Unfortunately for TV star Adam Dovile, Woman’s Day’s exclusive shoot with him and his adorable daughters Arabella, eight, and Ruby, seven, takes place the same day as parent teacher night at school.
“Ruby’s teacher goes, ‘Oh, I heard you were wearing a tutu today.’ And I said, ‘How did you know that?’ She’s like, ‘Oh, Ruby was telling the whole class she was doing a photoshoot and her dad was wearing a tutu too’,” Adam laughs.
OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE
While his girls have both taken dance classes since they were small, Adam Dovile, the 41-year-old DIY presenter says the only dancing he’s done before signing on to take part in the reality show “is what I like to call the European two-step, where I go back and forth with a beverage in my hand,” he jokes.
He and wife Lisa, 38, even abandoned a plan to perform a waltz at their wedding. “We did one lesson and realised it wasn’t for us. So on the night we just cuddled and danced around in circles,” he shares.
Adam says his time on the tools did prepare him a little for the Dancing stage. “When I had to lift my partner Jess [Raffa], it was just like throwing a stick of timber up on my shoulder,” he jokes.
“Just bend the knees and get them up there. I’ve been doing that my whole life.”
Not everything came so easily, though. “We’d rehearse and Jess would film it, and she’d tell me what I need to correct.
“So I’d work on my shoulders, but then I’d forget about my arms. You fix one thing, but then the other goes wrong. And then it’s just a constant chain of that happening,” he says.
“So mentally you’re trying to do that. And physically your heart rate’s pumping full-speed the whole time, because you’re rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing. It’s a lot. I think in eight weeks I [only] had three days off!”
Thankfully, there was still a bit of time for play, especially backstage with his fellow Dancing competitors in the men’s change rooms. “We had such a good time,” says Adam, who believes SAS Australia’s Ant Middleton, 43, may be the dark horse this season.
“He’s amazing. I don’t even know how it’s humanly possible to get as big as what that man is,” he laughs. “And he’s the nicest bloke as well. He loves being in that team environment supporting everyone.”
Adam also bonded with his fellow Melburnians, Shane Crawford, 49, and Ben Cousins, 46. “We don’t live in Sydney, so we stayed in the same hotel and went out most nights for dinner. It was good to get to know those guys.”
HEARTFELT CAUSE FOR ADAM DOVILE
Of course, making new friends isn’t the only highlight of taking part in Dancing – there’s also the opportunity to raise funds for your favourite charity.
“I chose Prostate & Breast Cancer Foundation just because it hit a personal spot with me, with Mum going through breast cancer and Dad going through prostate cancer,” Adam says of his 71-year-old parents, who were in the audience cheering him on.
“They need all the support they can get. Because unless you’ve gone through it, you don’t actually understand how hard it is. And all we can do is try to support them as much as possible. And be there for them. That’s why I think it’s important we try to raise as much money as possible.”
And while DWTS has proved to be a challenge for Adam, he says it still pales in comparison to his first foray into reality TV, winning House Rules in 2014.
“That show broke me,” he says with a groan. “I could never put myself back through that. But Dancing comes a close second.”
Watch Dancing With The Stars, Sunday, 7pm, Seven & 7plus.
