Corey Parker and wife Margaux get candid about life after Broncos

COREY and Margaux Parker maintain he left the Broncos coaching staff because of her burgeoning radio career, not because of Wayne Bennett. But now her show has been axed, the duo talk candidly about what lies ahead.

IT’S a sunny Monday and Corey Parker is unpacking groceries at home, southeast of Brisbane.

He reaches for a jar of Vegemite as his two youngest children, Jagger and River, sit waiting for a snack.

Stylish and relaxed, wife Margaux is getting ready for work, happy to leave the rugby league legend in charge on the domestic front.

This has been the state of play since March, when Margaux swapped her role as full-time homemaker for a drive time spot on Triple M’s The Rush Hour. Sadly, the show was recently axed — the last broadcast will air on December 7 — but Margaux will continue as co-host of the sport and lifestyle show Dead Set Legends on Saturday mornings.

“I am disappointed about The Rush Hour coming to an end, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and hopeful about a long-term future in radio with Southern Cross Austereo,” she says.

“It has been a wonderful experience working with such an iconic brand (Triple M) and working alongside an experienced and creative team in Luke Bradnam, Ben Wood and Ben Dobbin.”

Margaux Parker at home in Cornubia. Photo: AAP/ Ric Frearson

Corey too has had his share of headlines of late, with rumours that the former Broncos captain was cut from its coaching staff by Wayne Bennett after a fallout with players. The Parkers maintain Corey left so Margaux could pursue her radio career.

Margaux, 33, refuses to listen to gossip.

“We really don’t give the stuff that gets said about us any thought, so it doesn’t affect us,” she says.

“Corey leaving was always about my new role. I didn’t want River to go to daycare full-time because my other children didn’t have to do that. I was at home for nine years being the manager of the house, and Corey said, ‘You’ve supported me for 14 years, now it’s your time’, and it’s a good time to do it, so we make it work.

“Corey still has a great relationship with Wayne (Bennett), and the coaching was always voluntary.”

As well as spending more time at home with the children (Memphis, 8, Wylei, 7, Jagger, 4, and River, 2), Corey is NRL commentator for Fox Sports’ Fox League, and he has kept his role as Broncos ambassador.

Margaux is now a broadcaster on Triple M and Gold 92.5's The Rush Hour. Photo: AAP/ Ric Frearson

He’s also a DIY enthusiast, and living on acreage at Logan’s Cornubia, south of Brisbane, there is always plenty to do.

The family moved to the spacious lowset house four years ago and immediately began making it their own. It’s the perfect place to entertain pals.

As well as a pool, Bali hut and sauna, Corey has his own “man shed” filled with Broncos memorabilia, and according to Margaux, “good things happen in there”. Nudge nudge … wink wink.

The ever-busy Corey, 36, has built a chicken coop for the family’s 11 chickens, a doghouse for Andy the poodle, Cookie the white Maltese and Pipi the silky Shih tzu and play equipment for the kids, and a very manly firepit.

“I get bored easily, so I like DIY projects,” says Corey, who admits he misses big footy games like Origin but isn’t sorry to say goodbye to weekend work and training.

“With commitments at Fox ending for the season, I’m going to be at home full-time, so I will need to keep busy. I need to do a boundary fence and oil the decks, but I’ll wait until I get the list from the wife first,” he laughs.

Margaux on the other hand has had no time to be bored.

“I get to laugh every day and work with great creative people, and I have an opportunity to discover my own identity,” she says.

“For so long it was about Corey and the house and being a mum. Now I have the opportunity to find out who I am.”

Margaux and Corey Parker with their children Jagger 4, Memphis 8, Wylei 7 and River 2. Photo AAP/ Ric Frearson

The couple, together since 2003, have “young Cookie” to thank for their chance meeting. “Corey lived next to a girl I worked with,” Margaux explains.

“I was in her driveway one day and saw this eight-week-old dog (Cookie) being shooed out the door. I took the dog around to ask him if it was his, and we engaged in conversation.

“It turned out Corey went to school with my cousin, so we had stuff to talk about, and then he invited me to a barbecue.

I went, of course, and while there, I ended up crashing a billy cart they had made from a shopping trolley.

“I had ripped jeans, cuts and bruises everywhere, so Corey tended to me and patched me up. He asked me if I was cut anywhere else, and I said I had a cut on my lip, so he kissed it.”

Initially Margaux had no idea the handsome 21-year-old was one of the most talented forwards in rugby league, and when she found out, she had some reservations.

“He pursued me though and wore me down so I eventually said yes to going out with him. We dated for a couple of months and I moved in with him four or five months later.”

Fast forward 15 years and the pair will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on November 29.

Corey Parker farewells fans after his last ever NRL match. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

They credit teamwork as the key to their happy marriage, with “date nights” a must.

“We make an effort,” says Margaux.

“We make the time to take the time. It used to be date night once a week, but now it’s once a month because we are so busy.”

Margaux, who grew up in nearby Tanah Merah, makes sure they see lots of their friends — fellow parents from Carbrook State School, where Memphis and Wylei are students, as well as chums from Corey’s footy days.

“We love entertaining. Life is busy but it’s also great and we have nothing to complain about,” Margaux says.

“Corey worked really hard over a long period of time so we can live and we are fortunate and blessed to have this life. We are lucky all of our children are very happy, healthy, smart and well-adjusted kids, and we are doing the best that we know how to do.”