Why Wiggle John Pearce’s love for mum is a joke – in the right way

Wiggle John Pearce shares mum Flordeliza’s funny moments on socials as they giggle together.

Wiggle John Pearce loves to make fun of his mum – and playful Flordeliza Pearce gives it straight back to him, as all good mums do, of course.

The Purple Wiggle often takes to social media with his Filipina mother, poking fun at her accent and pronunciation, with their infectious laughs and natural comedy routines attracting hundreds of thousands of likes online – but for Pearce, 33 – especially today, on Mother’s Day – the love he has for Mum is no joke. Well it is – but in all the right ways.

“We’ve always been a bit like that. I’ve got a twin brother too, and we kind of grew up – it’s not like we’re teasing or making fun of her – we just kind of laugh together,” he tells Insider from the Gladesville home he shares with wife of five years and partner of 12, Jessie.

“That’s something that we always shared, growing up. We get our sense of humour from my mum. I think her sarcasm and her just playing and having a bit of fun has always just been a natural thing.”

“Because I love them to see – when I speak or do (something) they laugh at me,” laughs proud mamma Flordeliza, 62. “I don’t mind. They laugh at me – I love it – we laugh at anything, together.”

John Pearce with wife Jessie.

Pearce’s dad Lennard – now 92 – was 60 when his boys were born. Pearce and twin Lenny have an older brother, Brian, who is 41, then came Colin, 26, and little sister Esabella, 22.

“He’s been my dad and he’s always been there and he’s kind of that foundation of the family – but when you have a 60-year-old as a dad, which some people can probably relate to, it kind of feels like he didn’t have the energy to run around the park and kick the ball like you’d see a lot of families do.

Wiggle John Pearce and his mum Flordeliza. Picture: Tim Hunter

“But he had a different role. My dad (was) retired and you think your life is over, but he started a whole new chapter with my mum and a family – my twin brother and I, our sister and younger brother. Everyone has their unique story, which is special. I guess it’s never too late for anything.”

Pearce says after all the video cameras his mum put in her kids’ faces over the years, their current social media snippets are a love-filled form of revenge.

“It’s definitely a bit of pay back. My mum used to bring the camera out when me and my twin were 14, 15, and she’d be filming us – and you don’t want to get hold of that footage because we were teenagers and not loving the camera, so I think it’s a bit of a role reversal now,” he says.

“But people’s reaction has been really positive – I think it’s super relatable for people. The way I film with mum, it’s not planned. I just switch the camera on and just put her on the spot. I think that’s what’s the most humorous part of it – she’s just so real. My mum has always been a bit insecure about how she speaks and pronounces words, and the way we grew up, it was such a part of our childhood, it was something that we always loved. I think a lot of Filipinos can relate with the aunties and mums too, so it’s been a great response.”

Twins Lenny and John Pearce (top) were members of Justice Crew when they won Australia’s Got Talent.

John and Lenny were in dance and music group Justice Crew together for eight years; the group won Australia’s Got Talent in 2010. Lenny has moved to Melbourne to do his own music projects, but they do their best to keep the family laughs flowing over state borders.

“I guess it’s different now that I’m in the Wiggles, and I’m travelling and touring and working in children’s entertainment, but we keep in contact all the time and we try to keep that twin bond alive, long distance.”

John Pearce has been the Purple Wiggle for three years, performing with Caterina Mete, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris and Lucia Field. Picture: David Caird

Pearce has now been in the Wiggles for three years – a ride he describes as quite the whirlwind.

“It’s gone so quickly, but three years sounds like a long time,” he says.

“We’re travelling and performing and creating new content – it’s so much fun that time just flies by you, and you look back and think three years felt like a weekend.”

Most of Flordeliza’s family is still back in the Philippines, only she and her sister came to Australia, in 1991.

“I am the eldest of 11 children and my second sister is the one who is here right now, and all the others are in the Philippines,” she says.

“I love it here – but before, when I was new here, I missed the Philippines. But when I had my kids growing up here, I had my own family and here is my priority.”

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