Kyle Sandilands Says He And Jackie O Are ‘Not Not Friends’ After On‑Air Fallout And $12M ARN Settlement

Kyle Sandilands reckons he and Jackie O Henderson are still mates or at least, he’s very clear that they’re “not not friends”.

Whether Jackie feels the same is a question that, for now, sits somewhere between her lawyers, the Federal Court and a frankly enormous damages claim.

How did we get here?

Back in February, listeners heard the beginning of the end play out live when Sandilands turned on Henderson over what he called her “fixation” on astrology. He accused her of being “off with the fairies”, “unfocused” and not caring about the show, comments that left her clearly rattled on air. The backlash was swift: Henderson took time off, later telling ARN she couldn’t keep working with him, and the network stepped in to pull The Kyle & Jackie O Show from its coveted breakfast slot.

What followed was a full‑scale unravelling of one of Australian radio’s most profitable partnerships. ARN terminated both of their $100 million KIIS FM contracts, the Federal Court filings started flying, and the juggernaut that had dominated breakfast radio for more than two decades abruptly flatlined. The station has been relying on a rotating cast of guest hosts ever since while it figures out what its post‑Kyle‑and‑Jackie era actually looks like.

‘We’re not not friends’

In his first big sit‑down since the show imploded, Sandilands told the Game Changers Radio podcast that, from his side, the friendship is still there. When asked if they’d ever be friends again, he replied: “I don’t think we’re not friends now… There’s a problem, obviously, but we’re not not friends.”

He said the pair have been “loosely communicating” since their KIIS exit, and claimed they’ve secretly texted “multiple times backwards and forward” behind the backs of both their lawyers and managers. According to Sandilands, he has apologised “half a dozen times” and let Henderson know what he was doing “strategically behind the scenes for the settlement”, which he says she appreciated.

An open door

Sandilands also shared that Henderson has messaged him and hopes they can properly talk once the legal dust settles. He noted she didn’t send him a message on his birthday — and stressed he wasn’t expecting one — but said he reached out the next day anyway to extend an olive branch and reassure her there were no issues from his side.

“My door is always open and I’m sure when she gets through with her legal issues, or whatever’s going on there, then I’m very sure that we will connect in some way,” he said.

He described Henderson as “like a sister” and “like family”, insisted he will “always love and adore her” and said he would “never besmirch her name”, adding that he’s been annoyed and confused at times, but “it’s not an angry thing”.

The money, the court fight and his crew

All of this is unfolding while Sandilands walks away with a $12.09 million settlement from ARN over his axed contract, to be paid out over several years, plus a hefty chunk of advertising support for his independent media plans. Henderson, meanwhile, is still pursuing her wrongful termination case and seeking more than $82 million in damages, alleging ARN breached workplace laws and failed to step in during that February blow‑up.

Behind the scenes, Sandilands has also moved quickly to scoop up some of his former colleagues after a round of redundancies at ARN, hiring several ex‑team members into his own King Kyle venture and publicly stressing that he “takes care” of his people. ARN has said the majority of the Kyle & Jackie O staff has been redeployed internally, with only a handful of roles cut.

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