When Channel Seven star Michael Usher took to the dance floor on Dancing with the Stars, few might have predicted just what a fabulous foxtrot and passionate paso doble he’d be capable of.

We’re more used to seeing Usher in serious mode – presenting the news or leading investigations for 7NEWS Spotlight – and, as he wowed on stage, scooping up some serious points with dance partner Natalie Lowe, you might have been wondering about his partner in real life.

Is Michael Usher married?

Usher was previously married to wife Annalie, a journalist who went on to become founder of Mosman Collective, a local news platform for Sydney’s lower North Shore.

The pair separated in 2013, with work-related pressures a rumoured reason for the split.

“When you go through a sad time in your life, when you’ve got everything going at speed and you hit a wall and stop dead, you slide down that wall and fall in a heap – and I did that,” the veteran broadcaster admitted.

Does Michael Usher have children?

During their marriage, Usher and Annalie had three children: sons Tom, 23, and Max, 19, and daughter Alex, 17, but Usher told Stellar his demanding TV career had led to “a lot of dad guilt”.

“It may look like I’ve got things in hand, but I’m like a duck paddling underneath,” he told the publication.

“I’m treading water every time and it’s a mess, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a juggle and it comes with a lot of dad guilt, but it works.”

Divulging more, writing for The Nightly in September 2024, Usher told of how taking a few days off work to celebrate a friend’s birthday had allowed him to reassess.

“Going cold turkey on the daily fix of news is not easily done after too many years addicted to information, but what a few days away did for me was compartmentalise the work part of my brain and lock all that up in a mental storage unit and unlock the more important cupboards. The very full and overflowing cupboards that hold all the guilt, responsibility, memories, joy and long to-do lists of being a parent,” he wrote.

“It’s easy to shove all that away sometimes and auto-parent. There simply isn’t time to clean out that cupboard, chuck out what’s not needed, organise the important space, and make a bit of room for new shared memories and growth with your children and family.”

Usher went on to say he had spent some time “letting that mental cupboard explode”, and letting go of some “stupid negative thoughts, guilt and unrealistic expectations” which he said “get you nowhere as a parent”.

“But they easily take over,” he admitted. “However, I did give myself a six out of 10 as a dad this year. The juggle and struggle have been real in 2024, and frankly it hasn’t been great in the dad stakes. So, with almost four months to go, I’m aiming to get that score to a solid eight out of 10.”

Is Michael Usher leaving Channel 7?

There were concerns Usher might be set to leave Channel Seven after he quit his role on Channel Seven news show The Latest in 2024.

The reason for the change was because production for The Latest was shifting from Sydney to Perth and Usher remains a regular on Channel 7 TV screens as co-anchor of Seven News Sydney on Friday and Saturday evenings alongside Angie Asimus.

Why did Michael Usher leave Channel Nine?

Before his time at Channel Seven, Usher was a reporter on current affairs show 60 Minutes, and he became the unofficial spokesman for the show when it came under intense scrutiny over a botched attempt to move two children from Lebanon in 2016.

A team from 60 Minutes had travelled to Lebanon with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner in a bid to reunite with her two children who, it was alleged, had been moved to Lebanon by their father.

The “child recovery” operation led to the arrest, in Lebanon, of reporter Tara Brown and other crew members. They were subsequently released after spending two weeks in a Lebanese jail.

While Usher was not involved in the story, he was given the task of issuing an apology on behalf of the network over the incident which made international headlines.

Soon after, in August 2016, he announced his resignation, having been poached by Channel Seven.

“Big life and career decision to leave the Nine network after 25 years,” Usher wrote on Facebook at the time.

“Very hard call to leave great friends and colleagues but looking forward to more time at home with my children and less long haul travel, and to new challenges at the Seven Network.”