A Change Of Pace

AFTER COMING THROUGH DEPRESSION, BURNOUT AND A RELATIONSHIP BREAKUP, RADIO HOST JAY-JAY FEENEY IS MAKING SOME BIG CHANGES. SHE TELLS SARA BUNNY ABOUT HER EXCITING NEW ROLE, AND WHY SHE’S FEELING HER STRONGEST, MOST POSITIVE IN YEARS

Perched awkwardly on the edge of a chair while a stylist flicks her rock chick locks and a camera flashes in her face, radio host Jay-Jay Feeney is in high spirits. “This isn’t uncomfortable at all, I always sit like this,” she jokes. “I feel like I’m a real estate agent posing for my business card photo. If this new thing doesn’t work out, I might have to give it a try!”

The ‘new thing’ on her mind is her recent shift to More FM, a big upheaval after working for more than 20 years as a presenter in her former role on The Edge, the gig that made her a household name. But it’s not just a career change that’s given Jay-Jay’s world a shake-up. There’s the move from Auckland to Christchurch to take up the job, a different health and fitness regime, her newfound dedication to taking better care of herself and breaking her habit of taking on too much, plus the official switch back to her maiden name following her split from husband Dom Harvey. New job, new routine, new city – there’s a lot going on, but for the bubbly radio host, the most meaningful change of all is her new outlook on life.

“What I’ve learned is that mental health is the most important thing,” she says. “If you’re feeling good mentally, then I think you can take on anything, and that’s how I feel right now. I feel the strongest I’ve felt in a long time – years. It’s weird to think that a year ago I was the complete opposite to where I am now. I was hating everything, hating life and hating myself. I was burnt out, and things that you haven’t dealt with catch up on you.

“At any other time in my life I honestly don’t think I could cope with everything that is happening right now, but at the moment I’m feeling so positive.”

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