Lisa Wilkinson’s account of losing her father and meeting Peter FitzSimons intertwined family history with the start of a relationship that led to their 1992 marriage. In a PerthNow interview published on 13 March 2016, she also reflected on the magazine career that preceded her years on breakfast television. The details below describe the profile’s reporting at that time, not a current biography.
How her father’s death shaped the story of meeting Peter FitzSimons
Wilkinson recalled that her father, Ray, was closely involved with rugby in Campbelltown. According to the PerthNow profile, Ray was a chronic smoker and a volunteer at his rugby club. In 1990, he collapsed at a match, was diagnosed with cancer, and died three weeks later. Wilkinson placed the illness in early June: “It was early June of 1990,” she said.
Her memory of meeting FitzSimons was bound up with that loss. Before Ray died, Wilkinson read him rugby columns written by FitzSimons. She recalled meeting FitzSimons at the Today studio on her first day back at work after her father’s funeral. He offered his condolences and spoke about Ray’s importance to rugby. These are Wilkinson’s recollections as reported by Gail Williams, rather than independently verified accounts.
How Wilkinson and FitzSimons began their relationship
The profile says Wilkinson’s housemate, Liz Hayes, helped introduce her to FitzSimons. Their relationship followed, and the couple married in 1992. In 2016, the article reported that they had three children—Jake, Louis, and Billi—and lived in a century-old home in Sydney’s Neutral Bay. Those family and residence details are specific to the profile’s publication period; it does not establish their present circumstances.
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From magazine receptionist to editor
Wilkinson’s career began at Dolly, where she reportedly started as a receptionist after finishing high school. The profile says she became the magazine’s editor in 1980, aged 21. In 1984, Kerry Packer recruited her to edit Cleo. There, she replaced the magazine’s centrefold feature with a Bachelor of the Year competition. Reflecting on the magazine’s history, she said, “I mourn its passing.”
Breakfast television and public life in 2016
By the time of the 2016 interview, Wilkinson had co-hosted Today since 2007. The profile also described her as an editor-at-large at The Huffington Post. Both are historical role descriptions, not statements about her current work. It cited figures for her Twitter following and the show’s regular audience, but those numbers belong to the article’s 2016 snapshot and should not be read as current audience data.
Her views on interviews and online criticism
The profile also records Wilkinson’s views on the boundaries of a personal interview and on online trolling. Explaining why she had focused on Nigella Lawson’s cooking rather than her personal life, Wilkinson described the approach she favored: “Social media is publishing.” The short quotation is printed in Williams’s interview; it is not presented as a transcript independently checked against audio.
Nine News host Georgie Gardner, quoted in the profile, described Wilkinson as having “a wicked sense of humour” and being “a master at conversation.” Those are Gardner’s characterizations as reported by Williams.
What the profile can—and cannot—tell us
Williams’s PerthNow profile, published 13 March 2016, connects three strands in Wilkinson’s story: her father’s illness and death, the circumstances around her meeting FitzSimons, and her progression from magazine work to television. It documents what Wilkinson recalled and what the article reported at that time. On its own, it does not verify those recollections independently or establish current details about her family, residence, or professional roles.
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