Meshel Laurie announces her radio comeback two years after burnout

Meshel Laurie announces her radio comeback – almost two years after quitting The Project and being left ‘broke’

Meshel Laurie is returning to radio to host Wollongong’s Wave FM – almost two years after leaving The Project and being left ‘broke’ as a result.

The 47-year-old will be filling in for Jade Papesch, who is taking maternity leave.

Meshel will be co-hosting Wake Up With Jade, Straney and Damien alongside Adam Straney and Damien Leith, who won Australian Idol in 2006.

She’s back! Meshel Laurie (pictured) will return to radio on Wave FM – almost two years after quitting The Project and being left ‘broke’

‘Jade is about to have a baby and I am not. I couldn’t be happier for both of us,’ she told industry website Radio Today.

‘I’m also thrilled to be keeping her seat warm for the next couple of months. Talk about shaking off the 2020 blues.’

Meshel’s return to radio comes two years after she quit KIIS FM’s Matt & Meshel radio show and also stopped her regular appearances on The Project.

New role: Meshel will be co-hosting Wave FM's Wake Up With Jade, Straney and Damien show alongside former Australian Idol winner Damien Leith and Adam Straney

New role: Meshel will be co-hosting Wave FM’s Wake Up With Jade, Straney and Damien show alongside former Australian Idol winner Damien Leith and Adam Straney

In a tell-all interview with McKnight Tonight in 2019, Meshel said: ‘I’d worked hard for a long time and I’d always enjoyed [working in the media] but I just hit a wall.

‘You’re so driven by the next job and getting the job and keeping the job, and the fear of other people coming up behind you, and the fear of taking a day off [in case] whoever replaces you will be great. I was that person, I wanted to keep grinding.’

Eventually, Meshel reached a point where she could not continue and was simply ‘exhausted’.

Career: Meshel's return to radio comes two years after she quit KIIS FM's Matt & Meshel radio show and also stopped her regular appearances on The Project

Career: Meshel’s return to radio comes two years after she quit KIIS FM’s Matt & Meshel radio show and also stopped her regular appearances on The Project 

At the time, she was also dealing with the fact her elderly father was dying.

Meshel said she became ‘anxious’ and ‘manic’ worrying about her father’s health and started self-medicating with alcohol to cope.

‘I knew that I was giving up a lot of money, which I also needed. But I just couldn’t cope,’ she added.

Candid: In a tell-all interview with McKnight Tonight in 2019, Meshel said: 'I'd worked hard for a long time and I'd always enjoyed [working in the media] but I just hit a wall'

Candid: In a tell-all interview with McKnight Tonight in 2019, Meshel said: ‘I’d worked hard for a long time and I’d always enjoyed [working in the media] but I just hit a wall’