No incense can stop a tantrum
Magdalena Roze shares the not-always-idyllic truth about life with two small kids, which includes a messy car, wrinkled clothes and lots of cheese on toast
Magdalena Roze gets real about family life with kids.
If the purpose of a sea change is to slow down, Magdalena Roze missed the memo. In the nearly ve years since the television presenter and meteorologist relocated to Byron Bay, shes written her rst cookbook, launched food podcast The Pass, started a lifestyle blog, kept up ambassadorships with a host of environmental charities and even found time to have a second child with partner Darren Robertson, the celebrity chef behind Byrons it venue (and Hemsworth hangout) The Farm. Here, the 37-year-old tells Stellar about family life by the sea, which she swears is not quite as perfect as it looks on her Instagram feed.
Your rst job in the media was as a television weather presenter. Weather talk is commonly reserved for really awkward social situations, but as a qualied meteorologist, do you
love a good chat about incoming cold fronts?
Absolutely. Ill talk cumulonimbus over the Kardashians any day and I actually love that most people are pretty into it. If Im in a queue and overhear someone say, So, apparently its going to rain during the footy… Im that nerd that will chime in with, Where is it? A-ha! Nothing to worry about. You see, isolated showers is actually a meteorological term referring to…
You left behind 18-hour work days in Sydney and moved to Byron Bay a few years ago. What do you still miss about city life and what is it that you absolutely dont? I really miss my close friends, the culture, bars and restaurants, dressing up and a good dry cleaner. But Im so glad to be out of the trafc and the hectic pace of life. And driving to the airport without any trafc lights is a godsend.
Family life with your sons Archie, three, and Charlie, 10 months, looks impossibly idyllic at least on social media. Surely the whole parenting thing still goes pear-shaped for you from time to time? Ha! All the time. No amount of incense or beachlife hashtags can stop a toddler tantrum or poo-nami.
Back in 2016, you said one of your goals for the year was to manage to leave your house without vomit on your T-shirt. Did you ever happen to reach it? Sadly, no. Maybe once. The stains are just part of the look now.
Given a chef and a food writer live there, dinner standards must be quite high in your house. Does wine and whatever-on-toast ever make it onto the specials board?
Yes, and unapologetically so. Its my regular go-to when Darren is away. I often tell my friends that if you-know-what is hitting the fan, surrender and just make cheese on toast. Theres something so comforting about the simplicity of it.
Just last month, you served as MC
for the Mercedes-Benz Australian Grand Prix Ladies Day luncheon in Melbourne. Mercedes or not, has your car turned into a baby-bag on wheels since you became a mum? I live with three boys so, yes, my car is a Mary Poppins handbag with a never-ending supply of random paraphernalia from whisks why? how? to wetsuits. But on the bright side, if there was a cyclone or other signicant weather event, we could probably survive on whats in there for a good few weeks.
IN FULL BLOOM (from top) Magdalena Roze with her sons, Charlie, now 10 months, and Archie, three, in November last year; in her MC role for the Mercedes-Benz Australian Grand Prix Ladies Day luncheon in Melbourne last month.
