Chrissie Swan explains Nova radio show absence: ‘A couple months ago I had a medical emergency’

Chrissie Swan has finally broken her silence on why she has been missing from her radio show, revealing she has been in hospital after suffering a “medical emergency”.

The 52-year-old prominent media personality, who hosts Nova’s The Chrissie Swan Show, has been missing from the radio for more than a month, with many listeners left wondering where she’d gone.

On Thursday, Swan took to Instagram to explain that her disappearance was due to suffering a “medical emergency” that left her hospitalised “for ages”.

She told her more than 280,000 followers she hoped to be back on the airwaves as soon as she was better.

“I have received so many messages from you guys saying ‘Where are you? When are you coming back to the radio?’ And the truth is I don’t know,” she said in a video.

“A couple months ago I had a medical emergency, completely unplanned as emergencies are, and I was in hospital for ages, and even that was weird for me because I’ve only ever been to hospital to have babies, which is good news, and this was certainly not that.

“I’ve been resting at home, getting better, lots of sleep, lots of reading. Sorting out the spice drawer finally.

“But today I feel the best I’ve felt in weeks slash months, so I thought I would come on here and say thank you so much for your messages.

“As soon as I’m better, I will be back, and in the meantime, cat content, other bits and pieces thank you for all your beautiful messages.”

The radio star continued to reassure fans that she would be okay and apologised for sparking concern around the country.

“I am OK, and I am going to be OK. I am recovering. I am being very well cared for here at The Compound and as soon as I feel like myself for longer than an hour at a time, I’ll be back!

“Sorry to cause so much concern - it was a worry for me too. But I’m heading in the right direction.”

She added that she even put on some makeup for the first time since August.

Former Today Show presenter Sarah Abo has been taking a break from maternity leave and filling in for Swan on the radio show she has hosted nationally since 2023.

Last month, her co-star, Jack Charles, announced that he was leaving Nova after 11 years.

“I was able to share this news with Chrissie before she became unwell,” he said on-air.

“We had a lot of long chats about it, and she was incredibly supportive.”

Swan first rose to fame as the runner-up on the 2003 season of Big Brother Australia.

Over the years, she has hosted or appeared on shows such as The Circle, Can of Worms, The Masked Singer Australia, Would I Lie to You? Australia, and Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.

She is the author of books including Is It Just Me? and The Shortcut Queen, and writes columns for The Australian Women’s Weekly.