Dina Pugliese says she 'hasn't even looked' at public reaction to her 'Breakfast Television' return: 'I'm still scared'
The 50-year-old returned to morning television after a two-year hiatus to focus on her health.
Dina Pugliese shocked audiences earlier this month when she announced her return to Breakfast Television (BT). The 50-year-old Toronto-born television personality returned to the morning show as host and executive producer two years after she resigned to focus on her health. Pugliese's return, alongside newcomer Tim Bolen, followed a shake up at Citytv, in which the network "parted ways" with several familiar faces like Meredith Shaw, Sid Seixeiro, Tracy Moore and Cheryl Hickey.
Pugliese shed light on her return to morning television in a new interview on "The Big Story" podcast with host Melanie Ng, and why she resigned from BT in 2023.
Here's what we learned from the interview.
On recovering from burnout
When Pugliese left BT in 2023 after more than 16 years on the show, she told fans that the demanding schedule of morning television had taken a toll on her body.
"I knew I was so burnt out, and every single day was like walking in quicksand," she said. "And it took me about a year and half before I started to climb out of it, and even longer to feel more like myself...I'm still a work in progress."
Pugliese admitted that she never thought she would get back to where she is now, "under the BT lights."
"I really retreated," she said. "I was depleted. I did nothing but sleep those first few weeks — sleep, eat, walk, repeat."
She also said that she worked on her clean beauty line, The Care Principle, and spent lots of quality time with family.
"I slept in my old room," she said. "I was able to clean for them, cook for them, just be together."
On the negative side of social media
As a public figure, Pugliese is well aware of how positive — and toxic — social media can be. Although there was plenty of support for her return to BT, not everyone was thrilled to see her back as host.
"I still haven't looked," Pugliese said of the public's reaction to her resuming hosting duties. "I looked quickly on Instagram, just to those nice people off the top. I haven't even looked at Twitter — I'm still scared...And that's the thing, it's that you could have 50 people say the most wonderful things, and you really do appreciate it, ... and then that one person comes at you so hard."
She went on to say that she always tries to live her life by "the golden rule," and that negative comments can be a shock.
"So when you come at me with a slap, I'm like, 'What did I do to deserve that?' I don't understand it," she said. "Maybe you don't get my talent. But to come at me that hard, I'll never understand it."
On bullying: 'It's not going to last forever'
Pugliese has been open in the past about her experience being bullied growing up. On Instagram, she once shared that as a tween, she was "ostracized big time," explaining that she missed a ton of school due to two bullies who were "relentless," but was able to get through it and get to a better place through talking to someone.
On the podcast, Ng asked Pugliese what advice she would give to viewers and fans that may be going through similar situations.
"Whatever you're going through right now, first of all, always talk to somebody," she said. "Whether it's somebody at school, whether it's a doctor ... Somebody who can help guide you through...It's not going to last forever. There'll be a day when you will never have to see those people again. It's a short period of your life, and you will get through it, but you cannot do it by yourself."
Pugliese encouraged people to look forward to the future and believe that there will be brighter days ahead.
"You are going to laugh again. You're going to be happy again," she said. "You're going to find people who love you or who you are, and there's so much to look forward to and live for."
On coming back to Breakfast Television
Pugliese said the appeal of working with her former colleagues and the viewers was a big part of her return to morning television.
"The viewers are very much that — they are family," she said. "I always knew it fed my soul, and that's why I was able to do these crazy hours with joy for as long as I did, because it's so meaningful...I was never blessed with my own children, but I am so close with my family. And I feel like, by extension, the viewers are that — they are family."
"So I'm like, this is maybe God's way of saying, 'I got you,'" she said.
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