“I’ve been considering it over the past 12 months especially, because it’s been a very busy year with me being off to the US twice, covering the presidential election,” he said. “I decided that 15 years of 5am starts is quite enough.

“My wife [Nicola Webber] is the happiest person in Australia this morning. The past 15 years have been great professionally but also family-wise.

“When my kids, Tom and Eleanor, were younger, I was available for school pick-ups and to take them to footy training and ballet lessons – but equally, there have been a lot of things I’ve missed at nights in terms of school speeches and the like.

“Walking around with what feels like perpetual low-level jet lag – and doing the hours that breakfast TV requires – has had an impact on my family life. My kids were seven and five when I started this job and now they’re in their 20s. They’ve given up a lot and even though I’ve enjoyed every moment on News Breakfast, now is the time to step back and enjoy family life a bit more.”

Rowland told viewers he was sorry for the “short notice”, adding he was “not one for long and drawn-out farewells; I wanted minimal fuss”.

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Breakfast television is a competitive space and anchoring is challenging, covering hard news and analysis, as well as lighter entertainment.

“It has been a thrill interviewing everyone from prime ministers to Hollywood superstars,” Rowland said.

“On what other program can you switch from presenting hard news to diving into a chilli-eating competition or dancing the Nutbush (badly)?”

Rowland first joined the ABC in 1987. He was a political reporter in Canberra for five years, spent four years as the ABC’s Washington correspondent and had stints as a business reporter, Lateline economics correspondent and state political reporter in NSW and Victoria.

In his onscreen farewell, he paid tribute to the News Breakfast team and the show’s viewers.

A statement from the ABC said Rowland would remain at the ABC “to focus on exciting future projects in mid-2025”.

“I’ll be taking a long break to catch up on sleep and unhook myself from the relentless news cycle for a little while,” he said.

Rowland’s news completes a trifecta of high-profile departures at the show, with Lisa Millar and Tony Armstrong leaving earlier this year. Journalist Bridget Brennan replaced Millar in August.

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Brennan and newsreader Emma Rebellato will anchor the program throughout the second half of December. ABC is yet to announce the fill-in hosts for January.

In September, Rowland hinted at his plans when speaking to fellow ABC alumna and former News Breakfast co-host Virginia Trioli on her podcast You Don’t Know Me, saying he was looking for a “less intense” role.

“The toll it takes gets more pronounced every year – the hours, the horrible stories we have to cover as journalists presenting a news program,” he said. “I’m much closer to the end than I am to the beginning in doing this show and doing this intense news presenting work.”