Jase Hawkins and Polly "PJ" Harding host the KIIS FM Melbourne breakfast show. Photo / Supplied to news.com.au
Jase Hawkins and Polly "PJ" Harding host the KIIS FM Melbourne breakfast show. Photo / Supplied to news.com.au
KIIS FM's Polly "PJ" Harding has quit the Jase and PJ breakfast show.
PJ announced live on air this morning she will finish up on the Melbourne-based radio show in June and will then move back home to New Zealand to be with her fiance.
"It's been a very harddecision to make, probably one of the hardest to make in my life, but at the same time I know it couldn't be the more right decision for where I'm at," PJ said through tears.
PJ said last year was "incredibly challenging" and her priorities had shifted.
"At the end of 2019 I lost my father and being here doing the show was hard enough," she said. "Bring on 2020, (I was) doing a long distance relationship, my partner was back home, and I didn't know when I was going to see him.
Jase and PJ during their time on ZM in New Zealand. Photo / Dean Purcell
"Last year was hard, but last year was hard for everyone," she continued. "It really made me have a cold, hard look in the mirror and work out what I want to do and that is why I've come to the very challenging decision that I'm going to be finishing up with the show and going home to New Zealand and living with my fiance."
Jase and PJ have been working together for six and a half years. They started on-air together in New Zealand before moving to Melbourne in 2018 to host the KIIS 101.1 FM breakfast show.
Jason "Jase" Hawkins paid tribute to his longtime co-host on air this morning, joking: "I'm really proud of you mate, it wouldn't be an easy decision to make, especially knowing what [money] you're on."
He told listeners it "killed him" to watch PJ struggle so much in her personal life last year.
"There were mornings where … we'd be in an ad break and you're in tears and you looked at me like, 'I'm only staying here at the moment for you,'" Jase said.
Jase will remain with the breakfast show for the remainder of the year at least. A replacement for PJ has not yet been announced.
