FARMER HARRY USED ME!
Heartbroken Stacey says she was just part of the farmer’s pursuit of fame
As Sunrise’s popular co-anchor, David “Kochie” Koch has been one of the most constant and successful faces on Australian breakfast television for almost two decades. However, Woman’s Day hears that the 64-yearold is growing increasingly concerned about his future at Seven – and with good reason, as one “network favourite” is said to sizing up his highly sought-after job! It’s believed 36-year-old Matt Doran, who hosts Weekend Sunrise, is a shoo-in to replace Kochie, if and when the time comes to overhaul the long-running show. “Matt is the heir apparent, for sure!” tells an insider. “He cannot put a foot wrong in that place and offers a more smooth feel to the network,” the source explains, noting it won’t be long before Matt gets to “test-drive” Sunrise on Friday, thanks to Kochie’s four-day working week.
CUTTHROAT
Insiders tell Woman’s Day that Kochie is also “extremely rattled” by the shock departure of his former co-star and good friend, Melissa Doyle, 50, who has left Seven after 25 years with the network.
“He would be feeling nervous about his situation, now that he can see how cutthroat the industry has become and how Mel left, despite being one of the longest standing and most senior presenters at the network,” says the source.
It came just days before Seven announced it had sold most of its stake in Kochie’s online financial
‘Kochie would be feeling nervous about his situation’
business Money Makeover, of which they were formally equal partners.
Adding to Kochie’s stress has been the absence of his co-host Samantha Armytage, who has taken substantial time off this year following health issues in March, and most recently to be by her parents’ side as they face their own health battles.
“Kochie is genuinely concerned that the loyal Sunrise audience is straying, and he’s frustrated because there’s been no continuity in who partners alongside him these past months,” says the source.
Insiders insist Kochie’s anxieties are warranted, and despite him signing a new two-year contract in July, the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact means
“nothing is airtight and bulletproof any more”.
Sunrise is under intense pressure as Nine’s Today continues to close the gap in the breakfast TV ratings battle.
TIME TO MOVE
While Sam has returned to the couch, she’s also still managing to fuel rumours that she’s about to call time on her TV career.
Earlier this year Sam sold her Bondi home, and just last week said farewell to Sydney as she packed up her belongings with new fiance Richard Lavender.
Sam, who turns 44 this week, and Richard, 60, are owners of separate estates in the NSW Southern Highlands, where they enjoy spending most of their time.
Our insider says Kochie worries whether Sam will return in 2021, which could spell the end of the duo’s reign on the show.
“If Today does edge closer and closer in the ratings war, no one is safe,” our source adds.
Their romantic TV love story came crashing down when Farmer Harry Robertson confessed on last week’s reunion episode he’d ended his relationship with Stacey Cain.
And while the Goolgowi, NSW, grape and cotton farmer, 29, insisted the couple’s decision to split was mutual, Stacey’s tears and stiff body language told a very different story. Now, the country girl tells Woman’s Day just what really happened after the show’s finale, revealing she feels she was a “pawn” in Harry’s quest – not for love, but for fame.
“I feel like he totally used me,” Stacey tells Woman’s Day. “You can’t help but feel like you were being used to create a storyline on a TV show.” During the reunion, Harry explained to host Natalie Gruzlewski that their constant bickering had made him pull back, yet the 28-year-old from Grovedale, Victoria, says the Harry fans saw on screen was different to the one she knew. “Everything he said to the camera, he didn’t say to me. It was so strange to watch back,” she says. “I honestly saw a switch in him. He was super nervous and genuine, and as soon as the cameras came on he turned into a trained actor. “The whole reason we broke up was around an argument
that kept coming back up about me not wanting to watch the show. He kept saying, ‘Don’t you trust me?’ And
I was like, ‘I just don’t want to relive it all,’” she adds.
“The funny thing is we spent that evening [of the reunion] together and in the morning we parted ways and he didn’t talk to me again,” she says. “He’s made no attempt to call me.”
While Stacey walks away “disheartened” from the entire experience, she’s managed to make two close friends in Liz Jelley and Jess Wolfe, with the girls bonding over their TV heartbreak. “I really feel for poor Liz and Jess, too,” she says.
Liz was left “ghosted” by Farmer Nick Onassis and Farmer Alex Taylor’s first pick Jess was kicked to the curb to make way for runner-up Henrietta Moore.
“We all walked away so disappointed – it felt like such a waste of time to go through all this, then as soon as the cameras stopped rolling it was like ‘OK, see you, bye,’” she adds.
Stacey says hindsight is a beautiful thing, and looking back on the show now, she feels the farmers may have had other intentions.
“They’re all just lapping up the fame,” she says. “I think I was very naive, along with Liz and Jess. We committed ourselves to these guys who didn’t really want to settle down with us. They have hundreds of women throwing themselves at them now.”
While still noticeably upset, Stacey says she’s relieved the show has finally finished and she can start to rebuild her life.
“I feel like they just pulled the cement truck off me,” she says. “Now I can breathe again.”
‘In the morning we parted ways and he didn't talk to me again'