Grant Denyer is known for his vivacious personality, larger-than-life smile and energy that rivals one hundred children at a school carnival.
However, the hardest working man in Australian TV, who is set to host Network Ten’s Celebrity Name Game, has had to slow down – and fast.
After sustaining a back injury – an “annular fissure or ruptured/ torn disc” while taking a sledgehammer to the back paddock on his farm in Bathurst, Grant is thankfully on the road to recovery, but it hasn’t been an easy journey.
And now, in an interview with Now to Love, the 41-year-old has revealed the dark times he endured while relegated to a Sydney hospital bed, three hours from his wife Chezzi and their daughters, Sailor, eight, and Scout, three.
READ NEXT: Grant Denyer returns to weeknights with Celebrity Name Game
Grant was in hospital after sustaining a back injury. (Image: Instagram/chezzidenyer)
“I’m not one that copes very well when the handbrake gets pulled on my life,” he revealed. “It’s a very miserable thing to have happen and it’s horrible not knowing what the outcome could be.”
And while he faced uncertainty, like many times before – Denyer credits his daughters as the reason to carry on.
“They are the sunshine in any darkness, which is magical,” he said of Scout and Sailor.
“And they would chatter to me on the phone like crazy [during the hospital stay]. But there were always a few tears at night between us and then the lights would go out in the hospital and I couldn’t help but occasionally lose it after watching an emotional movie or something like that.”
Grant is a very hands on dad, which is extremely evident by the way he lights up when he talks about his girls, and his Instagram is filled with gorgeous pictures which he shares with pride.
Not being able to hold them for such a long period of time, or knowing what the future held after his injury, really took a toll on the Gold Logie winner.
“They are very sweet and very patient girls but it’s really hard when you are unable to pick your children up,” he revealed.
“We love wrestling and we climb on each other and cuddle like crazy – but when you can’t pick your own children up it’s really hard. It was horrific and I couldn’t do that forever because the best part of being a dad is being able to pick your children up, throw them in the air and give them bear hugs.”
“It was hard, when you’re a dad you want to be around your family and I wasn’t around my family. It was hard to bare.”
Grant and Chezzi Denyer with Sailor and Scout. (Source: Instagram/grantdenyer)
As for his recovery, Grant is back on his feet, but the ordeal is not over just yet.
“It’s a hell of a lot better than it was,” he admitted.
“It was a horrible scenario and situation to go through but it was a very common one and 80% of men in particular will have this kind of injury to a degree but it’s awfully painful and debilitating but the good news is with the right amount of patience and physio, we can get back on track.”
While certainly a shock for their little family, Grant thinks that this happened for a very important reason.
“I think it might have been the universe telling me to slow down a little bit for starters. It was the perfect storm of three things all landing at the same time. I had Dancing With the Stars, Celebrity Name Game had just started filming plus doing radio. It wasn’t ideal, it was just an accident that all three projects began to overlap and I got an injury right in the middle.”
“I’ve been in this position before when something like this happens and you’ve got to be a little bit kinder to your body and to yourself so you can get your life back into a state of balance.”
“I think it’s about letting things drop off,” he added.
“I believe that the stronger your body is, the more it can handle, mentally and physically and carry a heavier load. I’ve let things slip like stop going to the gym – the usual maintenance on your body and I’ve learnt these days to also do a bit of meditation and keep everything in check.
“It was a nice reminder to top my fuel kit up!”
WATCH NEXT: Grant Denyer accepts the Gold Logie at the 2019 Logie Awards
Story continues…
Grant is showing no signs of slowing down professionally with his brekkie radio show, Grant, Ed and Ash on the Hit Network and of course, Celebrity Name Game which premieres on Network Ten on Monday.
In fact, this new game show is a perfect fit for the TV personality – and for TV audiences everywhere.
“It’s family friendly and it’s a lot of fun,” he said.
“It’s packed full of laughs. It’s the type of thing that you can watch at 6.00 pm when you don’t want to watch the darkness of the news on Seven and Nine.”
**Celebrity Name Game premieres on Monday 13 May and continues weeknights at 6.00pm on Network Ten
