Radio host Robin Bailey has delivered a deeply personal admission, revealing she had an affair before the tragic suicide of her late husband – a decision she now says had ‘dire consequences’ for her family.
The KIIS FM Brisbane presenter, 57, has opened up ahead of the release of her memoir Flamingoes Aren’t Born Pink, offering a raw account of the choices she made during the final chapter of her first marriage.
Bailey, 57, was widowed in 2014 after her husband of 15 years, Tony Smart, took his life following a battle with depression.
Speaking to QWeekend, Bailey revealed the affair occurred while the pair had separated but were still living under the same roof – a complicated and emotionally charged period she admits she is not trying to justify.
‘I’m not making excuses, I’m just explaining… I think everyone should question what their own moral compass is on that,’ she began.
‘Because a lot of people have affairs, not everyone’s ends like mine does, but the feelings are the same. The betrayal, the anger.
Radio host Robin Bailey has delivered a deeply personal confession, revealing she had an affair before the tragic suicide of her late husband – a decision she now says had ‘dire consequences’ for her family
Bailey, 57, was widowed in 2014 after her husband of 15 years, Tony Smart (left), took his life following a battle with depression
‘In my space it had dire consequences… I think people will harshly judge me and I think there are a lot of people that will probably see me very differently… that’s their right. But it is the truth.’
The veteran broadcaster said she initially had no intention of making the deeply personal details public, but felt compelled to write them down in an effort to process what had happened.
‘I needed to not blame anyone else, to take my responsibility in it,’ she said.
‘The hardness for me was not sugar-coating it, not denying my involvement in it, being truly honest in my decision-making because we are all everything. Like, we’re good, we’re evil, we are bad. We make good choices, we make terrible choices.
‘And my choice had a diabolical consequence for the most important people in my life.’
Bailey, who shared three sons – Fin, Lewin and Piper – with her late husband, had her life struck by heartbreak again just years later.
In 2018, she married radio executive Sean Pickwell — a man she described as her ‘soulmate’ — but just 11 months later, he died following a battle with cancer.
He proposed days after he learned his liver cancer had spread to his bones, blood and other organs.
The KIIS FM Brisbane presenter has opened up ahead of the release of her memoir Flamingoes Aren’t Born Pink, offering a raw account of the choices she made during the final chapter of her first marriage
In 2018, she married radio executive Sean Pickwell – a man she described as her ‘soulmate’ – but just 11 months later, he died following a battle with cancer
Less than one year later, he died at the age of 56 in his wife’s arms at their Brisbane home on the morning of September 26, 2019.
Sharing the devastating news at the time, Bailey wrote: ‘What can I say, my big beautiful panda has gone.
‘He died as he lived, his way, at home with us holding him early this morning.
‘In this moment there are no words or feelings that can truly express the love and gratitude I have for my husband Sean. He came into our lives and healed us. He loved me so hard and taught me so much and now whatever life throws at us we will be stronger, wiser and more fierce because of him.
‘He was my absolute soulmate,’ Bailey continued. ‘The true love of my life and whatever I do from now on he will be in my heart and in my corner cheering me on.’
Bailey’s upcoming memoir, Flamingoes Aren’t Born Pink, will be released on Tuesday, March 31.
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
Read the full article here
