jessica rowe

Television News Presenter

 

Jessica Rowe was born in 1971 and is an Australian television news presenter. Jessica  attended Sydney Girls High School and completed a Communications degree at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.   During her studies she was a broadcaster with on-campus community radio station 2MCE-FM.
 

She is married to Australian television journalist and presenter Peter Overton.  They have two daughters, Allegra born 18 January 2007 (via IVF treatment) and Giselle born 9 April 2009. 
 

Jessica revealed that she had suffered from post-natal depression during Allegra's early months, in the hope of helping other mothers in the same situation.  "I had quite obsessive, scary thoughts, and that really disturbed me because it was such a contrast with the sort of person I am,"
 

She said that she felt "ashamed" to admit she was battling post-natal depression, despite having a strong history of mental health advocacy.  However, her stunning admission has been applauded by depression support groups and sufferers for shedding more light on the dark disease.
 

Jessica said she had tried to ignore the symptoms, which she knew were more than just sleep deprivation and the normal hormonal changes women encounter after giving birth.  She was getting very anxious and felt out of control, worrying about everything beyond normal levels, and also had trouble breast feeding.   It also shocked her that she felt so ashamed of admitting it, of not coping.
 

Jessica said that her traumatic tenure at the ‘Today’ show coupled with the long and painful fertility treatment she endured to conceive, contributed to her decline after the birth of her daughter, Allegra.
 

She subsequently appeared on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and nominated the national mental health initiative BeyondBlue as the charity she would dance for.
 

Today Jessica is an ambassador for national depression initiative BeyondBlue.
 

Jessica’s close work with depression support groups and her family experience with mother Penny (who has battled bipolar disorder)  forced her to admit she needed to seek help quickly.   Jessica said that if she had not done that her recovery process would have been much longer.
 

Speaking at a Sydney conference on happiness and its causes, Jessica said living in the present and having her two daughters helped her avoid the negative thoughts that plagued her first pregnancy.  "I look at my baby girls, I look into their eyes and I look at their joy in the simple things, and that's what I really try to focus on now.”
 

"If I could say 'this has happened to me and this is how I dealt with it', if that can help just one other woman, one other family, then I know that I've done the right thing," she said.
 

February 2011

 

 

References:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Rowe
- http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/jessica-rowe-i-felt-ashamed/story-e6frewz9-1111114020790
- http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/jessica-rowe-back-from-the-brink-20100507-ui8f.html

Jessica Rowe has co-written a book with her mother, Penelope Rowe titled "The Best of Times, The Worst of Times - Our  Family's Journey with Bipolar".   http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741146615