Braith Anastaโs life is a far cry from his days as a young lad playing NRL for the Roosters in Sydney.
Gone are the days of footy, footy, footy. Theyโve now been replaced with nappies, kidsโ parties and dance lessons, as the 37-year-old is busy running around after his gorgeous daughters.
The TV presenter is in a pretty fabulous place right now.
Heโs in a relationship with the gorgeous Rachael Lee, and the couple have an 18-month-old daughter Gigi, plus Braith is father to Aleeia, five, from his previous relationship with Neighbours star Jodi Gordon. And heโs also a stepfather to Rachaelโs son Addison, right, from a previous relationship.
But Braithโs life hasnโt always been a picture of parental or familial bliss.
When the former Roosterโs captain was just fifteen years old, his father Peter took his own life, leaving behind two teenagers and Braithโs mum, Kim.
Even though he experienced such a horrible tragedy, Braith looks at that period in his life as one that has shaped him to be the man he is today, especially when it comes to parenting.
During an exclusive interview with Now to Love, Braith opened up about what losing his father has taught him about fatherhood and how it has made him the father he is today.
READ NEXT: โPerfection!โ Braith Anasta and Rachael Lee welcome first baby togetherlink text
โMy dad committed suicide when I was 15, so for me it was a real eye-opener but it taught me a lot, thereโs no doubt about that,โ he said.
โObviously Iโve been brought up by my mother. Seeing how strong she is and how amazing she was during a difficult period .. she gave us every opportunity to be the people we are today.
โFor me, as much as it is a tragedy, it has taught me to be pretty stoic, disciplined and cherish the moment,โ he added, โand to make sure you look after your kids and donโt abandon them.โ
Braith says that encounter with death and mental illness โ suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young Australian men โ means he is โmore aware of itโ and wants to make sure that he never put his kids โin that situationโ.
โYou know, make sure I give them all the love and support that I can forever,โ he said.
โI think sometimes in tragedy you can learn a lot and it makes you a different person. For me, itโs something that I can reflect on and itโs made me a better Dad.โ
Home life for the Anasta clan is hectic, but also very rewarding for Braith who says he is a super โhands-onโ father.
โMy mum always used to say to me that I was going to have daughters and it would soften me up, and it really has,โ he said.
โIโve always been a bit of a mummyโs boy, so itโs not like I was a real โmanโs manโ, but to be honest, they melt your heart. Theyโre both daddyโs girls and I enjoy every bit of it.โ
But having girls does come with its fair share of challenges and Braith admits heโs not looking forward to his daughters becoming teenagers.
โIโll try not to think about it until we get there. Thatโs one thing I am worried about, but itโs a long way away for me.โ
So are Rachael and Braith looking to expand their brood?
โWeโre a bit unsure,โ he said. โWeโve got three at the moment with Addison, Aleeia and Gigi and we kind of just want to see how weโre feeling. I reckon when Gigi gets around the two mark we might start thinking about it โ because if weโre going to have another, we want to make it pretty soon,โ he said.
โI think weโd love to, but itโs already a busy household as it is. We think we could handle it, but weโre not sure. Weโre so torn about it, like we both want another one but whether it is practical is the only dilemma weโve got.โ
At the moment, practicality is at the forefront of Braithโs mind, especially when it comes to co-parenting Aleeia with his ex-wife, Jodi.
โSheโs in Melbourne for majority of the week so she comes back and itโs been like that for a long time, itโs pretty stock standard. We have Aleeia Monday to Friday and she goes to school and Jodi comes back and has her on the weekend. Weโve got that balance. Itโs pretty standard, we just make sure that Aleeiaโs got routine and has as good an upbringing as we possibly can,โ he told Now To Love.
โWeโve got a good relationship and everything is really fine there. Weโve got a really good balance and everythingโs fine.โ
Braith says his Rachaelโs โtop priorityโ is looking after their kids especially and avoids the frequent chatter in the media about his ex-wife.
โIโve kind of separated myself from outside influences and weโre very private, Rachel and myself,โ Braith said.
โWe like it that way. To be honest with you, Jodiโs life is her life and her personal life is her business and we try and stay away from that and we just make sure everyone is looked after.
โOur priority is the kids and making sure theyโre fine and that their life is as normal as possible and that theyโre happy. Thatโs pretty much it for us.โ
Currently, Braith is an ambassador for the Misterhood for the Sisterhood campaign with Priceline.
And of course, his family of strong women is the reason why he wanted to be involved.
โAny campaign that is encouraging and helping women in any way for me is just a no-brainer,โ Braith said.
โSo for me, as soon as I got the opportunity to represent the โsisterhoodโ and support women, and being so passionate about the women in my life. I just thought it was fantastic.
โItโs a great initiative and campaign to be a apart of.โ
The campaign supports five charities dedicated to helping women and their families affected by serious illness and the proceeds raised go directly to these organisations. So far the initiative has raised $4.5 million.
Do donate, visit priceline.com.au/sisterhood