July 15, 2026 — 7:55amToday star Sarah Abo has left the breakfast show early to go on maternity leave, the hosts announced on Wednesday morning.Presenters Sylvia Jeffreys and Charles Croucher provided the update directly from Abo, saying the presenter had suffered a few health scares and following medical advice, decided to take leave early.Sarah Abo at her baby shower in Carlton, Melbourne.Instagram“We have a little news to share with you at home this morning, because, of course, many of our wonderful Today show viewers have been wondering where the beautiful Sarah is,” Jeffreys said.“She wanted us to share that while her little man isn’t here just yet, last week she received a bit of a curveball with high blood pressure, and she’s been in and out of hospital.”Croucher said Abo was “in the very safe hands of her doctors”.“They’ve asked her to rest. So now Sarah was hoping to return to the studio to say goodbye to you all and head off on maternity leave. We were looking forward to saying goodbye to her, but doctor’s orders mean that that’s not possible right now,” Croucher said.The announcement comes just weeks after Abo’s co-host Karl Stefanovic had his multimillion-dollar contract axed by Nine after he interviewed the British far-right figure Tommy Robinson on his podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, in June.Nine, who have been approached for comment, has yet to announce a replacement for Stefanovic. And while it is understood that Nine has been putting steps in place to replace Stefanovic ever since he notified management a few months ago that he wanted to leave, no decisions have been made.Historically, Nine has recruited largely from within, so it would be unlikely that any outsiders would take Stefanovic’s seat.Nine’s Melbourne newsreader Tom Steinfort and Croucher have been filling in for Stefanovic over the last few weeks.Nine chief executive Matt Stanton told staff late last month that it was “the right time for Karl to move on from the Today show and Nine”.“Karl has been a fixture on our screens for over two decades, so we know this is a significant change for our viewers and all of us here at Nine, however, it’s the right time to make it,” Stanton said.Kayla Olaya is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.Louise Rugendyke is the National TV editor and a senior culture writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners