House Rules’ Jess and Jared talk marriage, babies and staying fit.
LOVED-UP HOUSE RULES’ JESS AND JARED REVEAL THEIR FUTURE PLANS AS THEY POSE FOR A ROMANTIC BEACH SHOOT
They’re the hot, young couple who have been known to lose their cool on reality TV show House Rules. But as they strip down for a beachwear shoot exclusively for New Idea, the happy duo are all smiles and seem perfectly at ease in front of the camera.
Ex-adelaide Crows midfielder Jared, 28, alongside his gorgeous girlfriend Jess, 25, are more loved-up than ever and reveal that babies and wedding bells are just around the corner!
‘We do want to have kids and get married, but it’s obviously not going to happen while we’re on the show,’ the couple admit.
‘It’s not going to happen on TV!’ Jared laughs.
‘I know we joke about it throughout the competition, but I’m happy whenever it happens!’
‘I’m sure I’ll know when Jared is about to propose though, because he doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body. The second anything out of the norm happens, I’ll know,’ Jess adds.
The two are very happy with how well they have gone so far on the show.
‘We’ve been amazing, we can’t believe it. I think a few people were nervous about us going from not living together to being in each other’s pockets 24/7,’ Jared adds.
‘I couldn’t imagine now not being with him all the time,’ Jess gushes.
Future plans aside, Jared admits one of the hardest things on the show is not being able to do his workouts.
‘I usually train and work out six times a week. It’s pretty full on,’ he says. ‘It’s weird not being in that routine. Missing a little bit of footy for this.’
Jared also confesses that appearing on the show has been harder than footy.
‘WE DO WANT TO HAVE KIDS AND GET MARRIED... I’M HAPPY WHENEVER IT HAPPENS’
‘The competition has been taxing in certain ways with my body and it just wears you down more. This wears you down mentally and physically, more so than footy,’ he laments.
‘I’ve lost it a few times, but we work well together and Jess brought me back around.’
Like Jared, primary school teacher Jess also misses her fitness routine and has found the show challenging.
‘Without it, I definitely struggle,’ she admits.
‘I grew up doing hip-hop dancing for about 10 years, so that’s probably what got me into doing fitness as something enjoyable growing up,’ Jess says. ‘Now I do F45 and Pilates. I know it’s a bit of a cult right now, but I love it. For me, fitness makes my head feel better, it makes me feel so much better.’
At times, Jess has found the whole show very emotional and has broken down in tears quite a few times. ‘Paint night is the hardest night,’ Jess explains. ‘It hits two or three in the morning and it just hits you how hard it is. I do cry a lot. This is a very emotional year, I reckon. A lot of us cry. ‘It’s harder than all of us ever thought it was going to be,’ she admits.
‘When you’re struggling with the show, you do wish you were home,’ Jared adds.
‘In the beginning I felt guilty we were getting this opportunity and we were going to get this renovation, but now I don’t feel one bit guilty because we’ve earned this. It’s so hard.’
Jared, whose parents divorced when he was just three, was brought up by his grandparents from the age of five, and they helped foster his love of football – which today he uses to help coach younger players.
‘Because I’m getting older with footy, I’m not the best public speaker or anything like that, but I really do love helping out younger players and that’s something I’ve really relished since dropping down a level,’ he says.
‘They look up to you and it does make you feel good. It’s really exciting seeing those kids go through [to the next level]. When they get picked up I’m like a proud dad,’ he reveals.
After suffering several major football injuries, Jared now works as a program coordinator for indigenous communities.
‘I think I had something like nine or 10 surgeries in 11 seasons – something ridiculous like that,’ Jared says.
‘The last few years didn’t go my way, just with injuries and general form and everything, but prior to that I was loving it. I couldn’t have asked for a better job. It was just my time in the end.’
These days he and Jess enjoy living a healthy lifestyle at home and have ditched fad diets for homemade cooking.
‘We’re not crazy “can’t eat carbs” people at all,’ Jess adds.
‘Our goal after the show is to cook together. We want to cook healthy and eat healthy.’
‘IT JUST HITS YOU HOW HARD IT IS. I DO CRY A LOT. THIS IS A VERY EMOTIONAL YEAR’