Osher Günsberg: ‘There’s no amount of money that will ever buy you another walk to school with your children’

Osher Günsberg has been a mainstay of Australia’s entertainment industry for more than 20 years, but perhaps his most important role is being a doting father-of-two.

The radio star, TV presenter and podcaster will be back on our screens today hosting the ever-dramatic The Real Housewives Of Sydney reunion.

He spoke to 9honey this week ahead of the episode, touching on his long career and the similarities between dealing with the warring Housewives and parenting two children.

READ MORE: Why this photo of Prince George just made history

At times, Günsberg – who shares stepdaughter Georgia, 21, and son Wolfie, five, with wife Audrey Griffen – had to dig deep into his arsenal of parenting tricks to keep things under control during the reunion.

”I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear there were moments where I needed to use all of my very, very best Dad-voice parenting skills to bring things to order,” he said.

Being a dad

When asked about being a father, Günsberg gave a reflective response.

”Kids do not kick you in the spleen at night because they want to kick you,” he said.

“They kick you to check you are still there [and] when they get older… they are checking, seeing where the edges of the world are, checking to see where the boundaries are, and it’s your job to be there.

”No one is ever a perfect parent. All we can ever do is try and become the best we can.”

With Georgia at university and Wolfie at big school, Günsberg is also determined to be “as involved as I possibly can” in the mundanities of life.

“There is no amount of money you can make that will ever buy you another walk to school in the morning with your children when they are young and sweet. You can’t buy that,” he said.

“You can’t buy that time. At the end of the day when they chat about what’s happened, and they let you know about something that’s gone on in the playground and they are struggling a bit with it…

“I don’t care how many yachts you own. You cannot buy that time. Those times when you get to feel like a god, they last a short amount of time.”

What he didn’t expect

And what about what he got wrong about parenting before he was a dad?

“People say parenting, the sleep and the snot and the poo is the worst. But the worst thing about parenting is that kids don’t do what you tell them, they do what you show them,” he explained.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

“So you are beholden to look at your own s–t and sort it out, because otherwise they will start copying the things you don’t like about yourself.

“Now you’re having an argument you’ll never win, because you are having an argument with a version of you [and] you need to sort that stuff out.

“Take the opportunity to see what things are serving you, what are not serving you and what things you can let go of. Just a little bit at a time, but you gotta have a look at it.”

The reunion

Günsberg’s latest gig, which will air today, will see him join the Real Housewives of Sydney stars and get to the bottom of the drama that’s unfolded this season. 

For the uninitiated, the show is part of the popular worldwide Real Housewives franchise that started in the US and has since spawned 30 international versions.

It is the first time Günsberg has hosted a Real Housewives reunion, but he had plenty of practice in the reality TV genre as the longtime host of Australian Idol and The Bachelor franchise.

READ MORE: Royals ensure Harry doesn’t rain on their parade

So how does it compare to his other hosting gigs?

“I’ve spent a long time, since I was 20, studying the art of broadcasting and communicating through an amplified medium, whether it be radio or television,” he said.

“It involves holding an audience, understanding how to keep things entertaining, how to keep things moving along, but also sometimes holding space and making space for moderating a conversation.”

He said his “particular skillset” certainly came in handy when filming the reunion.

While it was “a lot of work”, he said it was “so important that I had a granular understanding of the relationships between these people”.

He also gave a nod to one of his top rules of showbiz: “Never miss a moment to make a moment” – which meant being prepared for anything.

In this case, it meant a special guest was waiting in the wings.

”There is a moment in this reunion that we had this idea that something might come up, that there might be further clarification needed,” he teased.

“So we thought, ‘Let’s see if we can get the person to come in’.”

“I knew what was happening. I knew this person was waiting and they knew why they were there and they knew they might not come out.

“And I was waiting… and I could see it starting to go in that direction.

“And I just say, ‘That is interesting. I wonder what they have to say about it?” and boom!”

While he was “really proud” of how the reunion episode turned out, he is equally proud of other aspects of his multi-faceted career.

Child’s angry note to dad with unexpected follow up

“I treat every day that I get to work as the highlight of my career. I am really lucky to get to do what I get to do. I can’t believe that this is my job.”

The Real Housewives of Sydney reunion premieres Tuesday, May 6, at 1.30pm AEST on Binge.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.