In January this year, radio host Kate Langbroek announced she was packing up her family’s Melbourne home for a drastic change of scenery.

Kate – along with her husband Peter and children Lewis, Sunday, Artie and Jan – moved to Bologna, Italy, where she has continued to co-host The Kate and Hughesy Show on HitFM from a separate studio.

But while her initial announcement was met with a few raised eyebrows, four months in, she has no regrets, and is urging others to “go for it” should they ever have the similar desire to make a change.

In an interview with Stellar Magazine, she said it was her eldest son’s health scare which encouraged her to “feel differently” about life, and ultimately sped up the decision to move.

 

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When you decide to move to Italy for a year with your four children, you learn things that you never expected – and in some cases never wanted to learn – about yourself. But what has also surprised us is that our adventure seems to be of interest to others; a curiosity and level of generosity my husband petie and I never anticipated or expected. @stellarmag came and took pics of us (Italian fantasy), and it’s in the paper today. #sixtakeitaly ❤️???????????? ps if I don’t know us, I think I would hate us. ❤️???????? pps when we were having our lovely conversation, you asked what I missed about Australia, @breeplayer.. as well as people and toasters and cheddar cheese, I miss the Sunday papers! [email protected] ????????‍♀️

A post shared by Kate Langbroek (@katelangbroek) on May 18, 2019 at 11:53pm PDT

“Peter and I got serious about it around 18 months ago and the kids have been fantastic,” the 53-year-old told the publication.

In past interviews, Kate has said she “wasn’t really sure” where the desire to live in Italy had come from, just that it was something she and husband Peter had discussed over the years.

She did add, however, that dealing with the family trauma brought the move to the forefront of their minds.

“[Our son] Lewis was very sick when he was little and he could’ve died.”

Lewis, now 15, battled leukaemia for three and a half years before being given the all-clear in 2013.

Last year, Kate shared a photo of herself and Lewis on Instagram, speaking of how she wasn’t sure she’d ever get to watch him grow up into the teenager he is today.

 

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When this boyo, my firstborn, our beloved Lewis Lewis was diagnosed with leukemia (t-call ALL) in 2009, I could barely dare dream that he would one day be a strapping, lanky 14-year-old giving me a cuddle at work. And part of my celebrating his life and mine, is my involvement with @childrenscancerfoundationau. I am running 5ks to raise money for other children and their families, so that we may conquer the devil-finger of cancer. Please sponsor me, if you can. It means more than you will ever know. Link in bio. #ihaterunningbutihatecancermore #praisebe ????????????‍♀️

A post shared by Kate Langbroek (@katelangbroek) on Jul 26, 2018 at 11:30pm PDT

“When this boyo, my firstborn, our beloved Lewis Lewis was diagnosed with leukaemia (t-call ALL) in 2009, I could barely dare dream that he would one day be a strapping, lanky 14-year-old giving me a cuddle at work,” the comedian and presenter captioned the image.

Kate has previously spoken about her son’s three-year battle with ALL in a 2015 piece for news.com.au.  

The mum-of-four wrote about the struggle to stay strong for her son during his treatment.

“Of course, I thought I could not bear it, but I did. Because I could not panic and I could not run. Because I was his mother. And because he was frightened, I could not be. So, each fear-filled, leaden step, I tried to take evenly. Each stroke of his little bald head was with my hand, calm and reassuring. Every word I spoke, I uttered quietly and lightly, to make sure I would not betray to my child the quivering fear inside me,” she wrote.

Now, she says it changed her outlook on life.

“Maybe that makes you feel differently about the opportunities you have in life, and the biggest opportunity is the life itself that you have,” Kate told Stellar.

“I would urge anyone who has the tiniest chink of opportunity to put a spanner in there and prise it in there to make it happen. We have no regrets at this point.”

She said that while the language barrier can be tricky, her family are enjoying their new life in Italy.

 

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Imma sucker for a tarmac pic. Also, Sunday! #sixtakeitaly #bolognabound ❤️????????????

A post shared by Kate Langbroek (@katelangbroek) on Jan 25, 2019 at 10:02pm PST

“Nobody speaks English here, absolutely nobody. I have to accept that I speak like a toddler and it’s very – I’m going to say humbling. But in reality it’s humiliating,” she told Stellar. 

“Italians are very relaxed people. Life revolves around having something nice to eat, having a rest, enjoying what you’re doing, your family, and enjoying the beauty around you. That’s really it.

“On a good day, the kids get to stop at the gelato or the crepe shop. They’re working their way through all the gelato flavours. I think I’ve lifted my wardrobe game here a bit, because the Italians are very sharp. You can see they know that we’re not Italian, even when we’re really making an effort. We don’t have that crisp look.”

She said continuing with her radio job has been a success – despite now working breakfast radio hours for a drive show time slot.

“It’s really like we’re in the room together,” she said.

“It’s not so bad now because of daylight savings – when I first got here I had to get up at half past four. Now I get up at half past six. And that’s fine.”

When Kate first made the announcement on air, she revealed it was actually her co-host Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes who had convinced her to continue with the show, despite it being her “fantasy” to take a year off work.