Jake Whittaker always wanted to be a dad and a musician, but until recently he wasn’t sure if either of those dreams would come true.
“I was very worried and stressed that [becoming a father] was never going to happen for me,” Queenslander Jake, 29, tells TV WEEK. “We tried naturally for years, and it felt like forever. It was a really trying period for us, it was tough.”
This week on Australian Idol, fan favourite contestant and used car salesman Jake dedicates his solo challenge to his high school sweetheart-turned fiancé, Nicole, as he fights for his spot in the Top 21.
The pair have been together for 13 years and met when she “gate crashed” a party of his, and after years of travelling the world together, he decided he wanted to pop the question.
“It was New Year’s Eve and as the clock ticked over, I asked her to marry me,” the country musician recalls. “From the moment I met her I was like, ‘This chick, she’s the one, she’s amazing.’”
Despite the pair initially having struggles conceiving, they now have a nine-month-old son, Eddie, who they fell pregnant with after their first round of IVF.
“We’ve got our beautiful little boy – he’s happy, he’s healthy,” he says.
Next on his bucket list Jake hopes to win Australian Idol, so he can fulfil his lifelong dream of making music a career so he can give up his nine-to-five job.
“Nikki and I both have gypsy hearts,” Jake says. “To be able to travel and tour with music and my son would be awesome.”
Australian Idol airs Monday and Tuesday, 7.30pm and Sunday, 7pm on Channel Seven
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