When she graduated from Churchlands Senior High School in 1999, Tracey Jewel didn’t expect that 20 years later she’d still be close to her Perth high school friends – some attended her Married at First Sight wedding – so it was much to her surprise when the flame reignited with her high school boyfriend Nathan Constable.
Speaking to WHO exclusively, the reality TV star, 36, opens up about her new love, building a future with her daughter, 8, and why she refuses to get married ever again.
We hear you have some happy news to share…
I do, this year is looking up! It’s so funny – when I came back from overseas in August, I was in a really bad place. I had enrolled into uni and I was going to Officeworks to get my stuff for uni, and I bumped into Nathan [36] who was my Year 11 boyfriend. The timing was just really bad. We’ve been on Facebook, I guess just keeping tabs on each other’s lives, ever since 2007. We’d give the occasional Happy Birthday and Happy New Year and all that kind of jazz over the years, but this was the first time I’d seen him since high school. He Facebook messaged me in early November – because he knows my birthday is in November – and he said how about that coffee, and I said sure. He ended up taking me to a Wildcats [basketball] game, and that was it!
Did you spend Christmas together?
Yes! My family was here from England and I had my daughter this Christmas and New Year – so he’s met my family and met my brother and met my daughter, and it was a really nice Christmas family stay-cation in Perth. It was just great.
Did you spend Christmas together?
Yes! My family was here from England and I had my daughter this Christmas and New Year – so he’s met my family and met my brother and met my daughter, and it was a really nice Christmas family stay-cation in Perth. It was just great.
How did he go meeting your parents?
What’s so funny is he met my parents back when we were 16, so obviously he hasn’t seen my parents since then – its kind of like meeting them for the first time, but not.
What do your parents think of him?
My parents have been so supportive of me through everything and they just want me to be happy. They’re glad that he doesn’t care about the whole fame stuff and he’s really down to earth, and the fact that he’s known me previously. Yeah, he’s really sweet. He doesn’t have children … but she thinks it’s kind of cool that I’m seeing someone from like 20 years ago. [Laughs] It’s quite an interesting concept.
How did he go meeting your parents?
What’s so funny is he met my parents back when we were 16, so obviously he hasn’t seen my parents since then – its kind of like meeting them for the first time, but not.
What do your parents think of him?
My parents have been so supportive of me through everything and they just want me to be happy. They’re glad that he doesn’t care about the whole fame stuff and he’s really down to earth, and the fact that he’s known me previously.
What did he think of you on MAFS?
He thought I handled myself really well. And he has no idea how the hell I put up with someone like Dean.
Is Nathan scared of the fame?
Yeah, because – and I’m not going to reveal what he does – in his line of work, which deals with people, he’s quite a professional guy and he’s not really into fame. He doesn’t need to be in that whirlwind world of craziness and those people are so horrible and hateful he doesn’t deserve any of that abuse. So I’m trying to limit that – and with my daughter. On social media, I’m more wary of what I do share now.
Is this “love” for real this time?
I go into every relationship with 100 per cent and sometimes just external things ruin the relationship, like it did with Patrick. I’m just really wary of keeping the relationship more protected so it can grow and build, because it’s very hard to build a relationship when you’ve got a lot of external factors at play. But I’ve grown a lot since August – and because we do have a past, and he’s the same sort of character as he was in high school, I really like that. It’s nice to come back to something that’s really grounded and real.
How do you plan on approaching the relationship?
I’m taking it one step at a time. For example, my parents have been so beautiful in gifting me one of their apartments that I’ve now moved into. In August, I moved back in with my parents and now we’ve sold that family home because they’re moving into a retirement village. I had to move out and they had a few properties, so they gifted me one of their apartments. This new relationship is so great but I really want to take it slowly this time and focus on rebuilding a really strong home foundation for my daughter and myself. And Nate understands where I’m at with that, and we’re in no rush to move in together or anything like that. I need this time on my own. I think in past relationships I’ve rushed things, so I’m really happy to be building a home for my daughter and me.
Do you guys want children?
I definitely want more children, a hundred per cent! I’m only 36; I’ve got quite a few years left. He’s really good with my daughter. With Patrick, he already had two kids and didn’t want any more – I decided that going forward I definitely want kids so I need to be with someone where at least that’s an option. That door is open and that’s really important to me.
So you’ve spoken about kids?
I’m in this relationship because I can see it working out and I want it to go somewhere. I’m not just wasting time dating and I needed to know up-front we’re on the same page with things like that – and we are, which is great.
Have you guys spoken about marriage?
No! No, no, no! I said after my two marriages – well, one real one and one not – no, not at this stage!
So you wouldn’t ever walk down the aisle again?
You know what it is? I put so much emphasis on marriage rather than building the right partnership, I always enter relationships to tick off those milestones and that’s why I went on Married at First Sight because marriage was so important to me, but my views have changed. I would much prefer to build a strong foundation in a partnership and have a family over marriage. Marriage, for me, doesn’t make a partnership anymore. So ever since MAFS my value system around that has completely changed.
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