Finding Their New Rhythm: Two Australian Broadcasters on Life After Major Career Shifts

Zan Rowe left a 20-year radio career to seek new challenges. Lisa Millar is engaged after a chance lunch and a 28-day houseboat quarantine. Both are redefining what comes next.

Zan Rowe: The Leap Out of Comfort

After more than two decades at Triple J and Double J, music broadcaster Zan Rowe departed her radio role in December 2023. She said the decision was driven by a desire to seek new challenges and leave a state of comfort.

Current Roles
Rowe now hosts the podcast and television program Take 5, as well as the ABC-TV reboot of Race Around the World.

Career Background
She began her media career at community radio station Triple R in 1999. Rowe became known for her interviewing style, which she describes as asking questions she genuinely wants answered, and for showing personality and passion without being overly bubbly.

"I ask questions I genuinely want answered."

Personal Life
Rowe has been in a relationship with her partner, Geoff Orton, for 15 years. She noted they had a brief split during which they were engaged. After reuniting following separate therapy, they remain partners with no current plans to marry or have children. She stated her personal focus is on relationships and family.

Lisa Millar: A New Chapter on the Water

ABC host Lisa Millar—known for presenting Muster Dogs, Where Are They Now, and Back Roads—announced her engagement to Simon Carless. The proposal took place on New Year's Eve aboard their houseboat near Murray Bridge, South Australia.

Relationship Timeline
The couple first met in 2007 in Sydney. Millar’s career took her overseas, serving as the ABC's North American bureau chief in Washington from 2009 and Europe bureau chief in London from 2015. During that time, she had occasional encounters with Carless, who was then separated, but no romantic connection developed.

Their relationship progressed in November 2023 after a lunch meeting in Melbourne. Following a holiday trip to London, the couple contracted COVID-19 and chose to isolate on Carless’s houseboat—which became stranded on a sandbank for 28 days.

Millar indicated that this new phase in her life has shifted her priorities, leading her to place personal happiness before career demands.

Professional Background and Challenges
Millar returned to Australia in 2019 to co-host ABC's News Breakfast. She stated she experienced a period of unhappiness two years prior, contemplating leaving the program due to early morning schedules, loneliness, and persistent online trolling regarding her appearance and the passing of her father, former Nationals MP Clarrie Millar. She received support from journalist Leigh Sales and a professional counsellor.

Her journalism career began at The Gympie Times, followed by WIN TV, and then the ABC in Townsville in 1993. She later worked in Canberra and served as a foreign correspondent in Washington in 2001. She currently travels across Australia for Muster Dogs and Back Roads, which focus on regional Australian stories, reflecting her own upbringing on a dairy farm in Kilkivan, Queensland. Millar stated she has found it straightforward to disengage from the daily news cycle since transitioning to her current roles.

Current Life
Millar divides her time between Melbourne and Carless’s houseboat. Her activities include bird watching, kayaking, and reading. She serves as an ambassador for Park Run and intends to obtain a pilot's license, stating she has overcome a previous fear of flying.

Common Threads

Both broadcasters have made significant changes to their work and home routines—stepping away from familiar roles, reordering priorities, and embracing new kinds of personal and professional freedom.