and and just care about what those closest to you k you know what I'm saying. There's a bitter way of saying that you're worried about those closest to you and their worries and concerns and everything else. You know, it's up to the individual.
You will have to come back at some point. We're in the middle of well not in the middle of renovating our studio, but we are going to give it a refresh scene because I think one question that if I asked you you might not be able to answer now. When we're in the middle of things in our life, pivotal moments, sometimes they feel like the best things that have happened to us, and then sometimes they feel like
one of the hardest things that have happened. And when you're in the middle, you think I might think I might get to the other side of this, and this was such an important thing to happen and it changed everything, And that feels I'm hearing that so much from you. But I feel it would be premature of me to say, are you lad that this moment happened, or do you wish that it never had happened? Maybe I could give me your answer now.
That's a great question in a year and that's a really good question because it's funny. I haven't quite come to an answer on that yet, you know, do I regret it? I haven't come to an answer on that yet because I'm going to see how the next little while goes. What I do regret is the pain it caused my family. That was hard, you know, and the uncertainty and the kind of not knowing where the next paycheck is coming from, not knowing how I'm going to
support my family. That that's a very difficult place to be. I can't change it, you know. I just there's nothing I can do about it now. And hindsight a wonderful thing. And yeah, in another year's time, I'll have a better answer for you on that, Sarah. I promise You've.
Had some really reflective and honest dancers with me today. Alex has been a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you also for fitting us in in the middle of your move. All the best in Melbourne are looking forward to seeing you soon on seven News and of course from tomorrow. Alex Cullen begins on The Christian O'Connell Show weekdays from six am and weeknights from seven pm on Gold one oh four point three. Alex all the best with everything and we will hear from you soon.
Sarah, you're Jim.
Thank you so much, thank you, and I'll be back in your ears with another exclusive guest on the Stellar podcast next week. Thank you for joining me today. If you've enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a review or send it to a friend.