John Pearce has a handle on fatherhood. The children’s entertainer is gearing up to welcome his first child with wife Jessie in December, and the pair couldn’t be more thrilled.
“We’re very grateful to be in the position we are in and we’re very excited to be expecting in December,” John tells Now To Love.
With the due date inching ever so closer, the Purple Wiggle – otherwise known as ‘Big Strong John’ to kids worldwide – is well underway with preparations for the arrival of his baby boy.
“I’m preparing as much as I can. All I hear are good things and bad things about being a parent,” he laughs. “We’re being very naive and very optimistic about the whole thing.”
Having just rung in their fifth wedding anniversary on October 19, John and Jessie are enamoured with the prospect of “having a little version of us” and spending time as a family.
“We’ve been together literally since high school, and to be able to start a family of our own is such an exciting time,” John says of his wife, who have been together since 2012.
“And being part of The Wiggles performing for many families, making a lot of children happy, I‘m very excited to make my own child happy – in this case, my son,” he adds.
Having donned the iconic purple skivvy since October 2021, John is well-versed when it comes to keeping kids entertained. Although, he doesn’t quite plan on revealing that side of himself to his own son.
“I’m not going to tell him [that I’m a Wiggle]. He’ll obviously figure it out as he grows up, but that whole fun of just sitting there, watching children’s TV, watching The Wiggles together and not saying anything,” he laughs. “That’d be funny.”
“Although he’ll probably be in a Wiggles episode before he realises he’s actually watching The Wiggles.”
Aside from the fun, the 33-year-old is placing real measures around balancing his career with fatherhood, especially being on the road while touring and performing.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s a challenge we’re both ready to take on. Next year we’re heading overseas to the US and the UK and Jess will be tagging along with my son,” he says.
“I don’t want to be away to miss out on any part of his life, especially in the early time. It’s such a crucial time when they’re developing and growing so fast.”
Of course, he’s not the first Wiggle to attempt such a balance, which is exactly why he’s turning to his fellow group members for parenting advice.
“I’m picking the brains of everybody, especially Simon and Lachy, they’ve got their own little ones right now that are three and four years old. And Catherine just gave birth to twins, so I’m really analysing everything,” he says.
“Although I’ve had nephews and nieces around to get a bit of experience here and there, but you never really have enough information,” he adds, laughing.
To add to the excitement, John’s twin brother Lenny Pearce is also expecting his third child with wife Daniella – meaning the two will get to watch their children grow up together.
“It’s really exciting, but Lenny does live in rural Victoria, so he is a bit away. I speak to him every day but hopefully he’ll be moving back to Sydney soon so that we can actually grow up and spend a lot of time with each other and the kids can grow up together. That’s the ideal lifestyle.”
“And I said to Len, if you name your son after me, I’ll name my son after you,” he quips.
With baby names and fatherhood prep on the brain, John is also considering ways to create the best world for his little one.
Having partnered up with HelloFresh to help families do better for themselves and their future, John is teaching eco-friendly living and food waste-fighting strategies via a first-of-its-kind food-waste program for kids.
“It’s a fun and engaging way to educate the next generation who will be in charge of literally everything in the coming years,” he says.
The program, called Climate Superstars Camp, was created by HelloFresh in partnership with Kool Beanz Academy to empower families to act sustainably at home.
“There are a lot of fun different things you can do, like arts and crafts with things that you can’t really eat if it’s not going to be good for you. Instead, there are fun ways you can create artwork and that’s what we’re doing at these Climate Superstars Camps with the children.”
To learn more about the program, or how to reduce food waste at home, click here.
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