He’s the host of TVNZ 2’s Celebrity Treasure Island and one of the country’s favourite TV journalists, but for Matt Chisholm, fatherhood is the most important job in the world.
The proud dad to Bede, who is three next month, and one-year-old Finn, admits he doesn’t have a good connection with his own father, which has “massively” shaped how he parents.
“Success for me – all I really want in life – is to have a great relationship with my kids and for my boys to say that ‘My dad was a really good father and he gave us everything he could,'” he shares. “And, most importantly, that was quality time and that’s hard when you’re busy.”
The 42-year-old’s favourite time of the day is when he’s play-fighting with his lads, although he admits they’re getting bigger and it’s beginning to hurt.
“They both love scrapping and that’s probably when I’m at my best, when I’m rolling all over the floor with my boys,” Matt smiles. “It’s such a good time – I love it. But Bede’s at the stage now where he will just run up and dive with his knees, and I don’t see it coming and it hurts! In about two years, he’s going to be tougher than me!”
And while he plans on a bit of rough-and-tumble this Father’s Day, as well as a fry-up breakfast and, if the weather holds, a bike ride with the kids, his real treat will be from his wife Ellen, 35, who works part-time as a PR and communications manager.
“My wife will probably let me have a sleep-in, which is pretty much priceless when you’re a dad of young children,” Matt laughs.
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