Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O fallout: KIIS FM host says wife ‘blasted’ him after on-air fight

Kyle Sandilands has revealed his wife “blasted” him over his explosive on-air clash with Jackie O, admitting he can come across as “a bit of an a**hole sometimes”.

The KIIS FM host opened up on Wednesday morning about last week’s heated exchange with his longtime co-host, conceding he regrets how he handled it.

“She’s … very honest with me and she goes, ‘from time to time you do say things at home that don’t land well either,’ and she’s right,” Kyle said of his wife, Tegan.

“My wife has sort of chastised me and said, ‘you can come across like a bit of an a**hole sometimes,’ which I admit I can.

“I think I said to my wife, the friendship between Jackie and I has been over 27 years, very honest with each other, and when I think about it in hindsight, I probably should have said my words to her off the air.”

The confrontation last Friday saw Kyle criticise Jackie live on air, telling her she had been “off with the fairies” and “unfocused” at work due to what he described as her growing obsession with astrology and star charts.

Jackie was visibly upset during the exchange, telling Kyle she could not believe he would deliver that kind of feedback publicly.

On Monday, it was announced she would be taking the week off to “gather her thoughts”.

Kyle has since been hosting the breakfast program solo alongside newsreader Brooklyn Ross, largely avoiding the subject until Wednesday, when he addressed the fallout in detail, News.com.au shared.

“I obviously upset her and maybe in hindsight I shouldn’t have said it on the air, but we say a lot of things on the air here,” he said. “It’s never meant to hurt her feelings and obviously it did, and I regret hurting her feelings.

“No one wants to hurt someone, especially someone you care for,” Kyle said.

He also dismissed speculation that the clash had been orchestrated for publicity.

“We don’t put that much effort into anything,” Kyle laughed.

“We would never plan something like that.”

Despite confirming Jackie is due back next week, Kyle appeared less than certain about how things will unfold.

“All any of us know is that she’s asked for the week off and that’s within her right to do,” he said on Wednesday morning.

“I’m just leaving this up to management,” he continued. “I don’t know what the plan is here or when it will be rectified or if it will be rectified. I hope it is.

“They (management) asked me yesterday, ‘what do you wanna do about it?’ And I said, ‘well, the end result for me would be we’re back on air and everything’s happy, but I want her to be happy and enjoy it, and I also want the same thing.”

After 27 years on air together, the duo’s future appears to rest on whether that balance can be restored.