TV host's husband was found dead below cliff in apparent suicide

The husband of Australian TV presenter Erin Jayne Plummer was found dead at the bottom of a cliff and is believed to have taken his own life, it has been revealed, two years after the devastating death of his wife.

Alan Plummer had plans to go swimming with a friend at 6.30am on Sunday on Sydney's northern beaches, but the father-of-three never showed up.

His concerned friend called police to request a welfare check, with officers turning up at Mr Plummer's nearby home to inform his 18-year-old daughter - who had been out on Saturday evening - that her father was missing.

The 49-year-old's body was found an hour later by a lifeguard at the foot of a cliff at Freshwater Beach. Tragically, he is believed to have taken his own life. 

'Officers from Northern Beaches Police Area Command will prepare a report for the information of the Coroner regarding the death of a 49-year-old man at Freshwater on Sunday,' a NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. No further details were available.

A source familiar with the situation described Mr Plummer's death as 'tragic', given it followed the suicide death of his Studio 10 host wife in May 2022.

Freshwater Beach, near the family's home, had been Erin's favourite coastal spot, and friends and loved ones gathered there to hold a sunrise vigil in her memory shortly after her death two years ago.

Now the Plummer family has been torn apart by another tragedy, with the couple's three daughters - aged 18, 15, and 11 - left orphaned by their father's death. 

A source familiar with the situation told Daily Mail Australia that the couple's eldest daughter had only just completed her final exams at secondary school and was out celebrating a friend's 18th birthday the night before her father's body was found.

The source said Mr Plummer had only just sold the family's four-bedroom Freshwater home in September as he planned to move with his youngest daughter to Queensland to be closer to his middle child, who is studying at a school up north on a sports scholarship. 

The property, which was purchased by the Plummers for $675,000 in 2002, was initially listed for sale in March this year, but sold for an undisclosed amount two months ago before it went to auction. 

The tragedy has left the community in mourning, with locals devastated for the three young girls.

'They are good kids,' the source said. 'Their parents have dozens of friends and the community will come together for them.' 

Alan was the former director of a now-defunct company called Shine VIP Tours Australia PTY LTD. 

Another source revealed he had previously battled with mental health and medical issues. 

His wife Erin was just 42 when she died following mental health difficulties, with her friends saying at the time that they wished they could have done more to 'help carry the weight of her pain'.

She was a doting mother and 'loved her girls boundlessly', friends said, but struggled during the Covid pandemic and had not been her 'bouncy, energetic self' in the weeks before her death.

Erin's father Peter described her daughters as her 'little mini versions of her', and speaking at her funeral, the presenter's eldest child shared her heartache at losing her beloved mother.

'Each day that passes I still don't believe that she's gone,' the 15-year-old said.

'That a family of three girls will grow up without our mum. This is the thought I can't seem to get over.' 

'Mum was loved by everyone. She was selfless and gave her everything to take my sisters and I to 40 activities each week.

'She brought so much light to the world that we didn't realise her heart was in so much pain.'

The teenager concluded the touching tribute: 'Mum, I hope heaven treats you better than we ever could. She's not ours anymore but we are hers forever.'

Erin's youngest daughter also spoke, telling those gathered, 'My mum was the best person ever. I will always love you dearly mum.'

During her career hosting advertorials, she appeared on Studio 10, TVSN, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and The Morning Show, and earned the nickname 'The Danoz Girl'.

Danoz refers to the home appliance company Erin often promoted on TVSN. 

She was also a presenter for Aerobics Oz Style for six years. The instructional aerobics TV series, which aired from 1982 to 2005, had a global audience of 40million people at its peak and was broadcast in more than 80 countries.

In addition to her TV career, Erin was an accomplished synchronised swimmer who represented Australia at three world championships and won 11 national titles.

Erin was thrust into the spotlight at a young age when she was scouted at Sydney's Manly Beach and cast in a tourism campaign that aired on NBC in America.

But it was her role as a TV presenter for which she was best known. Over the years, she promoted everything from massage chairs and workout programs to slimming jeans and steam mops.

When she wasn't in front of the camera, Erin also did countless voiceovers for TV.

Following her death, a GoFundMe campaign launched to help the Plummer family with hiring a gardener and housekeeper to 'keep the household running' raised almost $28,000.  

UK: For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org 

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