The couple found love on national TV, and now Richie seems to be shoulders up when it comes to Alex Nation’s son Elijah.
The pretty blonde, who took her time to introduce her two favourite boys to each other, decided to share a tender moment between the pair with her fans.
In the sweet shot, her six-year-old proudly sits on the Perth native’s shoulders, with the duo smiling at the camera.
Alex penned, “These two,” with two love heart emojis alongside the photo.
The cute moment follows the single mum hitting back at critics who’ve questioned her parenting.
Posting a photo of her son, the 25-year-old shared a detailed message to her fan base.
“‘Good night Mumma, you’re the best mum ever’. This is what Elijah says to me almost every night before he goes to sleep,” she began.
“Being a parent is tough. Sometimes it’s pure exhaustion and sometimes it’s pure elation. I’m not sure that there is an in-between, I’m personally yet to find it. As mothers/parents, we can often be too hard on ourselves. We put this unrealistic expectation of ourselves to be the ‘perfect parent’. Truthfully, there is no such thing.”
Continuing, she wrote, “We are human, we make mistakes. But mistakes should be embraced because that is how we grow. We learn from our mistakes and keep on keepin’ on. It’s no secret that I have been widely criticised for how I parent my son. People going as far as saying that I’ve neglected him and even further, saying he’s better off without me. “
“It’s interesting isn’t it, how people can feel so entitled to press such an opinion on to others- without even knowing the person personally.”
“What has happened to the act of encouragement and finding happiness in seeing happiness in others? That’s the feel good —-.”
Explaining herself, Alex continued, “I guess my reason for this post is I want to extend my love and encouragement to all the awesome Mums and Dads out there who maybe today might be feeling a little discouraged. You are doing a beautiful job.”
Before concluding, “I’m so self aware and I know I am absolutely not the perfect mum, but I give it my all day in and day out and my son is loved abundantly. So, when Elijah says to me ‘Good night Mumma, you’re the best mum ever’. That’s all the fortitude I need.”
Just like the way she found love, Alex decided to go for the non-traditional route when it came to introducing Richie and Elijah to one-another, with pair FaceTiming back in October.
The 31-year-old rope technician finally got hit face-to-face with Elijah the following month.
“I flew in quite late and woke up to the little guy with this big grin on his face,” Richie admitted in an interview.
“And I wake up to, ‘Richie!’ and I go, ‘Lij, what’s going on buddy?’ He jumped in, gave me a hug, and then we just chilled there for a bit.”
The pair have since met several times in real life and are clearly forming a close bone.