When The Bachelor’s golden couple Matty “J” Johnson and Laura Byrne, both 33, welcomed their first child into the world in June last year, fans were beyond delighted.
WATCH: Matty J takes Marlie-Mae on first bushwalk
And as we watch their relatable parenting journey play out on Instagram, we can’t help but laugh, cringe and coo over their antics, fails and the overwhelming cuteness that is little Marlie-Mae.
Big call, but could Matty J and his dad duties alongside Laura be the best thing to come out of the franchise?
From early on, the former marketing manager made no secret of his desire to start a family, confessing his close relationship with his mother played a part in wanting to be a dad.
“I think for me, the relationship I would want to have, it was almost like I’d want to be the husband that my Mum deserved and never had,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017.
“And the Dad that I always wanted, that’s the Dad that I wanted to be. So I think it probably made my desire much stronger.”
Stepping it up a notch when he became the Bachelor, Matty candidly admitted he was looking for someone who would hopefully one day become the mother of his children – and he was in luck when he ultimately picked Laura!
In December 2018, the loved-up couple announced the news everyone was hoping and wishing for, that they were expecting their first child together.
“I’m so bad at keeping secrets so I’m EXTREMELY excited to let everyone know, we are having a little baby!” Matty gushed in his announcement on Instagram.
“@ladyandacat I love you more than words can describe and I can’t wait to start our family together. WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS!!”
Then, in June the following year, the highly anticipated arrival of their little bundle of joy finally came.
“Still letting the last 24hrs sink in.. they’ve been the most rewarding, loving and emotional I’ve ever experienced,” Matty penned as he shared the first pics of his newborn daughter and her mum Laura.
“You did the most incredible job bringing our little girl Marlie-Mae Rose Johnson into the world. Becoming a Dad was better than I ever could have imagined.”
It was a sentiment he echoed later on his Nova radio show as he spoke about becoming a dad like he had long desired.
“It’s amazing now, just talking about it makes me want to cry, there is nothing more incredible than sitting there on the couch and looking at your child,” Matty said.
“There is nothing more beautiful in the world.”
In media interviews following the birth, Laura praised her partner for his hands-on approach to parenting.
“Matt has done all the nappies. He’s on nappy duty. And he’s been really good too. Our sleep is really broken at the moment because she has to feed at all hours,” Laura said less than a month after giving birth.
“But he will get up in the morning, just after her 7am feed and he will take her into the lounge room so I get three or four hours extra to sleep in the morning. He’s been amazing.”
While Matty and his fiancée Laura seem to currently have their hands full with Marlie-Mae, judging by the constant stream of fun posts involving their child on Instagram, the radio and TV personality has admitted he wants his daughter to have siblings.
“As soon as the wedding is finished, we’re going to have a second baby!” Matty told Now To Love last year.
“I was itching to have a child and a couple of months in with Laura, I was like hey, let’s do it. It was like ‘come on, let’s get this show on the road!'”
And it doesn’t look like he’ll have to twist Laura’s arm – she told the same publication that she was also keen for more kids in the future.
“Honestly, I could stare at [Marlie-Mae] all day, she’s amazing. She’s the sweetest little thing,” Laura admitted.
“For all of the adjustments that need to be made … as soon as I had her, I was like ‘I’ll have another one!’”
