NewIdea
  • Royals
  • Celebrity
  • News
  • Beauty & Style
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Podcasts
  • Win
  • Video
NewIdea
  • Royals
  • Celebrity
  • News
  • Beauty & Style
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Podcasts
  • Win
  • Video
Subscribe
Home and Away opening title
Watch 1:09

Home and Away opening title

{headline}

{headline}

IT'S A GIRL! Laura Byrne and Matty J welcome their second child

IT'S A GIRL! Laura Byrne and Matty J welcome their second child

Matty J’s hilarious modelling throwback stuns fans

Matty J’s hilarious modelling throwback stuns fans

Matty J shares sweet snaps of daughter Marlie-Mae in Bali

Matty J shares sweet snaps of daughter Marlie-Mae in Bali

Laura Byrne slams Georgia Love for ‘abusive tweet’

Laura Byrne slams Georgia Love for ‘abusive tweet’

{headline}

{headline}

Did Matty J confirm he proposed to Laura Byrne?

Bachelor’s Laura shares pic of Matty cradling their baby girl

Bachelor’s Laura shares pic of Matty cradling their baby girl

Did Bachelor couple Laura Byrne and Matty J just reveal their baby's gender?

Did Bachelor couple Laura Byrne and Matty J just reveal their baby's gender?

{headline}

{headline}

Matty J's Bachelor ex Cobie Frost is pregnant!

Why Bachelor's Laura refuses to move in with Matty J

Why Bachelor's Laura refuses to move in with Matty J

The Bachelor's Elise Stacy reveals how she's getting over her heartbreak

The Bachelor's Elise Stacy reveals how she's getting over her heartbreak

Matty J and Laura: We just want to be a normal couple

Matty J and Laura: We just want to be a normal couple

THE BACHELOR AUSTRALIA WINNER REVEALED: Matty J picks Laura!

THE BACHELOR AUSTRALIA WINNER REVEALED: Matty J picks Laura!

The Bachelor finale shock: Matty and Laura's secret pact

The Bachelor finale shock: Matty and Laura's secret pact

Matty J: my first night of naked passion with Bachelor winner

Matty J: my first night of naked passion with Bachelor winner

  1. Home
  2. Celebrity

Matty J is the ultimate Bachie dad – here’s why!

Marlie-Mae is one lucky tot. - by Erin Doyle
  • 31 Mar 2021

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.

Matty J Marlie mae

Matty J with his beloved one-year-old daughter Marlie-Mae.

Instagram

"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!

Matty J Laura

Laura (left) and Matty (right) regularly share snippets of their parenting journey online.

Instagram

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!!"

matthewdavidjohnson View Profile
View Post on Instagram
Got 8hrs solid sleep last night... wish I could say the same for @ladyandacat 😬

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."

Matty J family

"You did the most incredible job bringing our little girl Marlie-Mae Rose Johnson into the world," Matty said of Laura after she gave birth to Marlie-Mae.

Instagram

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."

Matty J daughter

"There is nothing more incredible than sitting there on the couch and looking at your child," Matty J says.

Instagram

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.”

MattyJ daddy

Laura has previously praised Matty's "hands-on approach" to parenting (Matty pictured with a friend).

Instagram

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!'"

Matty j

Matty and Laura have got their hands full with Marlie Mae!

Instagram

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!'”

Matty J

"We're going to have a second baby!" Matty says he and Laura are keen for more kids.

Instagram
  • Celebrity
  • Parenting
  • Celebrity Babies
  • Matty J
  • Laura Byrne

Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!-SAVE 79%

Subscribe to New Idea today

Subscribe Now
Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!

Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!-SAVE 79%

Subscribe to New Idea today

Subscribe Now
Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!

Recommended to you

Home and Away opening title
Watch 1:09

Home and Away opening title

{headline}

{headline}

IT'S A GIRL! Laura Byrne and Matty J welcome their second child

IT'S A GIRL! Laura Byrne and Matty J welcome their second child

Matty J’s hilarious modelling throwback stuns fans

Matty J’s hilarious modelling throwback stuns fans

Matty J shares sweet snaps of daughter Marlie-Mae in Bali

Matty J shares sweet snaps of daughter Marlie-Mae in Bali

Laura Byrne slams Georgia Love for ‘abusive tweet’

Laura Byrne slams Georgia Love for ‘abusive tweet’

{headline}

{headline}

Did Matty J confirm he proposed to Laura Byrne?

Bachelor’s Laura shares pic of Matty cradling their baby girl

Bachelor’s Laura shares pic of Matty cradling their baby girl

Did Bachelor couple Laura Byrne and Matty J just reveal their baby's gender?

Did Bachelor couple Laura Byrne and Matty J just reveal their baby's gender?

{headline}

{headline}

Matty J's Bachelor ex Cobie Frost is pregnant!

Why Bachelor's Laura refuses to move in with Matty J

Why Bachelor's Laura refuses to move in with Matty J

The Bachelor's Elise Stacy reveals how she's getting over her heartbreak

The Bachelor's Elise Stacy reveals how she's getting over her heartbreak

Matty J and Laura: We just want to be a normal couple

Matty J and Laura: We just want to be a normal couple

THE BACHELOR AUSTRALIA WINNER REVEALED: Matty J picks Laura!

THE BACHELOR AUSTRALIA WINNER REVEALED: Matty J picks Laura!

The Bachelor finale shock: Matty and Laura's secret pact

The Bachelor finale shock: Matty and Laura's secret pact

Matty J: my first night of naked passion with Bachelor winner

Matty J: my first night of naked passion with Bachelor winner

NewIdea
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Competitions
NewIdea Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Competitions

Brands

  • Girlfriend
  • New Idea food
  • Practical Parenting
  • That’s Life
  • Who

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • All Recipes
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from New Idea

Magazine Subscription Offer

Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!-SAVE 79%

Shop This Offer
Just $6 for 6 issues delivered!