Em Rusciano responds to motherhood article; “I did not ‘throw it all away'”

Staff Writer

Recently departed 2DayFM Breakfast host Em Rusicano has hit back at an article penned in the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, which outlined how working mothers don’t have enough support on the home and work fronts.

In a new post on her blog, Rusciano first clarified that she understood the author to have good intentions, but that she also felt it undermined her ability as a working mother.

The article used Rusciano, TV presenter Jessica Rowe and radio presenter Maddi Wright to make its point.

“An article came out over the weekend that upset me so much, I need to put it into words.”

The author “imposed her own theories onto my motivation for leaving my radio job, which were quite simply a complete load of bullshit,” wrote Rusciano.

“A quick perusal of this very blog would have given her all the facts she needed, but I fear that perhaps the facts may have gotten in the way of her already fixed narrative, so she didn’t bother.

Specifically, Em took issue with a paragraph which suggested motherhood was “too big of an ask” for herself, Rowe and Wright.

She hit back; “First of all, working motherhood is not ‘too big of an ask’ for me. I can’t speak for Jess or Maddi, but what the actual fuck? Sure it’s hard, but it’s also awesome.

“I’ve always been completely transparent about my struggles and vulnerabilities in trying to find a balance between work and family life – I do that so that none of you are ever under the impression that I find it easy, because I don’t.

“But make no mistake: I’m not a victim here! My decision to leave was NOT a retreat, and I’m not quitting the role of ‘working mother’ by any stretch of the imagination.

“When I fell pregnant, it simply clarified what I actually wanted to focus on (making great shit for you lot to enjoy) which I wasn’t doing enough of because early morning radio made me a shell of a person.

Rusciano then turned her attention to a line in the article that suggested that she, Rowe and Wright had to “throw it all away” to become stay-at-home mothers.

“Throw it all away?! I have chosen to invest my time and money into my own business,” she said.

“I have a book coming out, a national tour, a podcast, a maternity line and a bajillion other projects in the works. I was just sick of making other people rich from my content.”

She continued; “Why is it so hard to believe that I would leave a job in breakfast radio because I wanted to back my own shit in?!

“I was sick of being tired all the time and as I’ve stated before: that job and I were no longer right for each other. I wasn’t doing what made me happy, and the breakfast radio environment brought out the worst in me.”

The blog post is available in full below:

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Bob
18 Sep 2018 - 2:33 pm

Can we please all agree to let Em go… She has taken enough space on this site. And like that last time she left radio and bagged it out and made a decision to return for money, can we please not make the same mistake again. Lets start celebrating and promoting new voices that give radio a little but more credit for what it can be. Like Jess Eva on The Block, I haven’t seen a single article on here talking about a woman that has tread the regional board for a decade, with a wicked sense of humour and infectious positivity who has now found fame outside of radio on The Block. Radios loss is Channel 9’s game.

Steve
19 Sep 2018 - 10:18 am

Fair enough to take umbrage with the article, that’s completely understandable, especially if the writer never made contact for comment. But taking a stab at the company you worked for along the way is pretty low, especially after being supported so well over the last 18 months with no runs on the board. Pretty sure the only people that get rich from a 3 share radio show in Sydney are the highly paid talent.

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