Six months after a scandal led to his sacking from the Today Show, Alex Cullen is back with an unexpected new role at a rival network.
The former Today Show sports presenter made national news earlier this year when he accepted $50,000 from billionaire Adrian Portelli, better known as “Lambo guy”, to refer to him on air by his preferred nickname, “McLaren Man”.
The moment triggered a media firestorm and led to Cullen stepping down from his role at Nine, followed shortly by his departure from the network altogether.
‘I Can’t Go Back and Change It’
Now, speaking publicly for the first time since the drama unfolded, the 44-year-old told Stellar’s Something To Talk About podcast the incident marked “the hardest, toughest week of my career”.
“Never in a million years did I expect that all to go down,” he told host Sarrah Le Marquand.
Cullen said he and wife Bonnie did their best to shield their three young children from the fallout, but suspects they still picked up on the chaos.
“They saw me on the phone, pacing, trying to survive it all,” he admitted.
A New Chapter Begins
Despite the warm response from friends, colleagues, and even strangers on the street, Cullen admitted the scandal sent him into a spiral which he is still recovering from.
“You’re like, why did I do (that)? How did I get in this situation? I mean, I know how. But you just think, you idiot … Your confidence is shot. So you’ve got to reset yourself. I went to some dark places.”
That new chapter is already well underway, with Cullen set to start not one but two new media gigs, including a return to Channel Seven, the network where he previously worked for 16 years.
“It’s really exciting. It’s been in the works for a little while, and it’s wonderful to be going back to Seven,” he said.
Cullen revealed Seven were quick to reach out after his departure from Nine, offering support and a potential path forward.
“After everything went down [at Nine this year], Seven were one of the first on the phone to say: ‘You have our support, and if you want to come back, we’re a phone call away’. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me and my family.”
In addition to his new TV role, Cullen and his family have relocated from Sydney to Melbourne so he can co-host The Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show on radio, starting Monday.
“I’m looking forward to getting back into it, just connecting with people, telling their stories,” he said.
“It’s not very nice being the story. It’s better telling the story.”