Married At First Sight bride Domenica Calarco and Ella Ding have pulled the plug on their Sit With Us podcast.
The reality duo shared the news to their official Facebook page on Wednesday alongside a heartfelt explanation.
‘As I sit down to write this, my heart is filled with gratitude for each and every one of you,’ began Domenica.
‘Ella and I have come to a joint decision: it is the right time for Sit With Us to come to an end.
‘This decision was not made lightly, and it comes with a mix of emotions. We have loved every moment, and ending this chapter is bittersweet.
‘However, we believe it is the best step forward for both of us,’ she continued.
‘We think it is the right time now to move on with our own solo projects and explore new opportunities that lie ahead.’
Domenica concluded the message with an optimistic outlook for the future.
‘I am excited for what the future holds and am committed to continuing this journey online with the same passion and dedication that has brought us this far,’ she said.
The shock announcement comes just weeks after Daily Mail Australia revealed that Abbie Chatfield and Brittany Hockley’s podcasts could be among those in danger of getting axed amid rumours listeners are sick of hearing ‘absurd’ content from ex-reality TV contestants and them whinge about ‘rich girl problems’.
A whole host of former reality TV stars and Aussie celebrities have been jumping on bandwagon and setting up their own podcasts in recent years, but it has been claimed they aren’t all thriving.
The Bachelor star Abbie, 29, hosts LiSTNR It’s A Lot Podcast, where she talks about everything from her relationships to politics and feminism.
Meanwhile, Brittany and her best friend Laura Byrne often dish on their personal lives and pop culture on their LifeUncut podcast with iHeart.
Insiders have claimed the Australian podcast scene could be in for a huge shake-up, pointing to those hosted by celebrities.
‘There are whispers inside three of the biggest podcasting platforms in Australia that changes are going to be made – with one category currently under the microscope,’ a radio insider exclusively told Daily Mail Australia after tracking podcasts’ popularity across LiSTNR, Nova Podcast and iHeart Radio.
‘It would appear that ex-reality stars who have pivoted to podcasting are facing the chop right across the Australian Radio Industry.’
‘The long list of ex-reality TV stars that launched podcasts over the last four years are facing the chop with numbers decreasing for Abbie Chatfield, Brittney Hockley and Laura Bryne,’ another source added.
It has been claimed that it is ‘well-known internally’ that many producers no longer want to work on the long list of celebrity podcasts across Australia.
Producers also criticised the ‘absurd’ content on many celebrity gossip podcasts.
‘The content on these shows is mind numbingly absurd,’ a former programming director claimed.
‘I don’t know if I am more annoyed by knowing what toilet paper they use or if I am annoyed by their self entitled rich girl problems.’
Podcasters with ‘extreme views’ are also said to be putting off listeners while there have also been problems with fact-checking on some of the gossip podcasts.
It comes as Domenica gave an update on her mental health, sharing that she had come off her antidepressants for the first time in 15 years.
She recently took Instagram to share a video from her recent 21-day stay at a private mental health facility in New South Wales.
Dom has spoken openly about her mental health struggles after suffering a ‘major depressive episode’ and then detailed her medication changes.
She gave an insight into her ‘tough’ medication journey and told how she was coming off sertraline after feeling like the antidepressant wasn’t working anymore.
Sertraline is an antidepressant that belongs to a group of medicines called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the amount of serotonin in the brain.
Domenica explained that her doctor was weaning her off sertraline for the first time in 15 years to ‘transition’ to a new antidepressant – which she has since started.
‘So this is the reality of changing medication,’ she shared. ‘Last night, my doctor, we had a meeting and we wanted to try and see if my old medication that I was on was actually working.
‘I just have felt for a while now that it hasn’t been working, so I was like I think we need to transition to something new. So that’s what we’re doing.’
Domenica recently returned to Instagram after visiting a mental health ward to ‘heal, reflect and gain a better understanding of herself’ after ‘spiralling into a deep depression’.