Yahoo Lifestyle 
How Abbie Chatfield 'lost over $500,000' in less than one year
It's been quite the year for the former reality TV star.
Since finding fame on The Bachelor in 2019, Abbie Chatfield has gone on to become one of the most in-demand women in Australian media while securing some of the biggest jobs in showbiz.
Yet it was only this year that the 28-year-old learned the power of saying ‘no’ after suffering from “burnout” and briefly stepping away from the spotlight to check into a medical and health centre in Thailand.
Since then, Yahoo Lifestyle can reveal that Abbie’s inspiring decision to “shift her priorities” has resulted in her walking away from lucrative ventures totalling over $500,000.
In March, Abbie first revealed on her It’s A Lot podcast that she no longer wanted to write the “entry-level handbook for young feminists” she’d signed a contract with publishers to pen, and returned the sizeable advance they’d paid her for the title.
“I tried to write but I couldn't write anything, I couldn't force it,” she said. “I got to the point where I called my friend and said I cannot do this. I drove back to Sydney two days early [from my writer’s retreat] and told my manager I can't do this. They tried to convince me [to do it], but I said, ‘not to be a c**t guys, but I cannot do this’.”
RELATED:
Yahoo Lifestyle is told that for a first-time author with a following of Abbie’s size, she likely would have secured an advance between $100,000 and $150,000 that would have been paid in three stages.
The first sum would have been paid upon signing with the publisher, the second would have been transferred upon submitting the finished manuscript, and then the third upon publication of the title.
Fashion and radio
Abbie went on to shock fans in May when her clothing brand, Verbose, shut down - despite instantly selling out and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue upon its launch 12 months earlier.
“I’ve just been too busy to do a clothing brand properly right now ... There’s nothing dramatic, it’s just that I haven’t even had time to call my mum, let alone run a label,” Abbie said as the brand’s website was taken offline.
In August, the entrepreneur then walked away from her Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield national radio show with Southern Cross Austereo’s Hit Network, which one radio insider estimates would have had a salary of around $300,000.
“Abbie easily would have made $300,000 from the show, plus tens of thousands more on top of that from live [ad] reads as she led the market in that time slot against Nova and KIIS,” the insider added.
“Abbie is so commercially appealing SCA didn’t take her decision lightly but understood her reasons.”
Abbie said at the time: “I’m really happy with my decision and super proud of myself for letting this role go. I simply need to put my energy into projects that bring me joy and that energise me, rather than draining me.”
'My priorities need to shift'
Additionally, Abbie announced in October she’d stepped down as the host of the national R&B concert tour Fridayz Live because of an “active lawsuit involving the headline act, including an allegation of sexual harassment".
Speaking about her active choice to slow down this year, Abbie wrote to Instagram in July: “I’ve realised that my priorities need to shift, as I’ve taken on so many jobs and I'm trying to figure out what I do and don't want to do. And I'm trying not to push myself to work way harder than I need to. I’ve been absolutely depleted and burnt out from the start of the year.”
Although she’s walked away from several jobs, Abbie still has her weekly podcast It’s A Lot, is a judge on The Masked Singer, and hosts FBoy Island on Binge - which recently announced a season two.
Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.
Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.
