The TV presenter opened up on the first day of her new job as co-host of KIIS FM breakfast with Jase Hawkins.She said her marriage ended, she lost her job and she was grieving the loss of loved ones.“I thought I was happy and I went through a really hard time,’’ Phillips told Hawkins in an honest one-on-one session. “My marriage broke down, I lost a really close girlfriend, one of my best friends had a little girl pass away. “I had this really horrendous period where I spent a lot of time trying to care for other people, as well, and just completely let myself go. “And I had what I would say was borderline a nervous breakdown. “I had bells palsy, I had full paralysis down the right side of my face. I woke up in the morning and had a coffee and it dribbled out of the side of my face out of my mouth. “And I was like, what? I went and looked in the mirror and tried to smile and the whole side of my face was paralysed.“And they put it down to severe stress.”Phillips said her marriage to Lachlan Spark had been put under pressure but she tried her best to make it work.“It didn’t end well,’’ she said.“When you’re an adult, it’s not a hard exit, like that’s the end. It was a really slow drawn-out breakdown process. “I was married, we were together for seven years and we were married for … it fell apart very quickly, but we were still married and I committed to trying to look after each other — so I thought.“We were under this enormous cloud for a while because we had decided to buy a house, renovate a house, start a new business and get married at the same time. “So there was this whole extensive pressure bubble that we’d put ourselves in, there was a myriad of other issues playing along with that. “That made my marriage break down very, very quickly but I was determined to try everything I possibly could. And that meant sacrificing my own health in the end, which is why I almost had a nervous breakdown.“I wanted to be able to get to a point where I knew that I would never question myself in saying did I try hard enough, could I have done more to help. I’m very confident that I’m in a position I can hold my head high from that relationship. It wasn’t great but I can be proud of the way I handled it.”Phillips moved to Byron Bay last year where she lives with her new partner, private jet tycoon Paul O’Brien, and set about rebuilding her life.The Weekend Today weather presenter became emotional after listening back to herself discussing the hard times.“Saying it is one thing but hearing that stuff back is hugely confronting,’’ Phillips said. “Which I think is actually a lesson for everyone to how important it is to say things out loud when you’re having a tough time because it took me a really long time to talk about that stuff.“People go through ups and downs. And I had a really tough 18 months that took a lot of support from a lot of people around me to get through. And I know that that’ll be hurtful for them listening to that, too. “I’m just so grateful that I’ve come out the other side and I’m in a really great place in my life surrounded by amazing people. I’m really grateful to be given this opportunity.”She added: “Because at the same time I lost my job, Kids WB ended, I didn’t know where I was going to end up. And having said that, this is not a poor me story at all, I never felt sorry for myself or never felt I was in a worse position. There were far worse things happening around me.“Even with what people in Melbourne are going through at the moment with Covid and businesses … but whatever is happening to you is really relative. “Everyone’s worst day of their life is their worst day. And it’s the worst experience that you know. For me I’m so grateful to be where I am. I’m starting this amazing job, I’ve got a great partner, I’ve got a really healthy, wonderful, beautiful family and really supportive friends and I feel like actually getting this job has been the final cherry on top of me coming out the other side.”
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