AFL star Lance “Buddy” Franklin and his wife Jesinta have gone above and beyond to keep their newborn daughter Tullulah out of the spotlight, ever since the couple welcomed their baby girl into the world in February.
But now the proud new Dad has gushed about the precious few months he has spent with his baby during life in lockdown, while also paying tribute to his wife of three years, Jesinta.
“The isolation period for me … obviously having the newborn was perfect,” the normally very private star said during an interview with his AFL club the Sydney Swans, on their website.
“I got to spend time with my daughter, which I wouldn’t have had, because obviously I leave early in the morning and get back late at night.”
He added: “To have that time and build that connection with my daughter was amazing.”
The 33-year-old also paid tribute to his wife Jesinta, 28, and says he has a newfound respect for mothers.
“I appreciate my mother and all women, but the appreciation of seeing exactly what mothers do do, day in day out … my appreciation for them is just through the roof, and especially my wife,” Buddy said.
Buddy and Jesinta rarely feature their daughter on social media and never show her face on-camera.
(Image: Instagram)
Jesinta and her cute baby bump.
(Image: Instagram)Jesinta, a model, influencer and former Miss Universe Australia, has been open about how the couple struggled to fall pregnant.
She and Buddy have also chosen to keep their daughter’s life very private, rarely posting photos of her on social media and never showing her face on-camera.
However, Jesinta recently revealed some adorable new details about what Tullulah looks like, as well as her “beautiful” natural birth.
“She’s got a very thick crop of dark hair that sits naturally in a mohawk, and from the day she was born, I could put a bow in her hair if I wanted to,” she said on The Morning Show earlier this month.
“She looks exactly like me when I was a baby, but now she is getting a little bit older and she is starting to make more expression, I see so much of Buddy in her as well.
“She has her dad’s beautiful skin with his Indigenous background, which I am so grateful for. She has got his beautiful complexion and is a very smiley baby.”
Buddy and Jesinta pictured before they were married, at an official AFL function in 2016.
(Image: Getty)Jesinta said she was lucky she had a very quick and positive birth experience.
“The birth was actually so amazing,” she explained.
“I was really lucky that I had a very quick 50-minute natural birth. The birth was such a beautiful moment for us.”
She added: “We had a tough time falling pregnant, and when we met her for the first time and she was put on our chest, I just kept saying to her, ‘We’ve waited so long to meet you and we love you so much.’
“That was such a beautiful moment for us, and obviously being a parent is something we both dreamt of for a long time.
WATCH BELOW: Jesinta Franklin talks about Buddy Franklin’s mental health battle. Story continues after video.
Jesinta also gave fans some insight into what Buddy is like as a father.
“He’s extremely affectionate, and he’s very kind and caring, and I think Tullulah has brought that out in him even more,” she said.
“I think it’s really put a lot of things in perspective for both of us as well. We are quite career-driven individually and we place a lot of importance on our jobs, and that hasn’t changed since having Tullulah.
“We still want to do the best we can and be as professional as possible – but when you have a bad day or something goes wrong, you just look at her and she smiles at you, and everything fades away to the background.
“She is our number one priority now, and we live for those moments where even in isolation, it was so nice to have all that time with Buddy and all of us as a family of three.”
