Jamie Durie opens up on new baby Beau with fiancee Ameka Jane

TV star Jamie Durie opens up about his booming US career, the controversial renovation of his Avalon home, and being a new dad again after 27 years.

While many new dads cringe at the thought of changing nappies and getting up in the middle of the night, Jamie Durie is relishing the opportunity to experience it all a second time.

Twenty-seven years after welcoming his first daughter, Taylor, with ex-partner Michelle Gennock, Australia’s favourite gardener is back in “the newborn haze” after the arrival of his second daughter, Beau, with his fiancee, Australian singer/songwriter Ameka Jane.

Ameka Jane and Jamie Durie with their three-month-old daughter Beau and their dog Luna. Picture: Tim Hunter

“This little girl has certainly turned our lives upside down,” a besotted Durie told Sunday Confidential.

“The sleepless nights that everyone complains about don’t even register with me. I can get up with Beau five times a night and it still doesn’t hurt. I see her little face and nothing matters.

“I even love changing her nappy. I wake up before she does and just stare at her.”

Having a 27-year gap between Taylor and three-month-old Beau has been a blessing in disguise for the House Rules host, with fatherhood now trumping ambition.

“I flew back into fatherhood like it was yesterday,” he said.

“I was 22 when we were pregnant with Taylor. I was a baby. I was young to be having a child, young and in love.

“But I have no regrets. It was an amazing experience where I got to grow up with Taylor.

Durie flew back from the US in June in time to quarantine before Beau’s birth.

“I am a completely different dad now. I really appreciate every moment.

“I am not rushing around like I was when I was 22. I have achieved a lot of the things that I wanted to achieve in my life. I am much more present now as a father.”

While Durie is busy with Beau in Australia, his television baby, hit renovation series Curb Appeal Extreme, is taking the US by storm.

Years after wrapping up his five-year contract with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, Durie continues to fertilise his US career from his Avalon base of 20 years, with his new outdoor renovation series on HGTV & Discovery Plus currently the highest-rating gardening show in the country.

“Curb Appeal Extreme is about doing the backyards as well as the frontyards,” he said.

“The homeowners bring us on board, give us a brief, co-host John Gidding does the frontyard and I do the backyard.”

Having filmed the series in April this year in Nashville, Tennessee, Durie’s energy levels have never been higher.

Flying back from the US to welcome Beau with Jane, he went straight back into production on his new prime-time show with Channel 7 which is set to go to air early next year.

It will be Durie’s 56th lifestyle series in his 24-year career.

The couple announced their engagement in February. Picture: Instagram

As for the recent issues surrounding Durie’s renovation plans for his Avalon home, the father-of-two said he has been working closely with council and nearby residents to find the best solution that would work for the planet and people.

“It’s a very delicate process … designing a home that works with the environment and for the environment,” Durie said.

“It’s not enough to just to throw solar panels on the roof and have a rooftop garden. You have to manage the existing trees on site as well.

“And it’s been a process, but we are still in the design phase and we are really excited to share it with the community.”

Durie’s initial submission was to remove 17 trees due to extensive termite damage and neglect. That has since been reduced to applying for only one to be removed as a result of the construction.

Durie with his first daughter, Taylor, who was born when he was 22.

The popular TV gardener said he loved growing up with Taylor.

“I’ve been planting trees since I started studying horticulture when I was 25,” Durie said.

“So for 25 years planting trees been my life and a lot of that (has been) with Planet Ark’s National Tree Day.

“There is no one in our community who has put over 2000 native species back into the ground. That’s what we are doing and we have planted over 600 already.

“We have had some teething issues, but we are very excited to share the new design with the community and feel that this latest design is much more us.

“We even have sandstone caves on the property and look forward to the idea of encouraging native bats into our caves.”

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