THE STORY OF US
THE NOVA STAR AND HIS ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER WIFE ON LOVE, MARRIAGE AND EXPECTANT PARENTHOOD
Fitzy and Wippa’s popular newsreader Matt de Groot is rarely at a loss for words. But the Nova radio star was rendered momentarily speechless when he met his future wife Bronte Coy.
“I’ll never forget when she first walked into the wine bar where we were meeting in Manly. I thought ‘We have a problem here, because I like this girl a lot!’,” Matt recalls with a laugh.
At the time, Bronte, now 31, had been working as a journalist in the Nova newsroom in Melbourne, and 33-year-old Matt was based in Sydney.
“We’d spoken over the phone for about a year and were friends,” says Bronte. “It wasn’t until I moved back to Sydney, where I’m from, that we finally got our act together.”
What were Bronte’s first impressions of Matt?
“That he’s an absolute giant,” she laughs. “He’s aggressively tall – about 6 foot 4 [193cm] – while I’m only 5 foot 2 [157cm]. But we got along really well that night. It was a very easy conversation, as I suspected it would be.”
In March 2019, the couple exchanged vows on a beautiful property in Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales.
“It was actually quite stress-free, which is a real rarity with wedding planning,” says Bronte, adding with a laugh: “Although we were aiming for 80 people and ended up with 140! But there was no-one on that list that we wouldn’t have wanted to have there.”
As for Matt, he will never forget how Bronte looked on the day.
“Just beautiful,” he recalls, smiling: “She looked like an angel with her wedding dress flowing.
“When you are the ones getting married, you just hope people are feeling the warmth, fun and love of weddings you’ve attended of other people you love,” he adds. “Our wedding really was the best day and night.”
Now an entertainment reporter at news.com.au, Bronte reveals that working in the same industry as her husband has never been an issue.
“It’s actually really good,” she says. “So much of what we do crosses over. I’m in the entertainment space and Matt’s on an FM radio show. We do get to collaborate on work stuff and it also means having someone to talk to about work who really gets it.”
And now the couple are preparing for the next chapter in their lives – parenthood.
“In mid-september, we’re having a little boy,” reveals Bronte. “I wouldn’t describe it as the average pregnancy,” she says, admitting, “It’s been kind of stressful going from the bushfires straight into the coronavirus crisis. But our whole family is so excited and we do feel really lucky. And in less than six months, we’ll have our little guy here!”
Certainly, the easygoing couple continue to count their blessings.
“Being married to your best friend is the best thing,” says Matt. “It means that you approach everything together. You are always learning together, and at the end of your first year of marriage you do find yourself so much closer than you ever thought you would be, because you have friendship at the core.”
• Matt de Groot is the breakfast newsreader for Nova 96.9. He also co-hosts the 5-6am early-breakfast show Mon-fri and is part of the Saturday breakfast show ‘Matt, Sarah and Matty J’.