Anika Moa has made the decision to step away from her role on Flava Breakfast at the end of the year. Video / NZME
Radio host and singer Anika Moa has announced on air that she is leaving her role on the Flava Breakfast show at the end of the year.
A statement from Flava radio station, which is part of NZME, said Moa has been juggling “the joys of motherhood” and health issues and has decided to focus on her family and music.
“As many of us will know, Anika is an extremely busy woman juggling the joys of motherhood to her four children among a range of other commitments, all while navigating some health issues.
“She has made the decision to take the time to focus on her other commitments with her own music, as well as having more time to focus on her health and family, and of course, we are completely supportive of her decision.”
The host has been with NZME since August 2019, when she started alongside Stacey Morrison and Mike Puru on The Hits Drive show before the trio moved to Flava Breakfast at the start of this year.
Anika Moa, Mike Puru and Stacey Morrison hosted on The Hits before they moved to Flava. Photo / New Zealand Herald - Sylvie Whinray
The statement said Moa’s “wicked sense of humour” and laugh will be missed by her colleagues and listeners alike.
“Anika has brought so much to NZME in her three years with us and I know we will all miss her wicked sense of humour, huge laugh and her loyalty to her workmates, and we know Flava’s listeners will miss her too.”
In a statement shared to Instagram, Moa shared her gratitude for “a really cool job ... that has given me the opportunity to learn something new”, and for her co-hosts Puru and Morrison.
She said, “I’m struggling with a lot right now. My type 1 diabetes being the most hardest thing I’ve ever had to live with but also a deep, dark, confusing and unwanted depression I have had since being diagnosed.”
But Moa added that she has a “wonderful supportive love and some really wonderful friends so I’ve got the village I need”.
Moa’s final day on air will be Friday 16 December 2022.
The singer and presenter has been vocal about her struggles with alcohol and her health journey, also sharing her type 1 diabetes diagnosis in May 2021.
At the time the presenter said that she was “unravelling” and being her “complete honest and raw self” about her health struggles and the shock of receiving her diabetes diagnosis.
Moa also opened up that same year about her sobriety journey.
“Six months sober is happiness, support, kindness, truth, shedding your layers, beauty, bravery, so many tears of sadness but mostly joy and it’s LOVE,” she said in an Instagram post to her 89,600 followers.
And she revealed her motivation to stay sober comes from the love of her family surrounding her.
“Love gets you through. Pulls you unwavering. Keeps you honest. Love is mine,” she wrote.
This story was first published on November 4 but was later taken offline due to the radio announcement being delayed.
