Inside new RTE 2FM host Lottie Ryan’s family life and career

LOTTIE Ryan has landed a huge new radio gig on RTE 2FM – Drive with Lottie and David.

RTE 2FM announced their new summer schedule after four major presenters, Doireann Garrihy, Jennifer Zamparelli and The 2 Johnnies all quit the station.

The late legend Gerry Ryan‘s daughter Lottie and David O’Reilly will be replacing The 2 Johnnies, who hosted their last drivetime show yesterday.

Spending her life in the public eye Lottie Ryan has reached many personal milestones and career achievements.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Dublin natives life.

MAD DAD

Lottie Ryan is the daughter of one of Ireland’s best known broadcasters, Gerry Ryan.

Her dad tragically passed away very suddenly from a heart attack in 2010, when Lottie was just 23.

The presenter recently opened up about how she felt when she found out the devastating news.

The 38-year-old also explained how she dealt with the loss afterwards.

She said: “I still haven’t fully become comfortable with it because my whole life changed in an instant.

“I wasn’t expecting the news when I got the news. So I just felt like my whole world suddenly shattered and when I think back about me ten years ago I get so upset because I think about what that person is about to go through, It was horrific.

 “I wasn’t hugely aware of how big [the funeral] was until a couple of weeks afterwards when I looked back at pictures and I realised, ‘Holy crap, there were some pretty big crowds outside that church I don’t even remember seeing any of that.”

The radio star went on to describe the love she had for her father as she said: “And at the end of the day, a dad is a dad, it doesn’t matter what they did for a living.

“He was this huge person in your life and for me he was like my best mate. My dad is the person who I went to for advice, he was my councilor.

“He was the centre of my universe, he was my household and you feel like the rug has been pulled from under you suddenly.

MEETING ON THE DANCEFLOOR

Lottie Ryan met her husband Fabio Aprile more than two decades ago when she was just 18 and the pair recently celebrated a milestone anniversary with a trip to Fabio’s hometown in Italy.

The couple met in 2004 and tied the knot in a tiny church in Macchia in 2017.

Lottie has previously said that when she got married without her dad he wasn’t on her mind.

She explained: “If I’m honest I didn’t think about him a huge amount on my wedding day. I’m only married three years so I’d had a while.

“I didn’t want the day to be about dad. I think that it’s very easy for that to happen to a bride because everyone is like, ‘well who’s walking you down the aisle?’ and ‘are you just going to be thinking about your dad?”

Speaking on Jen and Lottie’s podcast, Do Parenting, Fabio told the story on how the pair first met.

He said: “I walked up to her and I said, ‘Do you want to dance?’ I had never ever said that to anyone.

“We got on the dance floor and started kissing. That was basically it.”

BABY WOLF

Lottie and Fabio welcomed their son Wolf into the world in June 2021.

In a recent interview with VIP at the Style Awards, Lottie gushed over her bundle of joy.

She said: “He’s absolutely amazing and being a mam is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

While speaking on her podcast, the host also explained that as Wolf’s dad is Italian, it is important that he can speak both languages.

However, Lottie admitted that it comes with it’s own worries.

She said: “I’m nervous because I can’t speak Italian and I think they’re going to have this like private b***h about me when he is older.”

FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

Lottie co-hosts a podcast with her long time pal Jennifer Zamparelli.

The two presenters started the podcast just over a year ago.

The pair were inspired to start the podcast after Lottie faced a lot of criticism from fans and other mothers when she returned to work just four months after having Wolf.

However, her career in the public eye started much longer ago.

Apart from being the daughter of Gerry Ryan, Lottie has had a long career in radio and performing arts.

She put her dancing skills to the test in 2020 when she took part in Dancing With The Stars.

The Dublin beauty made it all the way to the final and lifted the glitterball trophy with her pro partner Pasquale La Rocca.

READY FOR ROAD

Lottie has now regained her centre stage position on 2FM as she and David O’Reilly are set to take over The 2 Johnnies.

The pair will be on air Monday-Friday from 3-6pm on 2FM Drive with Lottie and David.

Lottie is a very familiar voice to listeners across 2FM, presenting the Entertainment News from Monday to Friday, as well as stepping in to present Breakfast Republic in 2018 and 2019. She also hosted Weekend Breakfast. 

After the huge announcement, she took to her Instagram to share a picture of herself and David.

The mum-of-one captioned the post: “Fasten your seatbelts/buckle up/get ready to ride… how many other puns can I come up with?!

“It’s ‘Drive with Lottie and David’ It all kicks off on @rte2fm Tuesday from 3 – 6pm!!!”

Fans and friends of Lottie raced to her comment section to congratulate her on the new gig, as they all said it’s “about time”.