He’s always been in pretty good shape, but after his recent turn as a wildcard on Dancing With The Stars: All Stars, you could never accuse father-of-two Matthew “Matty J” Johnson of having a “dad bod!”
“This is the leanest I’ve ever been,” the former Bachelor star, 33, tells Woman’s Day.
“I’ve lost around 3kg. It’s almost too skinny now – Laura is like, ‘OK, it’s time to put some weight on now!’
“I just didn’t want her to be embarrassed for me so I really threw myself into training. I’ve never trained for something so hard in my life!”
Impressing his fiancee Laura Byrne is one of his top priorities, particularly after she was the one doing all the heavy lifting with their two daughters, Marlie-Mae, 21 months, and two-month-old Lola Ellis while he was away rehearsing six days a week.
“Laura has been absolutely amazing at allowing me to take on more training, she’s been a superstar,” he gushes.
“I honestly didn’t know how hard juggling it all was going to be. I thought dancing was like walking, but faster and with music – it wasn’t until the first rehearsal that I thought, ‘OK, I’m in trouble.'”
“I’m the most exhausted I’ve ever been. I would not recommend having a newborn child and doing this show… it’s a combination that doesn’t mix so well!”
The juggling act is even evident during this interview, with Matty having to pop us on hold while he puts Lola down for a nap, proving palming off parent duties isn’t in his DNA.
“I’ve got a lot of hours of making up to do. I’m going to literally dedicate every second I have spare to Laura and the kids,” he says.
It’s been a hard struggle, but the payoff has been worth it.
“Laura’s so proud of me. She was the first person I embraced after every performance and she was always in tears, she was so proud,” he says.