Robert Trathen
When Dan Webby told people he was jetting to Australia for Taylor Swift just three weeks before his wife Hanna was due to give birth, the radio host faced a few raised eyebrows. But there is no Bad Blood with Hanna, who’s an even bigger Swiftie – she knows you can’t pass up a Taylor gig, even if it means potentially missing your first-born’s arrival!
Chatting to Woman’s Day before leaving for his concert adventure, Dan, who hosts The Edge Breakfast show with Clint Randell and Meg Mansell, insisted, “Everything will be fine,” knocking on wood while assuring Hanna there won’t be a Blank Space in his place when their baby boy enters the world.
And if there is? “We’ll have to name him Taylor,” laughs Dan, 36. “And it’ll make an amazing follow-up story!”
Between seeing Taylor and becoming a dad, 2024’s shaping up to be another huge year for Dan, who just marked 12 months doing his dream job following years behind the scenes as a producer. Now those 4am wake-up skills will come in handy with a newborn.
Dan and Hanna met on a dating app in 2017, then wed in 2021. While they’d been trying to get pregnant, Dan was in disbelief when Hanna, 35, handed him a positive test.
“It didn’t feel real, especially as a guy because the female’s the one who’s pregnant, but for me, it was still nine months away,” explains Dan. “I was so stoked, but it won’t fully sink in until I’m driving home from hospital going, ‘It’s real. You have to look after this little human now.’”
It was a puzzling moment at work that made Hanna take a pregnancy test. “Someone sat down next to me with buttered toast and the smell made me sick,” recalls Hanna, who works in healthcare. “I thought, ‘This isn’t normal!’”
Hanna’s since found pregnancy smooth sailing, apart from overheating, especially while travelling through Europe, where Hanna’s Portuguese father took the family through his homeland. The pair also visited London, where Dan, a theatre and musical performer, was “blown away” watching Frozen The Musical.
Soon, he’ll be watching such Disney favourites with his son, along with reading him books and playing peekaboo.
“Dan’s going to be such a good dad,” Hanna smiles. “I’ve seen how he interacts with friends’ and family’s kids, and he’s so great.”
Dan adds, “I’m a big kid. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to play with toys and build Lego!”
Having started that Lego collection, Dan’s excited to finally be able to call himself a dad and feels pretty comfortable about parental duties. “Once you’ve changed one nappy, you’ve changed them all, right?” he chuckles.
Having revealed the baby’s gender to their parents by waving blue socks during a video call, Dan’s mum has been knitting up a storm. The pair have also been inundated with hand-me-downs.
“I can’t wait to see him wear stuff my family or friends’ kids have worn,” says Hanna.
As for how their cat Kimi’s handling the news, he was unimpressed when Dan and Hanna cruised him around in the baby’s pram to test it out. But they hope the feline will Shake It Off when it comes to no longer being the centre of attention.
“He’s been the only child for a while,” says Dan. “Hopefully, he’ll learn his place. He’ll still be loved!”
Meanwhile, Dan’s love for Hanna has grown since she became pregnant, however, he’s nervous about how parenthood might impact their marriage.
“Hanna comes from a medical background, so she does things by the book, whereas I’m more chill, so hopefully we can meet in the middle,” he says. “I’m sure it’ll be testing when we’re both tired and get bickery, but I’ll try to be as chill as I can. Hanna will be an amazing mum and whip me into place when I’m doing things wrong!”
One area Dan should excel in is instilling great musical taste in his son. With a massive record collection, he’s already started playing and singing bubba everything from Taylor to Sir Rod Stewart.
“He kicks a little, but I don’t know if that’s telling me to shut up!” Dan says. “I want him to be knowledgeable in music.”
Right now, it’s all about Superstar Taylor. Having heard she was announcing Australian concerts, Hanna swiftly booked flights before buying tickets – only to find out she was pregnant the next day. While the news meant skipping the Eras Tour, she was happy for Dan to attend.
“Hanna’s been so supportive,” says Dan. “Some wives would say, ‘Don’t go’, and fair enough.”
“It’s Taylor Swift,” responds Hanna. “You have to go!”
Time away from loved ones is part of the job, but Dan has looked to Clint and Meg while adjusting to on-air commitments. The pair have shown him that it’s OK that “family comes first”.
“Work’s important and sometimes we need to work outside normal hours, but mostly I get up at 4am and am home by midday, so I’ll be able to relieve Hanna in the afternoons,” he says. “Sure, there’s times we’re locked up in a safe house for a week, which we’ll be navigating later this year, but it’s a small price to pay because I love my job, and pinch myself daily that we get to laugh our heads off and get paid for it.”
And while those jokes often originate from the trio’s personal lives, Dan says Hanna’s been a trooper with adjusting to being discussed on-air.
“We’ve found a happy medium because I’m supportive of his career and so proud of him,” she says.
With his career at a high, Dan’s now counting down to holding his little boy.
“I can’t wait to meet him, see him grow and watch his personality develop. Hopefully, he takes more of Hanna’s traits. She’s got an incredible moral compass, always thinking about other people before herself. I hope he gets that – and her looks, not mine!”
