The final presenters were Amanda Abate, Steve Titmus and Sally Pearson. The final show screened 5.30pm Thursday November 21.
Her heart was breaking as the Gold Coast news bulletin was axed just weeks before Xmas, but star Olympian Sally Pearson has always had a fallback plan colleagues should take note of.
Both Ms Pearson and colleague Steve Titmus – father of Olympic champ Ariarne Titmus – lost their much loved jobs as co-hosts of Channel 7’s daily Gold Coast 5.30pm bulletin along with co-host Amanda Abate when the station gave just three days notice that it was shutting down the much lauded show.
The final screening was Thursday evening November 21 leaving many in shock, but the speed of the decision has reinforced why Ms Pearson never let up on her side hustle income-generating strategy even when Ch7 employed her.
Amanda Abate and Steve Titmus putting on air this week.
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Both Ms Pearson and Mr Titmus have a tried and tested fallback plan, property investment – which in the case of the Olympian helped her survive joblessness during her early retirement as a world-topping athlete.
The Channel 7 shutdown comes three months after the Titmus family sold their much loved custom built home in Brisbane for $2.41m – funds which they have yet to invest into other income-generating property.
But the Titmus family does have a second home – a two-bedroom apartment they listed for rent at $950 a week on the Gold Coast and Mr Titmus has landed a weekend gig, co-hosting Channel 7’s Saturday news bulletin at 6 on the Brisbane desk.
There is no word as yet on their other property investment moves – though daughter Ariarne is well set up in a three-bedroom apartment in Queensland’s most expensive suburb Teneriffe, bought in June 2022 for $1.65m.
Sally Pearson during one of the final 5.30pm bulletins this week.
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For Ms Pearson the end of Ch7’s Gold Coast 5.30pm bulletin comes two years into the job, though she has had several property investments during the pandemic to tide her over.
She and husband Kieran bought Mr Pearson’s parents’ home in 2012 for $435,000 – with it having been put up for rent at $700 a week two years ago.
It’s one of two properties they still own, with the other being a three bedder in Southport bought for $775,000 in two years ago which they then set about extending with a $163,000 estimated build value last year.
The couple were interested in offers for the property earlier this year when it was briefly listed as having new flooring and paint throughout, a refurbished kitchen, re-roofed outdoor entertainment area and airconditioning in the main living area.
It’s a tried and tested formula for the Pearsons who’ve made multiple gains buying and selling property during the gold medallist’s retirement, including three times the average salary two years ago when they sold a stunning five bedroom waterfront home in Runaway Bay.
They had bought it in 2021 for $1.5m, then sold it in 2022 for $1.84n – a stunning $340,000 gain in a year.
They’ve also made $275,000 on a property they held for four years – a four bedroom stunner on a large 4,006sq m block in Helensvale that they sold for $1.18m in January 2019.
Another of their wins was a four bedder that they bought and sold during the pandemic in high demand Southport. They had paid $710,000 for it and sold it for $950,000 19 months later, giving them a gain of almost a quarter of a million dollars in about a year and a half.
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