Jennifer Hawkins on keeping things sexy after motherhood
Jen Hawkins talks life after becoming a mother for the first time. With daughter Frankie now nine months old, the former Miss Universe says it is important to work on her marriage.
Confidential
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Model mum Jen Hawkins has stressed how important it is for women not to lose themselves in motherhood.
With daughter Frankie Violet now nine months old, Hawkins is determined she and husband Jake Wall keep their relationship fresh too.
“My priority is Frankie and Jake and our family unit,” Hawkins told The Daily Telegraph. “You have to be a good wifey too, he (Jake) is not just to the side. You have to work on keeping it a bit sexy.
“You don’t want to be walking around with puree and breast milk all over you all the time, I try to keep it together.”
The 36-year-old said motherhood was not sexy or glamorous, it was full on.
“Sometimes I will be sitting here at dinner (with a breast pump) and will go, ‘this is super sexy, isn’t it Jake?’ ”
Hawkins has been grateful for the downtime over recent months to be able to fully immerse herself in her new family of three.
The former Miss Universe winner turned television presenter and businesswoman has also been conscious however to “work on yourself”.
“That has probably been the hardest from what I’ve got speaking to other mums, you need to keep your own identity,” she said.
“My identity though, to be honest, is mummy, as a mum first and foremost I guess. It depends on who you are, what you want and what your goals are, that is what works for me.”
Hawkins said motherhood is “the best job I have ever had”.
“It is really chaotic, it is a juggle for sure,” she said, speaking to Confidential to promote her new role as global ambassador for Aussie organic pouch baby food, Bubs, a product she used before mother-of-three founder Kristy Carr approached her to join the team.
“I had no idea how busy it would be. It is literally like a job, you have got to keep on track. You get your own schedule happening.
“Honestly everything kind of made sense when I became a mother. Motherhood feels like I am meant to be doing it. It definitely put things into perspective. Maybe things I would have worried about in the past have flown away for good.”
Hawkins, who described Frankie as her “little sidekick”, has spoken previously about suffering a miscarriage two years before her daughter was born.
It is too soon to think about having more kids, she said.
“Nothing ever goes to plan with those types of things so it was just the right time for us,” she said of falling pregnant.
She added that she has changed since becoming a mum: “I feel like I am wearing my heart on the outside of my chest, it is bizarre, you just want to take away any pain that they have. It is a completely selfless job I guess.”
Relationship expert Nikki Goldstein commended Hawkins on thinking about her marriage while embracing motherhood.
She said maintaining intimacy as a couple is important for parents.
“The key word is intimacy and intimacy can mean a whole range of things, it is not just about sex,” she explained.
“It is about having time to be vulnerable together, time for yourselves, it is about being affectionate, it is about sharing emotion, all of those things are important.
“These are the things that people start to not focus on that leads to the spiral of getting to a point where it is hard to get it back.”