A podcaster who worked with Kyle and Jackie O for 10 years has shared details of Jackie O’s mindset in the wake of the show’s bombshell split.

A former colleague of Kyle and Jackie O has addressed the break-up of the infamous radio duo for the first time on his podcast, setting the record straight and giving insight into what the next steps could be for the Aussie radio industry.

Podcaster and radio personality Mitch Churi has weighed in on the Kyle and Jackie O fallout in the latest instalment of his podcast, the Mitch Churi Chat Show.

Churi spent a decade working on the Kyle and Jackie O Show, starting out as an assistant for the pair in 2014 before he became their innuendo-infused competitor to the Sunrise Cash Cow; the Cash Cock.

Churi said he had spoken to Jackie O personally in the aftermath of the break-up, and he was “happy” for her.

“She’s been through a lot of sh*t, and she’s realised some things. She’s one of those people who, for her whole life, has put her wants and needs and desires behind many other people’s, so I’m happy that she’s in this position,” Churi said.

“I did speak to her, and I’m happy she’s realised those things.”

Jackie O seen for the first time since she exited The Kyle and Jackie O Show

Jackie O Henderson…

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Mitch Churi says there will never be another Kyle and Jackie O. Picture: Supplied
In 2019, Churi began hosting the Night Show, and in 2023 he joined Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley on The Pick Up, which was cancelled in 2024.

Churi said Kyle and Jackie O had “set the tone” for Australian radio over the 27 years they spent together.

“The magic and the craft of radio is connection, chemistry and authenticity. To be able to have that for a year or two is lucky and magical and brilliant. Three to five years is great. To do it for 27 years is exceptional,” he said.

Jackie O left the radio show mid-recording while receiving a dressing-down by long-time co-host Kyle Sandilands. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard
“You talk to any young person in Australian radio, that show has set the tone for the structure, the sound and the chemistry.”

Churi said the show’s demise exposed serious flaws within Australian radio and the way it had built itself around rusted-on personalities.

“I do wonder how ARN is feeling not having a succession plan because they don’t have any fresh talent,” he said.

“I get a lot of people asking me ‘would you go back’. I’m more saddened that there is no one that the KIIS audience know and love at that network anymore to slot in during that time.

Sandilands has been ordered to ‘remedy’ the situation with Jackie O by their parent company ARN. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper“We now have a choice in culture in Australia to let a new wave enter, or we can try to recreate Kyle and Jackie O, which I don’t think is the way to go.

“We can’t replicate them, and I don’t think we want to and I don’t think we should.

“Now is the time to rethink what radio is in Australia.”