Dateline's Anjali Rao: The high pressure job which gave me an eating disorder and how I came through divorce to find happiness with Jamie Durie 

  • The journalist quit her job in Hong Kong and relocated to Melbourne, Australia which was the home of her then husband Brett Gullan
  • She also developed an eating disorder and at one point weighed less than 45 kilograms after losing 30 kilograms
  • Her marriage collapsed after the birth of her first child Izzy
  • The 40-year-old is now the host of Dateline on SBS and is dating celebrity gardener Jamie Durie

By Sally Lee

Published: 02:24 EST, 18 May 2014 | Updated: 16:45 EST, 18 May 2014

Up until now, it's been a long and arduous journey for Anjali Rao.

The high demands of her role as a CNN breakfast anchor based in Hong Kong was wearing her down to the bone - literally.

But the 40-year-old is happy to report that she now calls Australia home with a new job, a new outlook on life and new found love.

Anjali Rao hosts Dateline on SBS and is happy to call Australia home again after the stint abroad

Anjali Rao hosts Dateline on SBS and is happy to call Australia home again after the stint abroad

The journalist has not looked back since quitting her high flying job as a CNN news anchor

The journalist has not looked back since quitting her high flying job as a CNN news anchor

Rao currently dates celebrity gardener Jamie Durie. They first met at the races in November last year

Rao currently dates celebrity gardener Jamie Durie. They first met at the races in November last year

The journalist was once living the dream.

She had a high flying job, interviewing the likes of Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama, while living very comfortably in Hong Kong and enjoying married life with the exciting prospect of having her first child.

 

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'It's incredibly upsetting when month after month you just fail. That was it. I felt like a failure. Not loving my job any more, feeling like I had all these people relying on me and failing to have a child. I ended up with a very black head space,' she told Sunday Life.

But even the birth of her son Izzy, after years of IVF, failed to bring Rao joy.

Rao in a dress borrowed from Dannii Minogue at the 2013 Logie Awards in Melbourne, last year 2013

Rao in a dress borrowed from Dannii Minogue at the 2013 Logie Awards in Melbourne, last year 2013

The journalist divorced her Australian ex-husband Brett Gullan after the birth of their first child Izzy

The journalist divorced her Australian ex-husband Brett Gullan after the birth of their first child Izzy

The stresses of covering traumatic events, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, proved to be too much as her health rapidly deteriorated.

She developed an eating disorder and lost 30 kilograms in a few months.

So the mother-of-one made the call to quit her job and relocate to Melbourne, Australia which was the home of her husband and graphic designer Brett Gullan.

But this posed more challenges for the TV presenter.

'The hardest thing I've ever done was to leave my marriage. At the time I thought I needed a completely clean break ... a new country, a new network, to head up a new vein of journalism. But looking back, what I needed was a rest,' she said.

The life that she knew was gone.

The toll of covering the Haiti earthquake in 2010, proved too much for the journalist and her health rapidly deteriorated

The toll of covering the Haiti earthquake in 2010, proved too much for the journalist and her health rapidly deteriorated

The mother-of-one has interviewed the likes of Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer
The mother-of-one has interviewed the likes of Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer

The mother-of-one has interviewed the likes of Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and also Roger Federer

But things were slowly starting to fall back into place.

A few months into her resettlement, Rao was offered a role as a guest panellist on Channel Ten's The Project which helped her secure a spot as the host of Dateline on SBS.

With new found purpose, her health is back on track and so is her love life.

The anchor is currently dating celebrity gardener Jamie Durie, after first meeting him at Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival in November.

'This is not something I've ever experienced before and I was certainly not looking for. We often say to each other, "Can you believe it's only been this long?" To us it feels like years. It was an instant connection that I've never felt before,' she said.

Rao now divides her time between Melbourne and Sydney, which is where 43-year-old Durie lives.

The former cabaret performer has an 18-year-old daughter, Taylor, with Las Vegas showgirl Michelle Gennock.

'It was an instant connection that I've never felt before,' the news anchor said about her 43-year-old boyfriend

'It was an instant connection that I've never felt before,' the news anchor said about her 43-year-old boyfriend

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I had no idea Durie was hetero.

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Without knowing how tall she is we can't evaluate the issue of 99 lbs. If I "plummeted" to 99 lbs, it would be perfect for me because I'm so short. The weight, by itself, is absolutely meaningless. It's like knowing a heart rate is 64, meaningless all by itself. Another "no story" DM?

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Never heard of her. She is only an empty head news reporter.

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She must be a tiny little thing. Jamie Durie is all of 5ft 3" in shoes. For her to have weighed 75 kilo's would have been very unhealthy.

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I feel sorry for the last woman he ditched. Anjali should steer clear of him.

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She like all the others before her will soon discover how, vacuous, shallow, vain and completely empty Durie is!

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In case you're wondering, I would.

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Desperate

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Hahaha, the old serial engager Jamie Durie... how many engagement rings has this guy brought over the years... classic!

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Couldn't agree more! He's just a serial love rat whose last flame exposed him for sending and receiving sexually explicit and lewd text messages with other women. Giant ego, no substance or morality! Wake up Anjali!

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Sad when a woman has to weigh 99 lbs to attract a man. Never heard a weight requirement for a man, did you? This person has self- image issues. It isn't about looking healthy and well kept, it's about feeling mentally confident, capable, worthy.

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She seems lovely and sweet. I wish the best for her!

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