Samantha Armytage rejected by former employer Seven after appealing for 2025 Logie Awards role - as her hunky date on the night is revealed
Armytage, 48, stepped down from Seven last August following 21 years with the network, after she declined a new contract.
She was subsequently unveiled as the host of Nine's new dating show The Golden Bachelor in November during the network's annual upfronts.
Armytage's former employer has held the broadcasting rights to the annual Logie awards for the past two years.
It's during this time viewers have accused the network of favouring their own talent over others.
And unfortunately for Armytage, it seems the trend has caught up to her.
Sunday Confidential reported Nine put her forward to present an award at the Logies this weekend, however the move was reportedly quickly shut down by organisers of the annual ceremony.
It comes as relations between Armytage and Seven appear to have deteriorated after she threw the ultimate dig at her old bosses with an appearance on Sunrise's competitor Today, last October.
Armytage took to Instagram stories and shared a selfie alongside Today hosts Karl Stefanovic, Sarah Abo, Alex Cullen, and Jayne Azzopardi.
'This morning, I woke up with...Today,' she captioned the image.
Just days earlier, she told 2GB she quit breaky central to helm Farmer Wants a Wife because her career had effectively run its course at Seven.
'I'd had enough, and you know I like a good horse metaphor — I'd ridden it to the top, I'd done all I could do and it was good time to step out," she said.
The TV veteran will nevertheless be in attendance at the glitzy Logie Awards evening alongside a handsome date, the Golden Bachelor himself.
Armytage and the star of the programme, Barry 'Bear' Myrden, will strut into the event arm in arm in a scene which is sure to cause a media stir.
It appears that is the aim of the stunt, according to a The Daily Telegraph insider who said the move will showcase Barry publicly.
'They will use the night to debut Bear for the first time,' the source said.
The frosty relations between Amytage and Seven raises the question — who will stand up to accept the award for Best Structured Reality Program if Farmer Wants A Wife were to claim the gong?
Armytage fronted the series for three years, including in 2024 when the show also earned a Logies nod.
Natalie Gruzlewski reclaimed the hosting reins in 2025, during which time the show was outpaced in the ratings by Nine's popular game show, The Floor.
This year, the programme is competing against Ten's Gogglebox Australia, Nine's Married At First Sight, ABC's Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies, Ten's Shark Tank Australia Binge/ Foxtel's The Real Housewives of Sydney.
Armytage will make her first major return to the spotlight on Sunday after splitting from her husband of four years, Richard Lavender, last December.
The news shocked some industry insiders after the TV host quit Sunrise to live at Lavender's 40-hectare estate in NSW's Southern Highlands.
It is understood she has since returned to Sydney's eastern suburbs.
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