EXCLUSIVE: Standing in the middle of a dairy farm in Ireland\u2019s County Tipperary, Tony Armstrong grasped how easily history could have sent his family in a very different direction. Looking at the green fields of his mother\u2019s ancestors, he told himself: \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for my great grandfather coming out [to Australia], I would have been a pretty translucent Irish fella.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jokes aside, the trip \u2013 taken for an upcoming episode of the documentary series Shaun Micallef\u2019s Origin Odyssey \u2013 became a deeply moving and transformative experience as Armstrong noted the striking parallels between First Nations people in Australia and his Irish forebears, who saw their land and language colonised. <\/p>\n
A particular source of pride was when a local expert traced his family\u2019s roots and discovered an ancestor had played a key role in campaigning for Irish land rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the historian went through almost a list of things that I\u2019d kind of followed in the footsteps of without knowing, it was really surreal, and made me so proud,\u201d Armstrong tells Stellar. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was almost overwhelming, but also affirming. That was a huge step towards maybe understanding myself a bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raised as an only child by a single mother, Armstrong recalls the \u201clost puppy effect\u201d of growing up feeling as if something was missing from his life.<\/p>\n
Presented with a room full of excited Irish relatives, he said he was uncharacteristically bashful. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a theme park of colours in the best way. You\u2019d lift up a chair and there\u2019s more family underneath it.\u201d <\/p>\n
That joyful mayhem followed a far less noisy and public reunion two years earlier, when Armstrong met his father for the first time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you ever get what you expect, but it was good,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a really important moment in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I NEED TO HAVE THE BIG FAILURE\u2019<\/p>\n
Looking back, Armstrong says his identity crises following the end of his AFL career \u2013 he<\/p>\n
was delisted in 2015, while in his mid-20s \u2013 gave him the courage to try new things and not put so much stock in what others thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to have the big failure because if I hadn\u2019t, I would have remained scared,\u201d he reflects now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to be really fearful of making a mistake. I didn\u2019t trust myself.\u201d <\/p>\n
Today, Armstrong says that he\u2019s \u201cin a mental state where I can let it go and just trust that as long as I\u2019ve done the best I can, that\u2019s enough\u201d.<\/p>\n
The former AFL player\u2019s six-season stint in the game gave him an insight into the challenges of professional sport culture, some of which he examined in his 2025 ABC docuseries End Game With Tony Armstrong.<\/p>\n
Following the league\u2019s recent off-field incidents that triggered police investigations, Armstrong says there\u2019s still a long way to go in addressing toxic masculinity in sport. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think men are where they maybe think they are, and they are definitely not where they want \u2013 or should want \u2013 to be,\u201d he notes, adding that the pile-on culture of attacking people for speaking up doesn\u2019t allow for thoughtful discussion. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to get a grasp on if anything is improving, or if we\u2019re going backwards. \u201cSociety is getting so [polarised]\u2026\u201d he continues. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like no-one can have a difference of opinion when they talk to each other. Sometimes things are just plain right and wrong. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut so much more of it is in the grey. If we can\u2019t respectfully talk to each other in the grey, we\u2019re all cooked, I reckon.\u201d <\/p>\n
At the start of the year, reports suggested that Armstrong had split from his girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald, an activist and DJ with whom he appeared on the cover of Stellar in July 2024.<\/p>\n
While neither has publicly confirmed or denied the rumours, Armstrong offers this response when asked how a hectic work schedule and public profile can allow space for a partner: \u201cRelationships are a challenge for everyone, right? <\/p>\n
\u201cYou go into all relationships \u2013 platonic, not platonic \u2013 with the best intentions, hope for the best, and then you add in travel and TV expectation, all that kind of stuff \u2026 and it\u2019s pretty easy to let that stress get to you. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think relationships in general are hard, and it doesn\u2019t matter what you [do].\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing Bidjara and Maori actor Deborah Mailman become the first person of First Nations descent inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame last month was momentous, Armstrong says. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome that it\u2019s Deb, and I\u2019m stoked because she not only deserves to be that person but will be that person with grace and humility.\u201d <\/p>\n
At the same time, he says the accolade came too late. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the time, change and shifts in power \u2013 or shifts in people who have had power or groups who\u2019ve had it for a long time need to give up some of what they\u2019ve got. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s always hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A LONG TIME SINCE WE SPOKE\u2019<\/p>\n
A two-time Logie winner, Armstrong joined Stellar on the eve of the 2023 ceremony for a photo recreating John Lennon and Yoko Ono\u2019s famous \u201cbed-in\u201d with Karl Stefanovic, as the TV presenters spoke about their fledgling bromance. <\/p>\n
Asked where their friendship is now, Armstrong says diplomatically: \u201cAll I will say is it\u2019s been a long time since we spoke.\u201d <\/p>\n
Armstrong, who gave this interview before Tom Steinfort was named as Stefanovic\u2019s replacement on the Today show last week, was also never interested in being on the shortlist of candidates to take the role to begin with: \u201cNever say never, but it\u2019s just so not on my radar at all.\u201d <\/p>\n
After four years on ABC News Breakfast, Armstrong has a healthy respect for anyone who sets the alarm clock for 4am, adding with a laugh, \u201cBrekkie hours are not for the faint-hearted \u2026 the phase I\u2019m in, I don\u2019t think that would be a good match.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Armstrong left the ABC in 2024, many speculated he was heading to a commercial TV role. Instead, he\u2019s carved out his own niche with a slate of travel shows, specials, scripted roles and sports commentary. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the big reasons I left was the tether to the breakfast desk, and I felt if I went into a commercial network \u2013 if they would have had me \u2013 I would have gone from one side of a fence to the other side of the fence in the same paddock,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
Armstrong is happy with his choices, particularly about stepping back from the breakneck pace he was going at a few years back. <\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to slow down because I was going absolutely nuts work-wise. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been nice to go at a more leisurely pace for a while. Now I\u2019m getting ready to crank back up.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tony Armstrong\u2019s episode of Shaun Micallef\u2019s Origin Odyssey will air at 7.30pm on Tuesday on SBS and stream on SBS On Demand. Read the full interview with Tony Armstrong in a new issue of Stellar, out on Sunday. <\/p>\n