12 celebrity dads share what fatherhood means to them… and I’m not crying, you are

Hamish Blake – 2023 Father of the Year

When it comes to fatherhood, 41yo Hamish Blake, who has two children, 9yo Sonny and 5yo Rudy with wife Zoe Foster Blake, says it’s all about creating magic moments and living in the moment.

When he was announced at 2023 Father of the Year, he said he is an advocate for other dads.

“It’s very humbling,” he told 9Entertainement. “I did talk to my son about it and he went, ‘How did they know?’. That’s a good point to be honest, I really can only be two people’s Father of the Year which I’m very happy with.”

Prior to this, Ham is always showing us how much he loves being a dad:

“I’m a bit obsessed with the belief of going ‘if i was 80, what would I give to be back in this moment? Basically, even if you’re a bit sick, or a bit tired, think about how much you’d give to go back to this very moment and live it again,” he explains.

“My kids are babies – and I just know I’d give everything. I’d give all the money in the world, to be back right here in this moment, because we will never get this chance to live this moment again. It makes every moment with my kids super valuable.”

Chris Hemsworth

Thor star Chris Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky, have three children – a daughter, India Rose, 11, and nine-year-old twin sons, Tristan and Sasha.

The 40-year-old, who lives in Byron Bay with his family, says becoming a dad has made him focus on his kids, rather than on himself.

“I think it makes you less selfish, because it’s no longer about you. It can’t be. It’s about someone else, which is refreshing,” he says.

“It’s nice to not spend all your time thinking about your own problems and garbage up there, and I just have so much fun doing it. It’s the best.

“And now I’m a bit more choosy, I think, with when I work and how I work because it better be worthwhile to take me away from them.”

Miguel Maestre

Popular adopted Aussie chef and TV personality, Miguel Maestre aka The Crazy Bull has shared a sweet snap with his two kids – Claudia (13) and Morgan (9) – at an open class room.

The 43yo proud papa who married Sascha Newport in 2010, wrote:

“I’m the richest man in the world I’m invincible
I am bulletproof
The coolest thing I’ve ever been called in my life is PAPA … And this two morgy and Claudia my secret weapons

Spending a little time in school with them this morning so amazing …
Feeling grateful, love to all the papas love to everyone that can’t spend time with their papas or their papas are not with us anymore ❤️

The look of happiness”

The 43yo married Sascha Newport in 2010.

Sam Wood

The Bachelor‘s Sam Wood is now a father of four daughters.

The fitness trainer became a step-dad to 17o Eve when he married Snezana Wood.

The happy Bachie couple have also welcomed, 5yo Willow and 4yo Charlie Lane and 1yo Harper.

“You literally don’t realise you can love something that much and it’s just beautiful,” says Sam, 43.

“I think the whole thing about fatherhood is the surprises don’t stop, you know?

“The birth is such an incredible experience and then the challenges when they are a little baby, like you can’t do as much as you thought you could as a dad early on, because they are so dependent on mum.

“But then as soon as their little personality starts to develop, you don’t want to miss a second.”

Matty J

Matty J and his wife, Laura Byrne are parents to 4yo Marlie-Mae and 2yo Lola.

Matty J recently spoke about fatherhood on the But Are You Happy podcast, saying his family and their happiness bring him the most joy.

“It’s been great to feel happy when I kick goals in my career, but I think the biggest change since becoming a dad is how I’m able to achieve that happiness through my kids,” he says.

“It’s funny; if I see my kids and they’re smiling and we’re at the park, like, obviously I’m not happy at the park – I don’t love it that much! But if I’m there because it makes my girls happy, then that gives me this big residual happiness that I absolutely love.”

Ryan Reynolds

Deadpool star, Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively are the proud parents of three daughters: 8yo James, 6yo Inez and 3yo Betty. The couple welcomed their fourth child in February, 2023.

Ryan says fatherhood is about being present with his girls.

“It’s made me super present in a way I wasn’t before. I try to hold on to each moment with them,” explains Ryan, 46.

“It’s drawn me to the present moment as opposed to the future and past. You see how fast it goes. I really want to enjoy as many moments with them as humanly possible. I want to be around them as much as possible and do as many things with them as possible.”

Prince Harry

Prince Harry, 38 and Meghan Markle, 42 are parents to 4yo Archie and 2yo Lillibet.

In 2020, amidst the COVID pandemic, Harry opened up about home life during a WellChild charity call.

“[One positive is] being able to have family time. So much family time that you almost think, ‘Do I feel guilty for having so much family time?’ You’ve got to celebrate those moments where you are just on the floor rolling around in hysterics,” he said.

“Inevitably, half an hour later, maybe a day later, there’s going to be something that you have to deal with and there’s no way you can run away from it.”

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness have two children, Oscar, 22 and Ava, 18.

The couple chose to adopt their kids, The X-Men star has previously said: “I don’t think of them as adopted – they’re our children.”

While promoting The Son, a powerful drama about fatherhood, Hugh said to talk show host Graham Norton the project had a profound impact on his parenting, as he found himself playing a father whose son appears to be going through a mental health crisis, saying about the role, “It changed me as a parent.

“One beautiful line in the script is ‘Love isn’t always enough,’ which is one of the most difficult things for a parent to hear.

“I realised it is okay to say to my own children, ‘I don’t know’ and to be open and vulnerable. I used to think they wanted surety and strength from me, but I now share with them things I wouldn’t have before.

“Hopefully I’m not boring dad doing it and that they appreciate it.”

Prince William

Prince William and Duchess Catherine have three children, 10yo Prince George, 8yo Princess Charlotte and 5yo Prince Louis.

Prince William says becoming a dad has made him more emotional.

“I never used to get too wound up or worried about things,” he said in an interview for a British TV documentary on his family.

“But now, the smallest little things, you well up a little more, you get affected by the sort of things that happen around the world…a lot more, I think, as a father.”

“Just because you realise how precious life is and it puts it all in perspective. The idea of not being around to see your children grow up [is horrible],” added William, who lost his own mother, Princess Diana, in a car accident when he was only 15 years old.

David Beckham

David Beckham has four children – Brooklyn, 24, Romeo, 20, Cruz, 18 and 12-year-old daughter, Harper – with his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

The 48yo English footballer says there’s nothing more important than spending quality time with your children.

“I didn’t want to miss a second, but of course there were times that I couldn’t be there. I feared they would do something for the first time and I wouldn’t be there to see it. … I knew that spending as much quality time with my kids as I could, especially when they were young, was the most important thing in the world.”

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in the Barbie movie, and Eva Mendes are parents to 8yo Esmeralda Amada and 6yo Amada Lee.

After playing a pretend family with Eva in the 2012 film The Place Beyond The Pines, Ryan realised he was ready to start a family of his own.

“I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her,” The Notebook star told GQ in 2023, adding, “and there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore.”

Ryan says his kids have made him the very best dad he can be.

“When you meet your kids you realise that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders and you have to try and become the person that they deserve.”

Jimmy Fallon

Talk show host Jimmy Fallon, 48 and his film producer wife, Nancy Juvonen, have two daughters.

And Jimmy is the first to admit his girls, 10yo Winnie and 8yo Frances have him wrapped around their little fingers.

“Mums should know that even the manliest guys will become softies when they have daughters,” he told Parents.

“Dads immediately fall in love with their little girls, and will let them get away with everything. So mums are going to have to be the disciplinarians when it comes to daughters.”