If you told “Matty J” Johnson that he’d have a gorgeous fiancée, a brand-new baby girl, a national syndicated radio show and a regular TV hosting gig when he stepped onto The Bachelorette stage in 2016, he probably would have laughed.
But now, only three years later, the former Bachie-verse star has it all – and then some.
“Coming off the back of The Bachelor, my absolute dream list of things that I would want to accomplish would be to have a really loving relationship; to be engaged, to have a child, love and be successful with work,” Matty admitted in an exclusive chat with Now to Love.
“And you know, I’ve just been so lucky,” he added. “I don’t know who I have to thank but I’ve managed to accomplish all of those things; and then to have my own radio show, and now my own travel show. Everything is so beyond perfect right now that I’m just waiting for something to go wrong.”
The 33-year-old has just landed his “dream TV gig”, mixing travelling the world and co-hosting on Network Ten’s Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays – something that took him away from his heavily pregnant fiancée Laura Byrne.
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“Thankfully only a couple of people questioned why I was away so much,” Matty revealed. “A handful of people were like, ‘Hey look, your girlfriend is pregnant, isn’t she due pretty soon right?’ and I had to tell them, ‘Yes, don’t worry, I’ll be back!”
Matty J and his fiancée, Laura Byrne before their daughter Marlie-Mae was born.
(Source: Instagram/Mattyjjohnson)Matty returned home just two weeks before their daughter, Marlie-Mae, was born.
And while the bub gave them oodles of time before the birth – there was actually no plan in place for him to come back early from shooting.
“It could it could have been an absolute disaster but thankfully Marlie-Mae didn’t come early,” Matty admitted.
“We were able to squeeze in all the filming overseas by the end of May, but it was very touch and go.”
“We were filming in Europe at the end of the production schedule, so even if Laura did go into labour, we didn’t really have a plan about what we would do because, there was a 24 hour tansit period to get back home, and if I didn’t come back home, I’d miss the birth and then if I came back home it would throw out production. So thankfully I was very, very lucky.”
WATCH: The moment Matty J proposes to Laura Byrne. Story continues after the video…
For Matty, his foray into television hosting and a plum TV gig is not without its pressure.
“I still feel like I’m that guy who is a marketing manager being put in a whole different world,” Matty admitted in our chat.
“From a work perspective I’m trying to establish myself. I feel like I have a lot to prove coming from a reality TV background. I definitely want people to look at me as a credible personality in media.”
The former Bachelor credits his fiancée, Laura, for her unwavering support as a partner; pushing him to be the best he can be, not only personally, but professionally.
“Laura’s been pushing me and encouraging me to try to accomplish those ambitions,” he said. “I don’t think I would be where I am now if it weren’t for Laura.”
Laura, Matty and three-week-old, Marlie-Mae are the picture perfect family.
(Source: Instagram/ladyandacat)If you thought Matty J was smitten with his ladies, it would be an understatement.
Apart from his very special bond with his little girl, it’s his relationship with Laura that just keeps on blossoming.
“To have Laura, it’s – without sounding like I’m being real smug here, but I don’t think we’ve ever been as in love as what we are right now.”
Matty and his baby girl.
(Source: Instagram/MattyJJohnson)Network Ten’s Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays airs on Saturday’s at 6pm from 13 July.
The new season will see Matty J and Sophie Falkiner explore 19 destinations across 13 episodes – from vibrant New York to the endless landscapes of South Africa and the desert dunes of Abu Dhabi.
