Marty Sheargold has officially announced that he’s taking an ‘extended break’ from work following an alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final.
In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, the Triple M breakfast host, 52, said he was ‘exhausted mentally’ and needed to focus on himself for the time being.
‘I just wanted to let people know that I’ll be taking an extended break from work, with the very kind and compassionate permission of my employers, who have been generous in their understanding of my need for a break,’ he said.
‘I think it’s important for people like myself who have a public voice to admit that I am exhausted mentally from my range of commitments across TV, radio and live shows, in an attempt to continue to remove some of the roadblocks and stigma around mental health.
‘I need to set aside some time to get my work/life balance back into something that feels better than it has over the last couple of years. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, your support has been welcome and enriching.’
Marty Sheargold (pictured) announced on Thursday that he’s taking an ‘extended break’ from work following an alleged incident at the AFL Grand Final
The statement comes after Marty dropped his gardening tools and dashed inside his $2.3million country estate when he was approached on Wednesday morning after taking ‘personal leave’ following bad behaviour at the Grand Final.
The comedian looked lost in thought when Daily Mail Australia spotted him with ear muffs and a South Sydney Rabbitohs cap while gardening at his sprawling property in the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne.
However the 52-year-old darted through the bushes and retreated into his five-bedroom home before refusing to answer his door when approached by a Daily Mail Australia reporter.
Last week Triple M was thrown into chaos when Sheargold took an unexpected absence from the airwaves.
The radio star’s departure from the show follows reports he was ejected by security at the AFL grand final due to a number of offensive comments he made to other guests at a corporate event.
Sheargold does some gardening in a Rabbitohs cap at his $2.3million country estate in the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne after taking ‘personal leave’
The star retreated inside his property and refused to answer the door to a Daily Mail Australia journalist
Several guests made complaints about Sheargold’s behaviour, which led organisers to ask him to leave the MCG.
However Triple M’s parent company Southern Cross Austereo says he left at halftime ‘of his own accord’.
‘Marty is taking personal leave to spend some more time with family. He will be back on air again soon,’ they said.
Whispers over his sudden disappearance from the Triple M dominated radio industry talks.
Sheargold’s producer Loren Barry was in Sydney on Saturday night as one of the hosts of the ACRA Awards.
Triple M breakfast was thrown into a whirlwind of speculation last week when Marty Sheargold took an unexpected absence from the airwaves following alleged bad behaviour at the AFL Grand Final
The radio star was seen trimming the hedges of the property he owns in the Dandenong Ranges
The radio star’s departure from the show follows reports he made a number of offensive comments to other guests at a corporate event at the AFL Grand Final
She told The Herald Sun that Sheargold would be back, assuring the show’s listeners that ‘everything is fine’.
‘He is just taking some time, he is just spending some time with his family, but we are all good,’ Barry said.
‘Everything is fine. We will be back.’
Marty, far right, is pictured with Tim Blackwell and Kate Ritchie at the ACRAS in 2016
She also shone a light on the gruelling life behind the microphone, stating ‘working in breakfast radio you just get really tired. It is a very tiring job’.
The Marty Sheargold Show rated 5.8 in the most recent radio survey, placing it in eighth spot in the Melbourne breakfast radio market.
Marty also stars in the ABC sitcom Fisk, which was picked up by Netflix and has taken off in the UK and US.