‘Homeless’ Denise Drysdale attends the Logie Awards with Jessica Rowe and reveals details about rent-free living in the TV host’s $11 million home

Denise Drysdale and Jessica Rowe clarified their unusual housing situation when they attended the TV Week Logie Awards together on Sunday.

The Studio 10 host, 75, told Daily Mail Australia on the red carpet that she’s staying with Jessica, 53, when she’s in Sydney to film the daytime panel show.

Denise, who previously expressed her desire to live a “nomadic” lifestyle, sold her property in Merimbula, New South Wales for $870,000 in 2015 and moved to Queensland so she could be close to her family.

Jessica invited her to stay “for free” in the $11 million Vaucluse mansion she shares with her newscaster husband Peter Overton and their two teenage daughters.

When asked how Peter handles the “girls night” energy when Denise stays over, Jessica replied “he loves it, he’s in heaven” and that he gets a “great meal” when Denise cooks for the family.

For Peter’s birthday, Denise “dressed up as a chef” and made him pizza and other Italian dishes, even printing out a menu.

“How lucky am I?” Jessica said.

Jessica often documents her escapades with Denise when she comes to town, having previously uploaded photos of the pair cooking, doing housework and laughing together in the living room.

Jessica, who quit Studio 10 in 2018 to become a full-time housewife, also shared photos of herself dropping Denise at Channel 10 studios for work.

Denise has previously spoken about her dreams of a life without possessions, telling A Current Affair in 2014, “I’m getting older and I looked around at this stuff I have and I thought, ‘This is ridiculous, I’ll throw it away, so that I can be free and easy as the wind.”

At the time of the interview, Denise had put her property in Merimbula on the market despite having no other home to move into.

The Gold Logie winner said it was “exciting” not knowing where she would live next, revealing she wouldn’t keep some sheets, underwear and pajamas until she was done with the sale.

Unfortunately, her dream of a light-hearted lifestyle came crashing down in recent years after she suffered a series of health issues, including a knee replacement, detached retina, broken shoulder, blood clot in the leg, and a staph infection.

In September 2021, she was also diagnosed with a rare and painful facial condition called trigeminal neuralgia (TN).

Denise made the condition public during a segment on Studio Ten.

In August of the following year, Denise announced she was finally on the mend after months of pain.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about the drawbacks of the nomadic lifestyle, Denise said she is grateful to Jessica for her hospitality.

“I’m so lucky because I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels and it’s not a nice life.”