‘I DON’T FEEL A DAY OVER 30’ Kylie

The TV favourite reveals the secret to her enduring career, her successful marriage and how she transformed her body and mind

Gillies reveals why she has never felt better

Walking onto the set of WHO’s exclusive cover shoot with Seven journalist Kylie Gillies, the only way to properly describe The Morning Show co-host is ‘glowing’. Reclining on a chair, she’s smiling and giggling on a sunny afternoon as she somehow balances her legs perfectly crossed over one another, extended in the air for an impressive amount of time, as we capture the positively radiant mum of two.

“I don’t feel a day over 30!” Gillies, 52, tells WHO. And while many of us would kill to look as good as Gillies does, the mum to sons Gus, 16, and Archie, 14, candidly explains she’s not always glammed up like she is for television. “I’m very lucky – I’ve got a hair and makeup department that looks after what I look like Monday to Friday,” Gillies says.

“But you know what, on the weekend I’m on my own and that’s the real Kylie. That’s the Kylie that you’ll see running up and down the

sidelines taking photos of her kids’ AFL game and it’s the mum you’re going to see in the aisle at Woolies doing her groceries.”

For the past six weeks, Gillies has been working under the guidance of celebrity transformation duo Chief Brabon and Emilie Brabon-Hames for what she jokingly calls ‘Operation Photoshoot’. But in all seriousness, Gillies reveals, “This wasn’t about weight loss. It was about strength. Getting moving, and doing it with the long-term goal of being more active for longer in my life”. How do you feel about ageing? Here’s the thing, I don’t walk around stressing over whether I’m about to get another wrinkle. I’m at a stage in my life where I feel quite comfortable in my own skin. For every extra line or crow’s foot … guess what? It comes with a bonus offer … of extra knowledge, empathy, wisdom. Being 52 is better than not reaching this age and I have a young mindset. I’m proud of my age and I’ve never attempted to hide it. But, hand on heart, I have better things to occupy my mind and time. Would I prefer to have the skin of a 30-year-old? Sure. But, you know, look around. I have such beautiful friendships made over such a gorgeous length of time.

Is keeping fit and healthy becoming more of a priority as you get older? Well, certainly, because I mean as we get older you’re going to have more health issues. It’s just a fact of life. So if you can keep on top of it … and not just for vanity reasons. It’s important for your mental health, it’s important for your bones. I think if you approach it with a mindset of ‘I need to do this to keep, you know, one step in front of bad things happening to me’ – I think that’s the best way of thinking of it.

Have you ever had any health scares?

“I don’t walk around stressing about getting another

I’ve previously had a bit of a scare with breast care. I ended up in hospital for about a week once because of it, so it’s something that we’ve just got to keep an eye on moving forward. It was a bit scary – but everything’s fine and we’re just keeping an eye on it.

As a mum, are you always putting everyone else before yourself?

I don’t know any mum that doesn’t put her kids first. You can bang on about making self care a priority – and I get that – but I just think we’re all doing the best that we can. And I will put my kids first, every single day of the week. I just will. It makes me angry that people feel that they’re not doing enough or whatever. But we’re all just doing the best we can. And that’s good enough.

Tell us about the ‘Find Your 30’ campaign, which is encouraging people to find 30 minutes a day to be active. It took me until 52 to ‘Find my 30’! This campaign really speaks to me. Use it or lose it! I need my body to be strong. I have two teenage boys who are super fit. Gus is 16 and Archie is 14. They’re already taller than me. We went skiing in New Zealand during in the school holidays. It was just three weeks into my new gym regime, and boy, it made a difference. I could keep up, and the muscles ached far less than I anticipated. For mums reading this and even for men too, that 30 minutes can be hard to find sometimes. But off the back of having a little bit of success and having a taste of what it can do, I’m absolutely going to try my very best to keep up the activity. What role did your trainers play in helping you get active?

I always thought people who work out really loved it! No. Apparently they don’t. They just do it! I complained a lot every time I was on any sort of cardio machine. Chief [Brabon] said to me, “It’s not about the aesthetic, it’s about the athletic” –I like that. It is about numbers, but not size 10, 12 or 14. It’s about still being active when you’re 55, 65 and 75. I owe Chief and Em a lot. I’m a little more clear-headed and have a little bit more energy. My clothes fit better and my muffin top isn’t quite as muffiny.

Did you have to sacrifice anything like alcohol or sweets?

I’ve always been a really sensible eater, because that’s just the way I’ve been brought up. But I was really mindful about not having extra things – my big weakness is the chocolate. So instead of a piece of cake of an afternoon, I’d have a chocolate protein shake as a snack.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Do you still hope to be doing the same work?

Yeah, absolutely. I’ve never been a great planner. People have these goals and I think that’s important to goal set. But, you know what, I just kind of have ridden the wave. And in media in particular, it’s great to have goals, but people are going to put you where they want you to be.

What’s your dynamic with Larry Emdur like off screen?

We’ve just celebrated our 12th year

“I don’t know any mum who doesn’t put her kids first”

anniversary and have been the No. 1 morning TV program for 12 years straight. We have this – Larry and I both say this – we have a great TV marriage that starts at nine o’clock every morning and ends at 11.30 and then we go back to our respective spouses [Laughs]. He’s my mate and we have a great working relationship but we’re not hanging out together of a weekend.

What about your actual marriage?

In May, Tony and I celebrated our 30-year wedding anniversary. Poor guy! We are very much a team … Team Gillies … but we’ve also carved very successful careers separate to one another, too. We are quite capable of operating independently. But choose to do it together. What’s the secret to your career success? Do you worry about your job security as you get older?

I never take anything for granted. I’m only as good as the last show I’ve done. And if the ratings aren’t there, well then yeah, I could be in danger. But I’ve got a lot of wisdom, I’ve got a lot of experience that I bring to the table. I just need to worry about myself and doing the best job I can do. That’s been my philosophy in life. Sure, success can be measured by a ratings win; that’s nice. But sometimes success can just be that I managed to get the clothes in off the line and I cooked a half decent meal!

“I am not the ‘gym girl’ and, to be honest, I probably never will be. I used to think that people who went to the gym loved it and they had some gene that I didn’t have. But it turns out they don’t, they just like what it does for them,” Gillies tells WHO.

“My sons are really impressed I’m going to the gym. When I first told them, they were like, ‘What, are you kidding?!’” Gillies laughs.

With her sons and husband, Tony. Of her decision to take control of her health, Kylie says, “They were really supportive”.

“I’ve always said yes to opportunities and it’s something I always tell my boys, just try it. Just say yes to the opportunity, ’cause you never know where it will lead you.”