Almost five months after leaving the Today show, Steve Jacobs has revealed what prompted him to leave the breakfast show.
In an interview with TV Blackbox’s The Ben, Rob, and Robbo Show on Wednesday, the 53-year-old former TV weatherman called his Today job ‘the best’ but said the hours were ‘gruelling’.
‘It is the best job that anyone could ever have in their entire life,’ he began.
Moving on: Almost five months after leaving the Today show, Steve Jacobs has spoken about his experience on the show and what prompted him to leave
‘To be travelling around the world, seeing all these amazing things, being able to do what you love, broadcast live, bring the world to people at home, have a little bit of fun, and do it with a group of mates.’
But he admitted his role had a downside too, describing the long hours and early starts as ‘gruelling’.
‘I mean, it was the best job I’ve ever had in my life, and then I sort of say it was the worst job at the same time, because it was so gruelling,’ he continued.
Looking back: In an interview with TV Blackbox’s The Ben, Rob, and Robbo Show on Wednesday, the 53-year-old former TV weatherman called his Today job ‘the best’
‘You know, 16-hour days, getting up at three or four o’clock every morning and travelling until sometimes nine, 10 o’clock at night to get to your next location.
‘I don’t think a lot of people really understood the amount of effort and time that went into it. It’s exhausting, but it is more rewarding than it is exhausting.’
Steve said he would often bump into Grant Denyer, who was working as rival Sunrise’s weather presenter at the time, and he said they would both be like ‘zombies’.
‘I mean, it was the best job I’ve ever had in my life, and then I sort of say it was the worst job at the same time, because it was so gruelling,’ he confessed. Pictured, (L-R) Sylvia Jeffreys, Steve, Karl Stefanovic, Lisa Wilkinson, Richard Wilkins and Tim Gilbert
He admitted that most people who work as a morning TV show weather presenter only last for two or three years, and said it required a lot of ‘energy’ for him to keep it up for 15 years.
He said the role also took a toll on his family life, with his job sometimes keeping him away from home for five days a week.
‘You just really miss that connection and that family life, and just being home, being able to sleep in your own bed,’ he admitted.
‘And not only that, you’re doing 16-hour days, and then you come home for the weekend, and your family want your 100 percent attention…
‘I can’t begin to tell you the amount of times that I fell asleep in my dinner or in a bathroom, sitting on a toilet at a restaurant somewhere.’
‘You know, 16-hour days, getting up at three or four o’clock every morning and travelling until sometimes nine, 10 o’clock at night to get to your next location,’ he said
Referring to his daughters, Isabella, eight, and Francesca, six, as ‘my life’, Steve said he decided to quit the show in December 2019 to spend more time with them.
And he doesn’t have any regrets about leaving the program, describing it as ‘the best decision I ever made’.
And Steve said he’s still in contact with his producer on the show, confessing they talk every week and describing them as ‘the greatest of mates’.
‘The crew are my best friends, like, the audio guy is the godfather to my children, and we just really became this little travelling boy band, seeing the world and having fun,’ he continued.
Daddy’s girls: Referring to his daughters, Isabella, eight, and Francesca, six, as ‘my life’, Steve said he decided to quit the show in December 2019 to spend more time with them
‘I can’t begin to tell you the amount of times that I fell asleep in my dinner or in a bathroom, sitting on a toilet at a restaurant somewhere,’ he confessed