Sam Armytage fights back tears as she quits ‘Sunrise’ live on air

Samantha Armytage has quit Sunrise after eight years. A tearful Sam made the shock announcement live on air this morning, revealing Thursday will be her last day in the role.

“The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise,” she said on Monday morning’s show, 7News reports. “I have always been very brave and fearless in my life and my career and this decision is no different.”

She went on to say that the death of her mum last November and her recent wedding to former horse breeder Richard Lavender, 61, were one of the many reasons she decided to leave the show.

“As many of you know, the last six months of my personal life have been very bitter-sweet, some bits have been very happy, and some bits have been very, very sad,” she said.

“And I want to step out of this public world for a while and take some time and calm things down, enjoy a bit of slow living and spend some time with my precious family, my husband and [my dog] Banjo.”

She continued: “I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people on television can say they do.

“My mother used to say to me, ‘edit your life frequently and ruthlessly, it’s your masterpiece after all’. And that’s precisely what I’m doing. This is a chapter, it’s not the whole story, and I have a few days left to say goodbye to you all, for now.”

Sam’s shock resignation comes less than a week after the television presenter opened up about her career plans and feelings about the television industry in a candid and wide-ranging interview with The Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine.

Asked about her role as co-host of Channel Seven’s breakfast show, Sam said at the time: “I don’t think any of us want to do the same thing forever. There’s a lot about television that’s all about you and that’s an awful way to live your life. TV isn’t a place that’s necessarily very healthy. It’s full of sociopaths and narcissists – it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you.”

It’s not certain what Sam’s next step will be, however, the 44-year-old recently launched a weekly podcast for Stellar magazine called Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage. “The podcast came to me at a fantastic time and it’s a wonderful, wonderful vehicle for storytelling, which is why I got into journalism,” she said. “I’m not in it for the selfies and make-up.”