For more than 30 years, she built a reputation as one of New Zealand\u2019s most compelling broadcasters before that door slammed shut. <\/p>\n
In 2023, Today FM announced its immediate closure and her redundancy \u2013 the third she\u2019d faced in as many years. Gillespie decided enough was enough. She had to walk away from radio. <\/p>\n
Grant Kereama and Polly Gillespie dominated the airways before a wave of redundancies forced reinvention. Photo \/ File <\/p>\n
Now, three years after the end of her broadcasting career, the 63-year-old is confident she made the right call, but she\u2019d be lying if she said she didn\u2019t miss the highs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do miss the connection with the audience. I miss that part \u2013 but those times are gone,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was so lucky and I didn\u2019t appreciate it at the time. It was an era when radio and TV were it. Before social media, YouTube, Netflix and the like were important.\u201d <\/p>\n
The broadcasting veteran says she is glad to no longer be dealing with radio\u2019s competitiveness. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was cutthroat \u2013 radio was like being in Miss New Zealand every day of your life. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou were constantly told you had to do well in the ratings. Sometimes you did, sometimes you didn\u2019t. You become very self\u2011critical, \u2018What did I do wrong?\u2019 I don\u2019t miss that.\u201d <\/p>\n
When the rug was pulled out from underneath her, she took it as an opportunity to reassess what mattered to her. <\/p>\n
Gillespie retrained as a counsellor and therapist, deciding to use her own tragedies and triumphs to help others as a trauma counsellor. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been through a lot and survived it and learned so much about people. I find people really interesting. <\/p>\n
Polly Gillespie is working as a trauma counsellor, hoping to use her own experiences to help others. Photo \/ NZ Herald, Hagen Hopkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had so many misadventures, maybe I can help other people through theirs.\u201d <\/p>\n
She found therapy helpful in dealing with her mental health struggles, which she says started as a teen battling anxiety. <\/p>\n
The host also suffered the loss of a child in a late-term miscarriage in her 30s, and her sister Jeanette died of flu complications in 2000. <\/p>\n
Gillespie says she\u2019s also suffered \u201ca different kind of trauma\u201d when it comes to dating \u201cbad men\u201d. But she\u2019s quick to note ex-husband Kereama is exempt, calling him a \u201cgood man\u201d and \u201cgreat friend\u201d. <\/p>\n
Now, though, she is ready for her next misadventure. Gillespie has signed up to be a castaway on Celebrity Treasure Island New Zealand. <\/p>\n
She admits people might be shocked to see her there \u2013 after all, her brand has never exactly been associated with \u201croughing it\u201d. But she\u2019s not there to change perceptions, she\u2019s just there to write her next chapter, even if it\u2019s short; \u201cI\u2019m expecting I won\u2019t be there for a long run,\u201d she says with a laugh. <\/p>\n
After Covid, Gillespie admits she was scared to say yes to things. Saying no made her feel safe after the trauma of the pandemic and job losses. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s no growth in that. So, when Treasure Island came up, I thought, just do it. What\u2019s the worst that could happen? Maybe break a rib or fall off a cliff? I need to do more things that challenge me instead of sitting back and always saying no.\u201d <\/p>\n
She also has a personal reason for being there: her chosen charity, Kidney Health NZ. She says she knows all too well how life-changing kidney donation can be. <\/p>\n
\u201cGrant donated his kidney to a close friend,\u201d Gillespie says through tears, recalling the gift her ex-husband was able to give rugby legend Jonah Lomu in 2004, 11 years before his death. <\/p>\n
Both of her former sisters-in-law, Kereama\u2019s siblings, have also recently donated a kidney; one to Gillespie\u2019s nephew and one to a friend\u2019s child. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just good people,\u201d Gillespie says of the family, noting that among Kereama and his three siblings, there\u2019s \u201conly five kidneys between them now\u201d. <\/p>\n
Polly Gillespie is heading to Celebrity Treasure Island. Photo \/ TVNZ, Matt Klitscher<\/p>\n
She shrugs off the idea her ex would be proud of her charity choice, admitting she kept her casting a secret from him so he wouldn\u2019t try to talk her out of it. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter is going to tell him soon, but by then I\u2019ll be on the island, and he won\u2019t be able to text me, \u2018Get on a helicopter and get out of there\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n
But she explains she\u2019s going into the game with a new mantra, \u201cno expectations\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been made redundant several times and found out a partner was a bad man, so I have no expectations about anything anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gillespie is also considering a move into politics and has spoken to several party leaders about a potential campaign in this year\u2019s election. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in limbo,\u201d Gillespie says, adding her motivation to run is rooted in feeling like the country is caught between two parties \u201cwho just don\u2019t want to offend or upset\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time for new ideas and bravery, and having an authentic voice that\u2019s not trying to pander and not lose votes. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just intrigued that perhaps another party might be able to really begin some change and ignite some passion in politics again.\u201d <\/p>\n
Asked where she stands on the political spectrum, Gillespie says \u201cwe need to give hope to the middle and working class. People are really struggling\u201d. <\/p>\n
But with politics comes scrutiny about your past, present and future. Is she worried about what might be dredged up? <\/p>\n
She says she\u2019s not bothered in the slightest about her dirty laundry being aired \u2013 everyone has already seen it hanging out to dry anyway. <\/p>\n
Gillespie is also aware of the online chatter and rumours about her, but she tries not to read the comments because, these days, it\u2019s not the truth that stings, it\u2019s the lies. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my son\u2019s friends told me someone wrote online that I left my old shoes in a shoe shop. I was furious \u2013 because it never happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could call me fat or stupid or overly Botoxed and I\u2019d shrug, but accuse me of leaving old shoes in a shop? Horrendous.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2013 Celebrity Treasure Island screens on TVNZ 2 from Monday, April 27<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For more than 30 years, she built a reputation as one of New Zealand\u2019s most compelling broadcasters before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[95,4995,3623,9060,156,71,63878,200259,1364,2514,5511,424,111,139,69,90,63877,4965,1527,58228,4770,18324],"class_list":["post-386294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-and","tag-away","tag-celebrity","tag-decades","tag-entertainment","tag-from","tag-gillespie","tag-gillespies","tag-her","tag-island","tag-just","tag-life","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-polly","tag-radio","tag-return","tag-treasure","tag-walking","tag-wasnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}