Peter Overton threatened to quit Nine over treatment of Jessica Rowe

When he was a 60 Minutes correspondent Peter Overton once rang Channel Nine from overseas and threatened to quit over the way his wife, Jessica Rowe, was being treated.

Rowe, now a Studio 10 presenter reveals the impact that gossip and media sniping was having on her during her time as a co-host on the Today show.

News Corp has published an excerpt from her memoir, “Is This My Beautiful Life.”

In part she writes:

What added to my anxiety was the campaign being run within Channel Nine. I was gobsmacked when I saw A Current Affair a few nights later had a story on how I was the most annoying person on television. I could usually laugh this kind of thing off, but it was all becoming too much.

Peter rang his boss that night and ranted on my behalf, telling him that he was close to quitting. I told my loyal husband to calm down as we would need at least one pay cheque, since I looked like losing my job at any moment!

My mood wasn’t helped by the anxiety I had over the future of Milano, who was now six weeks young in my womb. While I flicked through the newspapers alone in bed, Peter once again on the other side of the world, I wondered whether it was all worth it. Yes, I could curl up under this doona all day and hide or I could get on with it. After wallowing for a few hours, I realised I had to keep going. The worse it got, the more stubborn I became about it all not compromising my professionalism.

I kept setting the alarm and showing up on time to do my job. There was no way I was giving up; instead I chose to dig in my Dolce & Gabbana heels and be professional. Karl Stefanovic, one of my Today colleagues, also found himself targeted by the media during that time, and the pair of us would try and laugh it off. It was odd sharing a couch with my other co-hosts, three hours a day, five mornings a week, and have them say nothing about the situation. Their silence made me feel more isolated as there was a sense of everyone for themselves.

It was not a team, and it was harder and harder to pretend to be a happy family on air. I’m still at a loss why no one said anything — perhaps it was simply because they wanted to keep their jobs and didn’t want bad press about me to rub off on to them.

You can read more of her excellent insight here.