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Sam Wood went from appearing The Bachelor, finding love with now-fiancé Snezana Markoski and becoming a dad to two daughters in almost three years. To celebrate the release of Daddy’s Home 2 on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD, the 28 by Sam Wood creator and fitness guru gets candid with WHO about raising his girls and his upcoming wedding!
WHO: So what’s it like being a dad to a four month old?
SAM WOOD: It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t really have any expectations, only because they’re probably not going to last very long when the reality kicks in. I tend to sort of go with the flow and learn on the run. I have the benefit of Snez doing this with Eve and that definitely helps, it’s not unknown territory for us both. That being said it was also a fair while ago and there were really exciting things for us to experience together as well.
Eve [Snezana’s 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship] is an amazing big sister who loves Willow to bits, and she’s also super helpful. It couldn’t be going better.
WHO: So you’re finding a good balance between parenting and work?
SAM WOOD: I guess I’m lucky that my job, as much as it’s a lot of work, it’s quite flexible. And part of my work is sharing my life with my 28ers, and Willow’s pretty damn cute. It’s not a showing off thing, it’s about being relatable. I think when people think you’re real, then they’re going to get a lot more out of it. I do it for them, I don’t do it for me. It hasn’t all been rosy, we’ve still got our challenges like all new parents with lots of sleepless nights and crying and you don’t understand why it’s happening. But the good weighs out those bad things but so much it’s not even funny.
WHO: Is there somebody you look to for parenting advice?
SAM WOOD: I’m lucky that I’ve got lots of friends that have had kids in the past couple of years. They’ve been really great. But I think every child’s different and as long as you love your child unconditionally, you can’t really do it wrong. Some things work for some kids and other things don’t. You’ve got to work out what works for your child, and I think that’s a great way to get to know Willow and her little personality starts to shine through. I think to go by a manual or to have locked-in ideas before you’ve even got to know your child is a bit sterile, I like to do it in a bit more of a natural way.
WHO: Are there any traditions you had with your own father that you want to pass down to your girls?
SAM WOOD: I’ve got really fond memories of my dad when he was relaxed. My dad worked really hard when I was young and I spent way more time with my mum, but I do have really fond memories out on a boat fishing and playing backyard cricket, when he was away from work. So I guess it’s kind of two-fold, it makes you think try not to work too hard, and try, when I’m not at work, try to really not be at work. Give them my complete attention. That’s definitely something that I’m always working on.
WHO: You and Eve seem to have a great bond. Is it more of a friendship or a father/daughter relationship?
SAM WOOD: I think it’s probably both. She’s definitely my daughter, but we’re also friends. I’ve been asked a lot ‘what’s the difference between Willow and Eve?’ and the difference really is that Eve is 12 and Willow is four months. I’ve known Eve now for nearly three years, and we get closer all the time. It’s quite an interesting challenge because she’s an opinionated, curious, beautiful teenager who started high school two weeks ago. It’s a new stage for her life because she’s 12 going on 21, and for Snez and I we’re learning how to parent a teenager and how to parent a four-month-old at the same time. But we just laugh about it and have fun.
WHO: Do you and Snez have different parenting styles?
SAM WOOD: That’s a really good question because one thing that’s interesting with us is that Snez has obviously been a single parent for a long time, and the bond that she has with Eve is so close but Eve has probably been a little bit spoilt being a single child and it’s always a challenge for me to know if I should be a little bit stricter. So we’re in pretty open dialogue, and we’re also very considerate to Eve who has been amazing n a difficult time. She packed up everything, moved to another state and did it all in her stride with a really positive attitude.
WHO: Snez has been sharing Instagram photos lately saying she can’t wait to become Mrs. Wood…
SAM WOOD: We’ve had a few friends weddings lately so I think she’s getting excited, getting ideas. We definitely want to get married this year, we don’t have a date or a location locked in yet so we better hurry.
WHO: Do you think the girls will play a big role in the wedding?
SAM WOOD: Yeah, absolutely. It’s funny how things change when that’s how your world changes. if somebody said to me ten years ago ‘what’s your take on having kids at weddings’ I would have said oh I don’t know, but now it’s like yeah absolutely. I definitely think we’ll have a kid friendly wedding, That doesn’t mean having babies rocking around til midnight, but to make it as parent friendly as possible.
Daddy’s Home 2 will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray from February 28. The comedy follows reformed-fathers Brad and Dusty on their co-parenting journey, now having to deal with their own fathers visiting over the holidays.
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