Sunrise: Natalie Barr says she ‘didn’t speak to Sam Armytage outside the office’

Sunrise host Natalie Barr finally acknowledges her frosty relationship with Sam Armytage as she admits they ‘didn’t speak outside the office’

New Sunrise anchor Natalie Barr has revealed for the first time she didn’t have a close relationship with her predecessor Sam Armytage.

When asked about rumours two women did not get along, Natalie told The Australian Women’s Weekly they weren’t friends outside the workplace.

The Seven presenter, 53, said that while the pair ‘got along very well in the office’, they rarely spoke after the cameras stopped rolling because they didn’t have much in common.

Not friends: New Sunrise anchor Natalie Barr (pictured) has revealed for the first time she didn’t have a close relationship with her predecessor Sam Armytage 

‘The truth is we didn’t really see each other outside the office,’ Natalie said.

‘We had vastly different lives, I guess,’ the mother of two added. ‘We were in different places. She was hanging with her friends, and I was spending time with my family.

‘So, yes, were were in different places.’

Setting the record straight: When asked about rumours two women did not get along, Natalie told The Australian Women's Weekly they weren't friends outside the workplace. Pictured (left to right): Sam Armytage, Natalie Barr and Kylie Gillies in 2015

Setting the record straight: When asked about rumours two women did not get along, Natalie told The Australian Women’s Weekly they weren’t friends outside the workplace. Pictured (left to right): Sam Armytage, Natalie Barr and Kylie Gillies in 2015

Natalie’s interview comes after she was reportedly rankled by comments Sam made in a newspaper column in February about working mothers in the TV industry.

Sam – who quit Sunrise in March, making way for Natalie to replace her – claimed she’d been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless.

She said ‘bosses don’t ask as much of you if you’re a wife or mother’, adding: ‘I’ve never shied away from hard work, but there was an expectation that Sam would do it because she’s got nothing else going on.’

Dividing opinion: Natalie's interview comes after she was reportedly rankled by comments Sam made in a newspaper column in February about working mothers in the TV industry

Dividing opinion: Natalie’s interview comes after she was reportedly rankled by comments Sam made in a newspaper column in February about working mothers in the TV industry

At the time, many TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for colleagues at late notice, despite being married with two teenage children.

For months before her departure, rumours had swirled that Sam, 44, didn’t get along with Natalie, who was Sunrise’s newsreader before stepping up to the main desk.

Source also claimed she didn’t see eye to eye with her co-anchor David ‘Kochie’ Koch either.

Controversy: Sam - who quit Sunrise in March, making way for Natalie to replace her - claimed she'd been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless. Pictured: Sam with Sunrise co-anchor David 'Kochie' Koch

Controversy: Sam – who quit Sunrise in March, making way for Natalie to replace her – claimed she’d been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless. Pictured: Sam with Sunrise co-anchor David ‘Kochie’ Koch

Working mum: At the time, TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for her colleagues, despite being married with kids. Pictured with her husband Andrew Thompson

Working mum: At the time, TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for her colleagues, despite being married with kids. Pictured with her husband Andrew Thompson

These whispers were seemingly confirmed when Natalie and David didn’t attend Sam’s leaving party at the Catalina restaurant in Sydney’s Rose Bay on March 11. 

Eyebrows were raised yet again in May when it emerged Sam didn’t follow Natalie or David on Instagram, despite following many other Seven colleagues.

Sam downplayed this snub on her News Corp podcast earlier this month, saying: ‘I don’t think I unfo… I don’t think anyone’s following anyone in there.’

Feud? It emerged in May that Sam didn't follow Natalie or David on Instagram, despite following many other Seven colleagues

Feud? It emerged in May that Sam didn’t follow Natalie or David on Instagram, despite following many other Seven colleagues