'It's the longest I've gone without seeing her': Brooke Boney breaks down in tears as her mother Leonie makes a surprise appearance on the Today show after being separate during coronavirus lockdown
Today show host Brooke Boney was overcome with emotion when she reflected on the sacrifices her mother made while raising her and her siblings as a single mum during a tearful reunion on Friday.
The 33-year-old broke down when her mother Leonie made a surprise appearance on the breakfast show via a video call.
Brooke admitted that she hasn't seen her mum in a long time due to the coronavirus restrictions.
'It's the longest I've gone without seeing her': Brooke Boney broke down in tears when her mother Leonie made a surprise appearance on the Today show on Friday via video call
Her mother lives in Muswellbrook in the upper Hunter region of NSW, while Brooke lives in Sydney.
'I reckon this is the longest that I've ever gone without seeing my mum, because I haven't been home since Christmas and then I was in Los Angeles,' Brooke said.
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She explained that she usually goes home to visit her after an international trip, but hasn't been able to do so.
'I miss you mum,' Brooke said.
Leonie replied, saying: 'Miss you too.'
Separated: Brooke admitted that she hasn't seen her mum in a long time due to the coronavirus restrictions
Brooke went on to explain how Leonie raised her and her five siblings a single mother.
'I think my mum is the strongest woman in the world, she raised us pretty much all on her own,' she said.
'And we were talking about this last night on our Instagram live chat, how difficult things are when you're like, "I'm so busy and so tired".
'And then your mum, she just keeps going. And you don't realise until you're an adult, how much mum's give up for you.'
During the chat, Leonie was asked by host Allison Langdon why Brooke is 'so special.'
Leonie replied and said that her daughter is a 'good girl.'
'She's a good girl... and she was a fiery little girl,' Leonie said, talking about what Brooke was like when she was little.
Allison then asked Leonie to 'confirm Brooke's claim that she's the favourite' child.
Leonie laughed and joked: 'I think there will be a fight after this, if I say that!'
Family: Brooke was overcome with emotion when she reflected on the sacrifices her mother made while raising her and her siblings as a single mum (pictured with her family)
Proud daughter: Brooke called her the 'strongest woman in the world'
Last month, Brooke spoke about growing up 'poor' in housing commission in Muswellbrook and how her mother struggled financially to raise her and her siblings.
She said that 'not having very much' during her childhood has somewhat prepared her for COVID-19 lockdowns and potential food shortages.
Speaking on the Shameless podcast, Brooke said how 'hard' it was on her mother, who earned between $30,000 and $40,000 per year, to feed six children.
'But you know what? It's prepared me very well for living off two-minute noodles and tea,' Brooke told hosts Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald.
Looking back: Last month, Brooke spoke about growing up 'poor' in housing commission in Muswellbrook and how her mother struggled financially to raise her and her siblings
She continued, adding humour: 'I can whip up a meal out of literally nothing. I feel like I'm pro at the whole nothing in then supermarkets or cupboards sort of thing.'
'In all seriousness, it was pretty hard, and if we were in that situation and something like this would have happened, we would have been absolutely f**ked!'
The TV personality went on to say that she felt awful for people who were financially struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, and she felt grateful for her current lifestyle and job.
In an interview with WHO magazine in November, Brooke confessed she was determined to 'make sure I wasn't poor ever again' after struggling financially while growing up.
'We were quite poor – I grew up in housing commissions. Seeing how much my mum had to struggle with six kids on her own, I wanted to work really hard to make sure I wasn't poor ever again,' she said.
Brooke made history in January 2019 when she became the first Indigenous person to join a commercial TV breakfast team.
She is a proud Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman and an ex Triple J presenter.
Taking on the role of the entertainment reporter on Today, she replaced veteran entertainment reporter Richard 'Dickie' Wilkins on the program.
Childhood struggles: In an interview with WHO magazine in November, Brooke confessed she was determined to 'make sure I wasn't poor ever again' after struggling financially while growing up
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