The Sunrise hosting team have paid an emotional tribute to their mothers in a heartfelt Mother's Day special that left presenters and viewers in tears.
In one of the most personal interviews the team has ever conducted, Nat Barr, Matt Shirvington, David Woiwod, Sam Mac, and Sally Bowrey sat down with their mothers to reflect on childhood memories, parenting struggles, and the overwhelming love that binds families together.
Filmed inside the State Library of New South Wales, the candid conversations were filled with laughter, tears, and stories many of the hosts had never heard before.
Playful honesty from Sam Mac's mother
For Mac, the interview began with some playful honesty from his mother, Loretta.
“You kept me waiting for nine days,” she recalled. “You were nine days late, and it was very hot. And we didn’t have airconditioning then.”
Mac joked: “Sorry, the first three things you’ve said about the day I was born have all been negative.”
Loretta then added: “And you were quite heavy.”
The interviews revealed some touching insights into the hosts’ childhoods, with Loretta recalling how Mac would interview family and friends with a microphone from a young age.
“I knew that you’d be into journalism,” she said.
Nat Barr's emotional conversation
Barr was visibly emotional during a deeply personal conversation with her mother, Julie, about children growing up and leaving home — a topic that hit especially close to home with Nat’s own sons, Lachlan and Hunter, recently leaving.
“I think (the hardest part is) when everybody grows up and moves away, as you’re finding out now,” Julie said.
A tearful Nat replied: “Yeah, I don’t think many people talk about when they move away. Now I know how you feel.”
Nat later asked her mother what she hoped she would never stop doing.
“Never stop being a lovely mother, a loving mother, and a loving wife,” Julie replied.
“Thank you, that’s really nice. I didn’t expect you to say that,” Nat responded through tears.
“You’d be surprised what your mother will say,” Julie joked.
Sam Mac's tears over parental sacrifices
Mac was also reduced to tears, acknowledging the sacrifices his parents made for him.
“We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but I never went without. You and dad would always somehow make it happen,” Mac told his mother.
“I know how hard you and dad worked for me,” he added, fighting tears.
The mothers reflected on the indescribable love they felt for their children, saying it was something impossible to fully explain to new parents.
Shirvington's motherly advice
Shirvington recalled the advice his mother gave him when he became a parent himself.
“Just love them. What else can you do?” she said.
After the emotional interviews aired, the Sunrise team reflected on what the experience meant to them.
“Sometimes you don’t get that chance to sit down with the people that you love, and sometimes it’s too late,” Shirvington said.
“It was just such a lovely thing to be able to sit down and go through so much of our upbringing and the challenges that we brought them as well along the way.”
The touching Mother’s Day tribute ended with Nat fighting back tears as she told the mothers: “We love you, mums.”
