Sarah Harris on motherhood, what her job has taught her – and how she stays true to her roots

Staying upbeat after almost four hours of live television is quite the achievement, but Studio 10′s Sarah Harris is her usual positive self when she sits down with It’s Your Day just moments after the cameras have stopped rolling.

Perhaps it’s the impetus of a new year and a new decade, but the popular presenter says the ticking of her biological clock is getting a little louder than she’d expected.

“Having a third child is something we’re currently contemplating; I’m going to be 39 next year… I’m getting on!” she jokes.

“Look, I adore the newborn phase and I love my two kids, but they are a real handful. I certainly thought I would be all in for a third…”

Sounds like it’d definitely suit her family-man husband Tom Ward, who has his fingers crossed for triplets. However, while the jury is still out on a third issue, Sarah is far more certain about her next chapter looming in 2020.

“I have so much I want to accomplish this year. I did a 10km run in September, and that was huge for me, just to mentally set a goal like that and finish it was amazing. So in the post-run high of completing that I agreed to commit to a 20km run in May,” she reveals, adding she’s hoping to tick off a host of personal goals over the coming year.

“It’s things like that I’m looking forward to doing – a few things for myself.”

Rude awakening

For six years, Sarah has braved the brutal sphere of morning television alongside the likes of Australian television icons Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Denise Drysdale and Ita Buttrose in a role she reveals left her questioning everything!

“I just remember my first day walking through the doors we had in our old studio thinking, ‘Have I made the right decision in coming here?’ I left a job I’d had for 12 years at Channel Nine – that was a massive gamble for me!” Thankfully, it’s a risk that has certainly paid off handsomely. Despite a few bumps along the way, she’s in a job she’s proud of and can happily call her co-stars friends.

WATCH: Studio 10 star Sarah Harris introduces her baby son Paul. Story continues below…

While morning TV in Australia sometimes appears to make more news than it breaks, Sarah reckons Studio 10 has a point of difference.

“We all come from a really honest place, we are raw and real and obviously hilarious and we get to share a part of our souls… it truly is something so special to be part of,” says Sarah, who insists her job is a privilege.

“In doing what I do, I get to learn from other people. It means I have to be grateful and constantly have gratitude not only for what I get to do, but for the people whose lives I come across. There are people out there doing it bloody tough.”

Covering stories like Cardinal George Pell’s sentencing and subsequent appeal have changed her life. “Meeting the survivors of institutionalised sex abuse at the hands of the church: that took me by surprise – it was truly a crystallising moment for me,” says Sarah.

“Meeting people like that made me change the way I look at stories, you know, seeing things from a human perspective rather than as a journalist. Coming home from that certainly made me hug my children that much harder, that’s for sure.”

Feet on the ground

Throughout her public life, Sarah has remained open and honest about her housing commission roots in Sydney’s west with a cash-strapped single mum who worked hard to provide for her. It informs her life, to the extent she and IT specialist Tom ensure Paul, four, and Harry, two, are never out of touch.

“I’d hate to raise a couple of spoilt little brats – that’s my biggest fear!” Sarah exclaims. “I’m in a lucky position: we’re not stressing about money every single day, and I know what that feels like: it’s bloody awful!

“My family, we’re not wearing designer clothes, we’re not travelling overseas, it’s not a priority for me. I want my kids to realise that where they are now, it’s not normal. I think it’s important for my kids to know that a lot of other Aussie kids are doing it tough.”

Her tough early years were certainly part of the reason she signed on to be an ambassador for The Smith Family charity.

“There’s something like seven million kids in Australia who are living in poverty, and my kids are waking up with full bellies… I want them to remain grounded,” Sarah explains of her approach to keeping it real.

Life investment

While she credits her current state of contentment to Tom and a loving family, Sarah admits that learning to rid herself of the chip on her shoulder as she grew older was certainly a process.

“There’s a saying, ‘If your arm yourself with a bat, all you will ever see is balls coming at you’, so I think it’s taken an age and a lot of therapy to get here,” she says.

“We’re all crazy, everyone is bonkers! There is not a person on this planet that is completely sane and I say that with a smile on my face. I think if everyone spoke about their issues a bit more publicly things would be easier.

“I remember hearing my own heroes in TV talk about their own struggles and that made me feel normal! That then gave me permission to go and get it sorted out, [therapy] doesn’t need to be a big thing, and it’s like a mental personal trainer. You get to unload and unpack what you’re feeling and facing. I think it’s such an important investment in your life.”

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