MIKE'S BIG MOVE WHY I'M LEAVING NEW ZEALAND

The beloved broadcaster is selling his Auckland home and heading to France

- Cloe Willetts.

When Mike Puru left his role as co-host of Flava’s breakfast show in June, he admits it was a “disappointing” end to his time on the R&B radio station, but he insists he doesn’t bear any grudges.

“Breakfast radio is full-on – you’re getting out of bed at 4.30am and it’s brutal,” explains the beloved broadcaster, 48, who presented alongside Stacey Morrison and Azura Lane after Anika Moa quit the show last December.

“We did as best as we could. Anika left because she was finding it tough with all her commitments, including kids and TV shows. Then the dynamics changed slightly and they thought moving me aside was the best plan of attack. I’ve been here before and I didn’t take it personally. I was just a player in a big puzzle and I didn’t fit in that particular square.”

Mike – who lives with his partner of a decade, Anton Rivat, and their nine-year-old cocker spaniel Rufus – is still in touch with Stacey and Anika, who he says are huge fans of his reality series The Traitors NZ.

Sadly, Mike was banished in the third episode, but the former Bachelor NZ host says he loved the “mind-bending fun” of appearing on a reality show as a contestant rather than a presenter.