Married at First Sight’s Nic Jovanovic is ripped now, but back in the day he struggled with body image.
So much so he used to head home and cry to his mother after kids picked on him at school.
“They used to say I was chubby, used to say I was fat,” Nic tells NW magazine.
“I was coming home and crying to Mum, telling her. But I probably put on a pretty brave face at school when it was all happening.”
Nic was diagnosed with testicular at age 24 and underwent chemotherapy and surgery to beat it. (Source: Instagram)
Nick says he struggled to “grow out of that chubby stage”, but at around 14 the “baby fat just sort of came off.”
“I think it was literally just too much wog food,” he laughs.
These days Nic works out five to six times a week, however he’s never truly shaken the taunts that haunted him as a child.
“Some days I feel great, some days not as much. I get a bit self-conscious with my scar. I don’t like taking my shirt off too often,” he says, referencing the surgery he had three years ago following chemotherapy treatment for testicular cancer.
Nic, 28, says he still faces “uncomfortable situations” with others, except now it revolves around telling women about the surgery that meant he had to freeze his sperm in order to have children one day.
“I’ve had a few really, like, weird and a bit rude and uncomfortable situations – you could see they were a bit like cringey and a bit weird. They make you feel a bit dirty. You don’t want those people in your life anyway, if they’re like that.”
Nic and his new bride Cyrell.
Being diagnosed with cancer at 24 has had a real impact on Nic’s life. “Don’t ever take anything for granted; if something doesn’t feel right, It’s for a reason!” Nic has said of overcoming the disease.
Reminding his friends and family not to be afraid to get a check-up, he said “my check up had nothing to do with my cancer and it was lucky I was in the right place at the right time.”
“I am blessed and thank God every day for all the good in my life. I cherish everything and everyone in my life. I’m healthy, happy and always smiling!”
So what is Nic looking for in a lady?
“Someone who will have my back, who makes me laugh, who makes me smile and who will love me unconditionally. I will always do right by my partner and want someone who will do right by me,” he says.
Hopefully he has found that in new bride Cyrell.
