What could never be said about Robin Bailey as she admits to tragic affair 12 years on… Plus, ABC News’ financial black hole amid staff strike – and the REAL reason Nine axed Amber Sherlock: INSIDE MAIL

No laughing matter

Inside Mail couldn’t help but smile to see the lawyer Kyle Sandilands has engaged to take on ARN after his contract termination described as ‘ferocious’.

The legal powerhouse in Sandilands’ corner is Kevin Lynch, partner at Johnson Winter Slattery. And while we don’t doubt his ferocity when backing his clients, that isn’t the first word we’d use to describe him.

In the media business, Lynch is known to be a scream – so funny, in fact, that he even tried his hand at stand-up comedy. He’s equally famous for his agreeable nature when giving pre-publication legal advice for gossip mags.

An anecdote stands out: years ago, a former Park St reporter who moved on to a Sydney newspaper sent him an article for review by mistake instead of forwarding it to their new lawyers.

Lynch legalled it anyway, congratulated the journalist on the new job, but recommended sending it to the paper’s in-house legal counsel just to be sure.

Another former magazine editor says Lynch reached out after she was made redundant, calling to say how sorry he was and that bosses had made a big mistake.

It just goes to show: if Sandilands wanted a pit bull, he’s ended up with something far more rare and dangerous – a lawyer everyone actually likes. Watch out, ARN…

An open secret 

The Courier-Mail last week scored a truly breathtaking exclusive with radio host Robin Bailey, who admitted her husband Tony Smart ended his life in 2014 after her affair.

Bailey, who is promoting her tell-all memoir Flamingos Aren’t Born Pink, told columnist Frances Whiting she became involved with a married man while she and Tony were separated but still living under the same roof.

Her decision, she said, had a ‘diabolical consequence’ for her family.

She no longer blames herself for his death, even though she concedes she would probably be at the top of Tony’s ‘list of reasons why he chose to end his life’.

The piece, which appeared in the Laura Chalmers-edited QWeekend magazine, confirms what had been an open secret in newsrooms for over a decade.

At the time, the official line was that Tony had been battling depression. This was no doubt true, but only part of the story.

A Queensland photojournalist chasing the yarn in 2014 tells Inside Mail ‘there was a question mark around their relationship’ at the time, with rumours running rampant that one or both were having an affair as Tony was experiencing business troubles. 

But despite the speculation being the ‘talk around town’ in Brisbane, journalists who had the story refrained from publishing because of the sensitive subject matter.

Such privacy considerations are, of course, now redundant as Bailey has chosen to revisit Tony’s passing in her book, which is out next week.

We asked Bailey if she was aware that journalists were making inquiries into the 2014 tragedy, or if there was any agreement made with the press to keep certain details out of reporting, but did not receive a response.

P.S. Bailey came close to revealing the full story of her husband’s death once before.

Three years ago, in February 2023, she admitted to an affair on KIIS FM’s Robin, Kip and Corey while discussing a MAFS cheating scandal, of all things.

She didn’t specify it was the infidelity that preceded her husband’s suicide – and it seems her co-host didn’t know either, as he asked her rather awkwardly: ‘You cheated on someone and then learned from it?… When? When was this?’

Bailey, laughing awkwardly at first then becoming tearful, responded: ‘We were separated but still living in the same house.

‘I did something that I wholeheartedly regret, but I also recognise that I’m the sum total of my life’s experiences and, yeah, I think you have to realise that you make choices in moments but you grow from them.

‘I would sacrifice a child [rather] than do that again. Like, truly. Because it’s horrendous, the consequences. Try not to cry.’

MAFS expert ‘counselled’ 

• This story was originally published before Mel Schilling’s death was announced.

The Married At First Sight experts are once again under the spotlight after a complaint to the Psychology Council of New South Wales regarding John Aiken.

Aiken is now to be ‘counselled’ about the Code of Conduct published by the Psychology Board of Australia, Inside Mail can reveal.

The Council began an investigation into the Channel Nine personality – who was a regular on the Today show before MAFS made him a household name – after being contacted by former participant Ben Walters in April last year.

Walters, who has publicly criticised the program since he appeared in season 11, had lodged a complaint targeting Aiken’s behaviour and attitude towards participants.

We do not suggest the claims by Walters are true, only that they have been made.

‘I am troubled by aspects of his on-screen behaviour and commentary, which I believe may constitute a breach of his ethical obligations as a registered psychologist during my experience with him in 2023 after four sessions with the man,’ Walters wrote.

As the Mail exclusively revealed at the time, a previous investigation by the Psychology Council of NSW in 2017 led to Aiken no longer being able to refer to himself as a psychologist or undertake psychological practice on the show.

However, in the complaint obtained by the Mail, Walters claimed that Aiken ‘continues to provide commentary and advice in a manner that draws upon his professional background and expertise, significantly influencing public perceptions’.

Walters went on to express concern that Aiken’s ‘involvement in a program that appears to prioritise drama and conflict… may be in conflict with several principles of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics (2007), which has been adopted by the Psychology Board of Australia‘.

The fact the complaint was closed suggests the Council disagreed on this point. The Mail has chosen not to publish other aspects of Walters’ complaint.

The official reply by the Psychology Council of NSW confirmed that Aiken’s matter had been discussed late last year, nine months after the complaint.

‘At its meeting on 9 December 2025, the Council agreed that Mr Aiken be counselled about the Code of Conduct published by the Psychology Board of Australia. Subject to counselling, the Council agreed to close the complaint,’ read the reply. 

‘However, the Council will keep a record of your complaint on file, and will consider it if it receives further complaints about the health, conduct or performance of Mr Aiken.’

Whether the Council reminding Aiken of its Code of Conduct will prompt any soul-searching within the MAFS machine remains to be seen.

But it draws attention to the vexed question of whether the experts are there to genuinely assist the couples, or simply to aid the producers in stirring up drama.  

Aiken and his co-stars would, presumably, argue the former. Several MAFS participants suspect the latter scenario is more likely.

Indeed, as far back as the 2017 season, MAFS groom Andrew ‘Jonesy’ Jones took aim at Aiken for sharing an Instagram post in the lead-up to the finale in which he seemed more preoccupied with the drama than fostering healthy relationships.

Aiken had uploaded a photo of Jones with his on-screen wife Cheryl Maitland and captioned it: ‘Are things going to get a little ugly between Jonesy and Cheryl tonight? Perhaps a little payback?’

Jones hit back on his own account, writing: ‘Does your psychologist froth on things getting ugly? Is he/she into revenge and payback?’

Nine was contacted for comment.

Mel Schilling remembered

• By Ali Daher, Senior Showbusiness Reporter 

MAFS expert Mel Schilling has died aged 54 after a cancer battle – but what stays with me most is the final text message she sent me just weeks before her death.

Because I didn’t just interview Mel a couple of times. I knew her.

Away from the cameras, she was different to the polished TV star. She was warm, kind, quietly shy – the kind of person who would check in, give me a heads-up when she would be out and about, support your work, and make you feel like you mattered.

We shared coffees, drinks, private conversations I won’t share, and were even papped together. In those moments, I saw the real Mel.

She quietly put in a good word for me with fellow experts John and Alessandra after I photographed them on a night out in Bondi, something she never needed to do.

Her final message to me was simple but telling: she had ‘news to share’ and told me to be patient. It was her diagnosis.

Even then, she was looking ahead. That was Mel. It’s why her loss hits far harder than I ever expected.

Say your prayers 

Anthony Albanese‘s visit to Eid prayers in Lakemba late last week was supposed to be one of those carefully calibrated moments our PM loves – a chance to look like Mr Inclusive.

Instead he was heckled over Gaza, which is what happens when politicians assume their presence alone will be mistaken for substance.

In the end, Albo was forced to make a hasty retreat, as his security detail looked more than a little concerned about the situation. No amount of spin can control a live audience that thinks you are a fraud.

Throw in the thousands of litres of jet fuel the PM guzzled to get there during a fuel supply crisis and the stupidity of the stunt is complete. That’s right: Albo had to fly on his personal jet from Hobart (where he was playing the role of groupie to the Danish royals) to Sydney for the mosque visit, before jetting to Adelaide for a Crows game. 

When Energy Minister Chris Bowen lectures the rest of us to use less fuel and avoid unnecessary travel, does he bother to look at what his boss is passing off as necessary?

No s***, Sherlock 

Executives at Channel Nine have had a lot of claims thrown at them over the years by disgruntled former employees – but the curious case of Amber Sherlock has raised quite a few eyebrows at 1 Denison Street.

Sherlock has lodged a complaint with the Federal Court following her retrenchment and publicly stated her belief that she was sacked because of her age.

She told (the News Corp-owned) Stellar magazine: ‘I always joked that Channel Nine wouldn’t have a 50-year-old weather presenter.

‘Who knew I was being prophetic in that?’

Prophetic indeed, but perhaps not the prophecy she had in mind. Inside Mail hears from the corridors of Nine that there’s no grand conspiracy behind Sherlock’s ousting – but it was entirely predictable.

Why? Nine is targeting $100million in savings across the 2026 and 2027 financial years to offset a weak advertising market and declining television margins.

Insiders say Sherlock was made redundant because her role of turning up at 3pm and reading a three-minute weather segment just couldn’t be justified.

That role, such as it was, no longer exists. A genuine redundancy, in other words.

Instead, a roster of presenters, including Belinda Russell from Today Extra, who we note is only a year younger than Sherlock, read the weather on top of other duties.

While Sherlock is correct in saying she wasn’t on the mega salaries of some of her peers (she was on about $200k), she was still earning a lot more than the average working Aussie.

We can’t imagine viewers’ hearts will be bleeding.

Another thing: while we don’t suggest this played a role in her redundancy, Sherlock was known to be a prickly character in the newsroom. Her ‘jacketgate’ moment that went viral around the world left some at Nine amazed she was able to keep her job.

In an interesting coda to her exit, in December we reported rumours that Sherlock had rocked up to the Nine studios and left with armfuls of clothing when it became clear her services were no longer required.

When we contacted Nine for comment on the alleged wardrobe raid, a spokesperson issued this rather head-scratching statement hours before deadline: ‘We are in the process of recovering wardrobe items following Amber’s departure from Nine.’

For her part, Sherlock denied raiding the studio cupboard for spoils.

Quite the contrary, she said she had been left with Nine property that she was trying to return – and the network was dragging its feet.

The ABC bubble 

Imagine being in a bubble so far removed from reality that you think now is the right time to strike over a pay dispute when you work in television – an industry struggling with diminishing audiences and revenue.

Welcome to the world of an ABC employee.

That’s the only conclusion we at Inside Mail can come to after staff voted to go on strike after refusing the ABC’s latest pay increase offer.

The revised offer included a pay increase of 3.5 per cent in the first year and 3.25 per cent in the subsequent two years. Also included was a signing bonus of $1,000.

We hear there is little sympathy from workers in commercial TV who have always believed ABC types have it too good.

In fact, those still left toiling away at Ten, Nine, Seven and Sky News are just thankful to have a job at this point – let alone a pay rise.

The increases on offer by ABC management look pretty appealing right now to those working (or not working, as the case might be) at the other networks. We’ve spoken to them – they believe ABC staffers are living in la‑la land.

And it’s hard to disagree.

Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – but ABC staff also need to be clear‑eyed about the realities facing the industry.

The news division is said to be millions of dollars over budget – a claim Aunty hasn’t denied – and originally planned to close local newsrooms for four days across Easter.

That decision was quickly scrapped after the story got out and reduced to two days of national TV and radio news.

So despite the billion-dollar funding from taxpayers, ABC News is facing a financial crisis. Inside Mail understands pressure is being placed on newsrooms around the country to reduce costs any way they can.

And with pay rises on the horizon, it can only mean viewers and listeners will be getting less bang for their buck.

Going down! 

Amid rising tension over the ABC strike, Opposition Communications Minister Sarah Henderson held a press conference just metres from the broadcaster’s press gallery office, criticising staff for what she called a ‘selfish’ decision to walk off the job during the fuel crisis.

Minutes later, as Henderson wrapped up and moved toward the elevators, dozens of striking ABC employees filed past her in silence.

Among the press gallery, Guardian political editor Tom McIlroy stood out as the only journalist who applauded the workers in a show of solidarity as they walked by.

The timing left Henderson stranded briefly outside the elevator, waiting as the ABC staff she had just publicly rebuked travelled down.

Speaking of the ABC, its election night coverage in South Australia last weekend didn’t exactly go to plan.

Peter Malinauskas may have delivered Labor its strongest result in South Australian history, but it was also a landmark night for One Nation, which surged past the Liberals on primary votes and is on track to enter the lower house for the first time.

The ABC claims it was banned from the One Nation function in Adelaide, leaving reporters doing live crosses from outside the venue while their commercial rivals were inside to hear Pauline Hanson give a rousing speech directly.

That might explain why the hosts on the ABC News channel seemed to take some delight in a technical glitch when they threw to a recording of Hanson’s speech.

Check it out: Hanson was speaking in slow motion for a few seconds before the camera cut back to presenters Emma Rebellato and Rory McClaren.

As McClaren reached for his earpiece, Rebellato burst into laughter before realising she was on camera. To try to cover the laugh, she started rubbing her nose.

With Hanson soon returning to normal speed, the control room probably hoped no one noticed the gaffe. Sorry folks, we did!

The first domino falls…

On the subject of the SA election, it produced a particularly elegant piece of conservative self-sabotage. The Liberals tried to get clever with preferences, only to help One Nation look like the sharper, hungrier force on the right.

It takes real talent for a major party to campaign as the natural alternative government yet end election night wondering whether it will even be the official opposition in the new parliament. That’s going to happen – just – but only after the Liberals ended up with a lower primary vote than One Nation. How utterly pathetic!

If voters are in the market for outrage, they tend to prefer the authentic deal offered by the likes of Hanson. The Liberals only offered up a diluted version and were duly rejected by voters. It wasn’t just a bad election result, it was a warning of what might happen in other upcoming elections, state and federal.

When a major party doesn’t know what it stands for, voters do not reward that. They go looking for conviction elsewhere. 

One Nation, many ideologies

One Nation is poised to pick up four South Australian seats, and for one likely MP, it won’t exactly be his first political rodeo.

Jason Virgo, now the frontrunner for the rural seat of MacKillop in the state’s south, has been circulating in political circles since his university days. 

His early activism looked a little different from the party he’s now set to represent.

Inside Mail understands Virgo was an active campaigner for same‑sex marriage back in 2011, working with the student organisation Equal Love.

That same year, he popped up in the Star Observer after a same‑sex marriage rally took a dramatic turn when counter‑protesters stormed the event.

Listed as a ‘rally organiser,’ Virgo recalled the moment things escalated.

‘We were basically ambushed… they were fairly offensive and shouting homophobic things,’ he said at the time.

‘These street preachers are notorious in Adelaide, but we’ve never seen them do anything like this before. This is the first time they’ve targeted a rally.’

And Virgo’s political experimentation didn’t stop there. 

In 2013, he ran as a South Australian candidate for the short‑lived Sex Party, the former outfit of Victorian former sex worker Fiona Patten, who went on to win two terms in the state’s upper house.

In the same election, Virgo also found himself running against none other than his now state leader Cory Bernardi, who secured a Senate seat for the Liberals.

Inside Mail contacted Virgo for comment.  

Fuelling the crisis 

The government says it is too early to talk about rationing fuel – which means everyone is ready to panic, because we know our politicians will avoid imposing rationing (because it’s unpopular) until long after they probably should have.

This week’s reporting about emergency fuel plans has had all the usual elements of political spin: ministers urging calm, leaked contingencies being put in place, and the PM taking over personally, as if that somehow inspires confidence instead of fear.

The amusing part is the choreography. First the plans are secret, then they leak, and then it ends up being counter-productive.

We’ve seen this show before, whether it’s fuel, toilet paper or baby formula. The best way to ensure panic buying is to keep saying there is no need to panic buy. Doing so puts the idea in more people’s heads. Otherwise most people would do what they normally do and ignore what politicians say because it’s not really all that interesting.

Gossip queen handover 

Longtime Sunday Confidential gossip reporter Briana Domjen has officially said goodbye to the social circuit, signing off from the scene she’s covered for years.

In an announcement to industry newsletter Social Diary, it was revealed that ‘Briana will now concentrate on a set of core content pillars: health, wellness, longevity and relationships’.

Stepping into the role is reporter Zara Powell. We wish her luck.

Kicking goals 

A fuel crisis and a fresh bout of political chaos weren’t enough to dull the mood for SBS, which hosted a lively Parliament House event ahead of its broadcast of the FIFA World Cup later this year.

The night featured Sports and Communications Minister Anika Wells, who had finally come out of hiding to attend a sporting event after her expenses scandal last year. 

Wells told the room she had been at the Women’s Asia Cup Final on Saturday, where the Matildas went down 0–1 to Japan.

But while the speeches were politely received, the real magnet for politicians, staffers and journos was a virtual penalty‑shootout wall that quickly turned into the evening’s unofficial battleground.

A particularly spirited showdown saw Teal Independent Nicolette Boele take on former Attorney‑General Mark Dreyfus, with Boele ultimately defeating the senior Labor MP.

Inside Mail was particularly impressed with Dreyfus’ high kick. 

SBS even kept score on the political stakes, tracking whether the Government or the Opposition could rack up the most goals. 

The Opposition clinched a much‑needed victory, especially after their bruising result in South Australia.

Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson and Queensland Senator Paul Scarr proudly accepted the honours on behalf of their team, posing for photos with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for an election‑night swing.

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