What Sam Mac ‘didn’t factor in’ about parenthood
Weekday Sunrise host Sam Mac thought he was prepared for fatherhood, that is until it actually happened. In his first photo-shoot with his partner and newborn baby, Sam reveals what shocked him most.
Stellar
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Regardless where in Australia he may be each morning when he presents the weather on Sunrise, Sam Mac greets the day with a few jokes, a lot of laughs, and a multitude of good cheer. But Mac and his partner, stylist Rebecca James, admit they save their deepest emotions for their 12-week-old daughter, Margot Grace. In a heartfelt and exclusive interview and photo shoot with Stellar, the couple reveals how their whirlwind romance and a difficult birth led to a profound parenting experience
For several weeks leading up to his daughter’s birth, Sam Mac had been absolutely certain he would have no problems or issues with the interrupted sleep that other parents had warned him about.
After all, the Sunrise weatherman was used to getting up at 3.47am, travelling the length and breadth of the country in a single week, and snatching 20-minute naps on the shortest of flights.
“What I didn’t factor in – and didn’t even know – was that babies sleep in little blocks,” he confides to Stellar, somewhat embarrassed.
“I presumed they would sleep for, like, seven or eight hours, then wake up and have their food – not that they’d want to be fed every two hours.”
That’s not the only surprise Mac (full name: Sam McMillan) and his partner, creative consultant Rebecca James, have had to contend with since the arrival of little Margot 12 weeks ago.
When James accompanied Mac on a recent work trip down Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, both were shocked when what should have been a two-hour journey turned into five.
With Margot’s nappy changes, crying episodes and feeding, their plans for a leisurely lunch turned into takeaway burgers in the car.
“I used to go away for three nights with one little carry bag,” Mac adds.
“But now it’s a full operation. Travelling with Margot requires you to travel with more stuff than the TV crew – and that includes a satellite, the lighting and cameras.”
But Mac and James are nothing if not adaptable. Having been introduced on Instagram in 2020 by their mutual friend, health coach and model Brooke Meredith, the Sydney-based broadcaster and then Melbourne-based stylist spent six months during lockdowns getting to know each other over Zoom, speaking almost daily before Mac was able to hop on a plane to Melbourne for a real-life rendezvous.
If the prolonged lead-up to their first date intensified their nerves, it also laid the groundwork for the relationship to progress rapidly; James decided to move to Sydney in September 2021 and fell pregnant months later.
Sunrise viewers (and Mac’s 159,000 Instagram followers) became invested in their love story, so when James’ due date came and went, fans – who had laughed at Mac’s questionable nappy-changing skills when he practiced on a borrowed baby live on air – were anxious for an update.
As the couple cuddle their daughter while speaking to Stellar via Zoom, Margot’s angelic smile betrays no sign of all she put them through.
James reveals that she went into hospital early on the evening of Friday, September 9, fully expecting they would have a baby sometime the next day.
“It was a long, slow process of waiting for everything to expand and my waters to break,” she tells Stellar.
Doctors finally induced labour at 6.30pm on Saturday night and, as the pain quickly intensified, James had one epidural that failed, then another that stopped working after just 90 minutes.
With medics in short supply on the weekend, all she could do was push through the pain.
“Sam was amazing,” the 34-year-old says.
“He became my focal point through each contraction. My body was convulsing, but Sam didn’t leave my side.
“I was watching his eyes and hearing his voice and I was fading in and out, so just feeling his hand helped me get through that period of pain until she was delivered.”
He morphed into full protection mode, and I don’t think I could’ve gone through that without him.”
Mac, 41, admits he was deeply distressed at seeing his partner in considerable agony but adds that he couldn’t show it.
“I knew it would be painful, but I hadn’t computed how long that pain would be,” he says.
“It’s all on the mum giving birth who has to make this thing happen and it’s traumatic seeing the person you love shaking, barely able to speak and fading in and out.”
When Margot finally arrived at 6.13am on the Sunday, Mac realised how much fear he’d been holding inside.
“I don’t think anything can prepare you for that moment, the first few seconds when you see your child,” he reflects.
“I replay it in my mind constantly, this little purple thing coming out and looking towards my eyes.
“And just feeling, we need to protect you and take care of you forever. You’re no longer the most important person in your world. It’s such a responsibility but also such a great privilege.”
Yet travelling the country with Sunrise – where the 2019 Gold Logie nominee will mark seven years this January – has given Mac more perspective on parenthood.
“I can’t describe how much joy I felt and how proud I was of Bec and how much relief I felt,” he says.
“I’m fully aware that having a baby isn’t something everyone can do. I have stronger empathy than ever for people going through challenges on their path to having a baby – or potentially not having a baby.”
For now James, who is about to launch unisex children’s clothing range Kore Kids, and has set up a media company alongside Mac and two of her brothers (one of whom is Olympic snowboarder Scotty James), is the primary carer.
But the couple is keen for Mac to take paternity leave next year so he can play a more active role. And while they reveal that a wedding is on the cards in the future, they add that between their current work commitments and juggling life with a newborn, they “have enough on our plate”.
And while Mac says he’s grateful at how accommodating the Seven Network has been, his only concern about having any extended time away is that Robert Irwin – who filled in on Sunrise to rave reviews while he took time away for Margot’s birth – could be a formidable temporary replacement.
“[Irwin] is one of those people who is good at everything, which, understandably, intimidated me,” Mac says jokingly.
“Hence me thinking, Oh no, Robert Irwin is going to steal my job. He’s a good-looking young lad, he’s from Australia’s royal family, he’s extremely knowledgeable about animals, he’s a great photographer, and he’s a highly engaging speaker. Even [my mum] Loretta said he was doing a great job and is very handsome.” Mac adds with a sigh,
“If your own mother is supporting your supposed nemesis, then you’ve got no hope.”
Mac may have been the fourth celebrity eliminated from Dancing With The Stars earlier this year (“I guess Australia wasn’t quite ready for what I would refer to as the evolution of dance,” he quips), but he says he’d love to return to prime time, preferably hosting his own live show. He’d also like to follow up his 2021 autobiography, Accidental Weatherman, by writing a children’s book.
For now, he’s simply grateful for the support of Sunrise viewers, and the family time away from screens and social media.
“The best moments,” he adds, “are when you don’t have a mobile phone or a camera and you’re just sitting there, and [Margot] does something funny – she has a little smile on her face or she makes a funny noise.”
As for the characteristics their daughter may inherit from each of them, James is quick off the mark.
“I hope she has my sense of humour,” she says, at which Mac guffaws loudly, “Ha, very funny.”
Then, smiling at his wife and daughter, he adds, “In that case, I hope she gets my looks.”
More Coverage
Originally published as What Sam Mac ‘didn’t factor in’ about parenthood
Star of Aussie reboot of The Office answers critics
Felicity Ward, who healms the Australian version of The Office, explains why she was expecting an ‘extra-aggressive reaction’ to the spin-off of the hit comedy because she is a woman.
Read more
Exclusive: Firerose on marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus
Speaking for the first time since her headline-making divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus, Australian singer Firerose explains how their difficult relationship left her ‘scared’ and ‘devastatingly withdrawn’.
Read more