Bunbury-raised Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr speaks about experience of children leaving home in new interview

Bunbury’s own Natalie Barr has spoken about her adjustment to being an empty-nester in a candid new interview. The co-host of Seven’s Sunrise program recently sat down with WHO magazine to discuss her experience adjusting to a childless household after her two sons left the family home. In the interview, she made personal reflections on her new situation. “It would be fair to say that I did sit around and mope a fair bit the first few months not really knowing what to do and eating a bit too much chocolate,” she said. “I was mourning their childhood and felt a bit discombobulated over not knowing what to do. The job of being a parent isn’t ever over, but we’re in a new part of the relationship and had to learn what the different boundaries were.” Barr’s youngest son Hunter left home at the start of the year to begin his university studies in Canberra, following the path of older brother Lachlan, who is now living in Melbourne. Barr is using the new chapter of her life to prioritise self-care, with her and husband Andrew Thompson soon set to head to Fiji for their first solo trip in two decades. “It’s going to be really lovely to lay by the pool with some cocktails and spend some time together — just us,” she said. Barr also discussed her career at the country’s top-rating breakfast program and her on-air partnership with Matt Shirvington, who replaced David Koch in the hosting chair last year. “What I can say about Sunrise is to expect the unexpected,” she said. “We’ve got an amazing team and some new producers who have just come in full of great ideas and it’s going to be a great year.” The full story is in Who magazine, out now.