Reflecting on the \u2018magical\u2019 days of MuchMusic<\/p>\n
In 1994, Campanelli won MuchTemp, an annual contest that offered the winner a two-month summer internship to learn everything about the station and the television industry. In early 1996, he went on air for the first time as a VJ.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re coming up to the 30-year anniversary in a couple months,\u201d he told Dickinson, adding he sometimes wishes he could go back to those days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose innocent, simple, when you thought you knew everything about music, your thumb was on the pulse [days],\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re living in different times, as we all know, but I was honoured to be part of that magical time at MuchMusic. It was a staple.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Campanelli shared that he’s always been a person who tries to stay positive: “For me, life\u2019s too short to be any other way.” (Photo illustration: Yahoo Canada; photo: Sonia Recchia\/WireImage)<\/p>\n
He recalled growing up in the 1980s when he\u2019d come home from school, turn on the TV and see what videos were being shown on MuchMusic. He remembered watching former VJs like Steve Anthony, Erica Ehm and Michael William. Looking back, he said it was “pretty cool” to have lived that experience.<\/p>\n
Dickinson pointed out that it\u2019s often the case that people in such positions forget where they\u2019re at and take their day-to-day for granted. But Campanelli shared that he made sure to cherish every moment, joking that at times, he was having too much fun.<\/p>\n
He was shy growing up, but music helped<\/p>\n
Looking back at his childhood, he remembered being a shy kid until he discovered his love for music in grade 7 or 8. He said that love of music helped him come out of his shell.<\/p>\n
When he entered the MuchTemp contest, he initially believed he\u2019d only be working at MuchMusic for the summer months of 1994 \u2014 but he ended up falling in love with the station. In turn, he wanted to extend his position past those two months, and he did what he could to make it happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was that pesky kid from Hamilton,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThis punk kid who wouldn\u2019t give up and I would anything and I did everything, almost everything, before going on air. It took me a year and a half before going on air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he wasn\u2019t an immediate master at the craft of being on air: \u201cI was so nervous and uncomfortable and not confident with my own performance, and that took a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
He likes the fast-paced elements of today\u2019s music industry<\/p>\n
While the duo reminisced about the \u201csimpler\u201d times, Campanelli didn\u2019t have anything bad to say about today\u2019s era of streaming and social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have all these artists from around the world that would never have a shot back in the day when we were doing it, because you\u2019d have to go through a record label, you\u2019d have to be super talented, you\u2019d have to be discovered,\u201d he recalled. \u201cNow, you get your device, you turn it on yourself, you sing a few licks and you put it on your social pages \u2014 it\u2019s out there for the world to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re good enough, people are going to pick up on that. That\u2019s what I like about how fast-paced it is these days. In my mind, there\u2019s no negatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that today, it does feel more overwhelming since it seems more difficult to keep up with new music and fresh talent: \u201cThere\u2019s thousands of those, and back in the day, you used to count them on one hand or two hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
He met his first wife, Kim, in the first six months of his job as a VJ. They were married for six years, and he said the relationship simply just didn\u2019t work out. They now share a son named Noah, who\u2019s now 20.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter four, five years of marriage, I\u2019m not going to call it a mistake, I just didn\u2019t make the right decision,\u201d he said, adding they were going through their divorce when he was working with his current wife, Angie, at ET Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the darkest year of my life,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was so challenging and hard, and I\u2019d never had any obstacle like that in my life before.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained it was difficult to get through that year whilst also trying to be alert for his on-air performances. But during his troubles, he said Angie, who was his producer at the time, helped him navigate his problems. \u201cIt was a friendship that blossomed into a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n After dating for a while, they eventually got married, which will soon be 13 years ago. But over the years, he noted that \u2014 like any relationship \u2014 it\u2019s not always \u201crainbows and lollipops.\u201d<\/p>\n Campanelli and his wife, Angie, have been married for nearly 13 years. They share two boys together: Jack, 11, and Harrison, 9. (Photo illustration: Yahoo Canada; photo: George Pimentel\/WireImage)<\/p>\n \u201cThe beautiful thing about it is, you work out the issues, you communicate. Communication\u2019s huge, and you get through,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always that light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n He shared that during the early days of his relationship with Angie, he was going through a lot in his life. No one really knew what he was experiencing, but Angie helped him get through it \u2014 and stayed with him during those troubling times.<\/p>\n \u201cI was being challenged with a lot of demons internally,\u201d he said. Angie recognized that … and she really helped me out in some really sad times and low times in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n His book will detail his \u2018secret life\u2019<\/p>\n Campanelli shared that people can read more about his life story in a book that’ll soon be on shelves: \u201cI\u2019m 55 now, and people don\u2019t know this side of me, and they should know it \u2014 I want them to know it. I\u2019m not embarrassed anymore about what I lived through and what I went through.\u201d<\/p>\n Onscreen, he said people might\u2019ve seen him as the bright and cheery \u201cRick the Temp.\u201d But behind the scenes, he was battling darkness he said no one knows about.<\/p>\n I owe it to these people to tell them about my secret life.<\/p>\n Rick Campanelli<\/p>\n He added that his family knows the book is coming out, but they don\u2019t know exactly what he’s written about. He said he\u2019s nervous about them learning the specific details, but knows that it\u2019s time to share his life story.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all make mistakes, and we have regrets when we\u2019re young and foolish, and we do things, but you learn from those moments. … My boys know, in these certain chapters, \u2018Sure, daddy did something wrong or bad, but he corrected himself, and he made himself better, and he\u2019s not going down those roads anymore,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI lived a secret life for many, many years, and I think I owe it to the people who tuned in to watch me back at MuchMusic \u2014 I owe it to these people. … I owe it to these people to tell them about my secret life. I think people need to know, and I\u2019m ready to tell it.\u201d<\/p>\n Let us know what you think by emailing us<\/a> or threading us @yahoocanada<\/a>. Follow us on TikTok<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a092c9c0-b4ff-11f0-bc97-203469984766.jpeg\"\/)
<\/a>Marriage isn\u2019t always \u2018rainbows and lollipops\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Campanelli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/9356fe00-f18d-11f0-8fe5-96fdb8efc9cc.jpeg\"\/)
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