Melissa Doyle reflects on her struggles hosting Sunrise – and her thoughts on Kochie

Melissa Doyle has candidly reflected on her time hosting Sunrise alongside co-host David Koch, and why she should have learned to say no more. 

Speaking on the podcast And We’re Rolling with Stephanie Hunt, the 51-year-old admitted the early days anchoring the Channel Seven breakfast show and juggling motherhood were ‘bloody hard’. 

‘I started at Sunrise when [my son] Nick was six-months-old, I just finished maternity leave,’ Melissa said in the latest installment on Thursday. 

‘And then I had [daughter] Talia…  and I only took a few weeks off to have her and then I came back and we had to go on the road every Friday for the first month.’

The veteran broadcaster went on to reveal the reality of taking the show around the country, even though she had a three-week-old baby at home.

‘I was still breastfeeding and everything still hurt, and everything was still leaking,’ she recalled, before adding, ‘It was just, it was really, really hard.’

Mel went on to add that she wished ‘she had the guts to say no at the time’, but she did what she had to do, and it was her choice to do it. 

‘Now I look back, I probably should have said no. But it was really, it was hard.’

‘I’d get up at two o’clock in the morning and feed her and then go to work and do the job and get home,’ she said. 

And when it comes to her former co-host, she can’t speak highly enough of him.

‘You know Kochie (David Koch) was fantastic. He was a dad of four and was very aware to a degree of some of the things I was going through,’ she added. 

Mel co-hosted Sunrise with David, 66, between 2002 and 2013, before being replaced by Samantha Armytage. 

At the time, her departure was described by the network as a ‘resignation’, but it’s widely believed she was pushed out. 

Juggling: ‘I started at Sunrise when [my son] Nick was six-months-old, I just finished maternity leave,’ Melissa said. ‘And then I had [daughter] Talia… and I only took a few weeks off to have her and then I came back and we had to go on the road every Friday for the first month’

Past: Melissa launched Sunrise alongside co-host David Koch in 2002, and would go on to anchor the the program with him for 11 years. Pictured with singer John Mayer

Boned: The mother of two announced she was leaving Sunrise in June 2013, and finished up in August that same year. At the time, her departure was described by the network as a ‘resignation’, but it’s widely believed she was pushed out

Melissa was ousted from Channel Seven in August 2020, after 25 years of service with the network.

Her departure was believed to be the result of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Seven particularly hard.

Mel said in a statement at the time: ‘For 25 years, I have called Channel Seven home. I’ve had the privilege to share stories that mattered, meet incredible people and be there for significant moments in history.’

‘I am incredibly proud of the work I have done and appreciative of the trust and warmth our viewers have shown me. 

‘I leave Seven with a great deal of pride, satisfaction and gratitude.’ 

Talks: Samantha Armytage replaced Mel as host of Sunrise in 2013

Tough times: Melissa was ousted from Channel Seven in August 2020, after 25 years of service with the network. Her departure was believed to be the result of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Seven particularly hard

Melissa first joined Seven’s Canberra bureau as a political reporter back in 1995. 

She then moved to Sydney, working as a newsreader on the network’s 11AM program.

During her career, Melissa hosted several of Seven’s flagship programs, including Sunrise, Today Tonight, 7News and Sunday Night.

Mel shares two children with her husband of 25 years, sports marketing executive John Dunlop – daughter Natalia, 17 and son Nick, 18.

 Loving: Mel shares two children with her husband of 25 years, sports marketing executive John Dunlop – daughter Natalia, 17 and son Nick, 18. All pictured