Ex-RTÉ star Ryan Tubridy has said he ‘sleeps well at night’ since being ousted from the broadcaster over the payments scandal.
The father-of-two found himself at the centre of a media storm when it was discovered he was to be paid €225,000 over three years by RTÉ as part of a deal to top up his salary, which was not disclosed.
The presenter was paid two instalments of €75,000 by RTÉ for personal appearances for commercial sponsor Renault as part of the contentious deal.
The deal involved the Dubliner making three appearances per year at Renault events. RTÉ executives previously said Renault paid the former Late Late Show host the first €75,000 payment, but then pulled out of the tripartite deal.
Ryan has since paid back €150,000 from the 2020 deal.
Looking back on that period of his life, the podcaster has said he can ‘sleep well’ at night knowing his truth about what happened and is ‘happy’ that he left RTÉ because he was ‘coasting’.
‘Would I have chosen for it to happen? No, but am I happy with the outcome? Yes, because I was coasting, and I was drifting a bit,’ Ryan said.
That’s why I left The Late Late Show. I wasn’t getting the satisfaction from it, and I was tired. It was time to do something different,’ Ryan continued, saying that he’s not sure he would have moved to London or started his own podcast if things hadn’t gone the way they had at RTÉ
He added: ‘I would have clung to the wreckage and hoped that something else would come along.
‘The only reason I left was because I knew it was time to go, and it was a pity that the rest followed. People say that what happened was the reason I left, and it wasn’t.
‘I was tired and was going to do a disservice to everyone, including myself, so I’m OK and can sleep well at night knowing the truth.’
Ryan went on to tell the Irish Independent that since he left, he is a ‘different person’.
Since his time at RTÉ ended, Ryan has married his partner, Dr. Clare Kambamettu.
‘The DNA has changed, and the expectations of me have changed too; I’m unshackled,’ he said.
