In a busy, loving household, Married at First Sight success story Jules Robinson and Cam Merchant pause their day of home renovations and parenting a toddler and a newborn to chat to WHO about their new life as a family of four.
“I am very proud of myself. I have done my first ever auto reply on my email,” Robinson says. She’s embracing some rare downtime after giving birth to Carter James on July 23. There’s not much scope for time out, though, as mothering a newborn and running after a toddler is a full-time job, even before trying to stay on top of renovations and new projects.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of maternity leave [in my last pregnancy]. And this time around, I really have just been so consumed in [Carter] and I have stepped back from everything,” she says.
Joining her for WHO’s chat just two weeks after welcoming their new arrival is proud husband Merchant, who gives his own honest take on their new family dynamic. “Anytime I witness Jules rest, I tear up, I get quite emotional. I’m very proud. It’s not an easy thing for Jules to do, but when she does it, she knows just how much it does help.”
Robinson continues, “I didn’t do anything wrong last time. I just decided to do things a little different. Hopefully not, but maybe it’s our last baby, so I just really want to consume and have these moments and just really cherish them.”
The couple welcomed their first child, Ollie, 3, in September 2020. Dressed up as a dinosaur, he’s settling in to his role as a big brother, which has been something of a transition when being the only child is all he’s known.
“Adjusting is the word,” Robinson says when asked how Ollie is finding older sibling duties. “He has had moments [that would] bring you to tears. Just absolutely beautiful. He’s obsessed. He wakes up and the first thing he says is, ‘Where’s baby Carter?’ And he loves him. But he’s had his moments of jealousy.
“I spoke to an expert and all [Ollie’s] saying is, ‘Is there enough love for me?’ You just nurture that and try to involve him with everything, but it’s no easy feat. Overall he’s doing amazing – he loves to help out.”
Beginning to choke up with emotion, Robinson continues, “For me, one of the most beautiful experiences has been watching Ollie become an older brother. It’s making me emotional now.”
The Figur by Jules founder says people have told her that brothers so close in age become best friends – a thought that strikes a chord with Merchant, who had no siblings growing up.
“There’s so much gratitude because I was an only child. What we’re doing now, for me personally, is breaking new barriers,” he says excitedly. “I remember seeing some friends years ago when I played cricket – they were brothers and I just [thought] that would be such a special relationship.”
Merchant’s role as doting husband and father has been amped up with the arrival of Carter.
“With Ollie, it was just Ollie, and we were all hands on deck. Now, we’re trying to figure out divide and conquer,” he says.
While the family are enamoured by their bundle of joy, his delivery and what followed weren’t an easy road.
Getting vulnerable, Robinson shares, “After eight hours of birthing and really giving it my all with hypnobirth, my water hadn’t completely broken and they had to give me assistance with that. [Carter] was born four hours later. So 13 hours of the most intense thing – naturally birthing a child through hypno and music. Obviously Cam was amazing. It really is amazing, what we do as women with our bodies.”
The less-than-simple birth is still having an impact two weeks on.
“I still feel quite debilitated from that experience. I’m still quite sore. Sometimes in the evening it’s difficult to walk. It’s just a lot of pressure.”
Following the birth, Robinson received a surprising and worrying diagnosis.
“I went back to hospital for a couple of days and I got diagnosed with pre-eclampsia,” she explains, speaking of the high blood pressure condition that can occur during pregnancy.
“[It] is very rare postpartum. It’s usually something that happens during [pregnancy]. So that’s been a little bit scary and something that we’re just navigating our way through.
“When I was in hospital, my blood pressure kept on rising,” she adds. “In extreme cases you could seizure or have a stroke, if your blood pressure gets too high. So, it’s just something that I’ve never had in my life and that we’re trying to look after. Hopefully it will go away when all the pregnancy hormones leave my body in six weeks.”
After powering through so much, Robinson has found strength in her postpartum body. Her beautiful post-baby photoshoot was an important moment for the reality TV star.
“[I wanted to] really glorify what my body had just gone through. I mean, yeah, you have to dig deep. I’ve spent some time in the mirror in the last week and been like, ‘My body has changed yet again.’ But you just have to be grateful for what it’s given you and be really accepting of where it is. It was really beautiful to redo those photos again with little Carter in them.”
While motherhood and rest are Robinson’s top priorities right now, it’s not a big surprise to learn the star also has something new in the works. An upcoming project will see the popular couple on screens once again. Not able to give away too much, Robinson shares some insight on the exciting makeover-style show titled Renovate Me Please.
“Cam’s working on the inner game and I’m working on the outer – the confidence, the fashion – and he’s doing the mental health aspect. The winners from The Block last year are doing the external environment around them. It’s not a big The Block makeover, [it’s something] the viewer can take value from and be like, ‘Oh, I could do that myself and put that into my daily life and make myself feel better.’
“We’re excited about it. It’s come together really well and everyone’s super happy with the outcome.”
Want to see more from Jules and her beautiful family? Check her out on Instagram @julesrobinson82 and @babycubsandladylumps.
