Jesinta Franklin on fitness, family and why she feels stronger than ever

She's undergone a seismic shift

The model mum speaks candidly about life with Buddy after footy and how fertility struggles transformed her unhealthy relationship with exercise.

Looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight, Jesinta Franklin freely admits she used to train like a boxer in the weeks leading up to a runway show. Slathered in coconut oil and wearing a purpose-built sweatsuit, she’d endure gruelling training sessions to drop weight from her 175cm frame. “I used to work out every single morning if I had an event coming up – a big runway show or a photo shoot – so it kind of created this unhealthy habit with exercise,” recalls the model and entrepreneur, 32.

The mum of two and wife of AFL legend, Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, 37, reveals that for a long time she exercised simply to “look good in a bikini”, kickstarted by her 2010 Miss Universe Australia win at the age of just 18. (She went on to be crowned second runner-up and Miss Congeniality in the global pageant.) 

“Because of Miss Universe, because I was told I needed to look a certain way for that stage, exercise became something I did for how I looked, or to maintain a certain size. It wasn’t about how I felt or to build strength. That was quite sad and damaging for me, if I’m honest.” 

On the rare occasion she missed a workout, Franklin would beat herself up. “I pushed myself too far. Even if I’d been on a plane at 6 AM and then worked all day, I would still go to the gym at 9 PM. I should have been prioritising rest. But it was all my decision.” 

A decision she’d question later when, as newlyweds, Jesinta and Buddy struggled to conceive. After years of miscarriages and IVF, their first child, Tullulah, was born in 2020. Son Rocky followed just 13 months later, in 2021. “When I started having issues with falling pregnant, I was like, ‘I think the exercise is why.’ That’s not medically confirmed or anything, but I can see that something considered so healthy was actually unhealthy for me.”

Regardless of the cause, Franklin’s labyrinthine path to motherhood has profoundly changed the way she views herself and values her body. “I think what was really hard for me was that my job was so attached to how I looked. But as I’ve gotten older, it’s so funny. All the things that I disliked about myself when I was younger are the things that I’m growing to love.”

Her approach to fitness has undergone a seismic shift, along with her mindset and self-confidence. “For me, fitness has been such a big journey,” reflects Franklin, adding that exercise is now no longer about how she looks, but focused squarely on “feeling good, having energy and gaining strength”. She’s swapped high-intensity sweat sessions in the boxing gym for bush walks and bike rides with her kids, running, horseriding and reformer Pilates in her newly renovated home studio. 

Image: Lauren Shulz

“Reformer Pilates is probably the only form of exercise I’ve ever done where I feel like I’m strong from my core,” she adds. For the uninitiated, a reformer is a dynamic bed-like machine that allows you to perform strength-building Pilates moves using a system of weighted springs, pulleys and ropes. Franklin uses a Your Reformer machine, a brand for which she has just become an ambassador.

“You target muscles that you can’t target any other way,” explains Franklin. But don’t assume that reformer is all about cheese-grater abs. Nor is it a cakewalk. It’s a challenging, low-impact, whole-body workout that can make you shake in minutes. “If you’re ever doubtful of that, just watch a group of professional male athletes do Pilates for the first time. They sweat.”   

Franklin aims to do two reformer sessions a week at home in the couple’s Mediterranean-style villa in the Gold Coast hinterland, with inspiring, leafy, 180-degree views. The pair also invested in an infrared sauna for rest and recovery. “I love a sauna and an ice bath, or a sauna and dip in the ocean,” asserts the committed wellness-seeker.

She and Buddy relocated to the Gold Coast from Sydney’s eastern suburbs after he retired from AFL in 2023. “Moving to the Gold Coast was so good for my mental health,” reflects Franklin, who’s experienced anxiety and postnatal depletion. “Being near my parents and spending more time in nature… We’re living a lifestyle that’s truer to who we are and aligns with our values.”

Franklin has completely changed her outlook when it comes to her health and fitness. Image: Lauren Shulz

Franklin grew up on acreage at the base of nearby Mount Tamborine, with sister Aleysha and parents Valerie and Andrew. “We would be out all day and then go home when we were hungry – obviously before sunset.” Buddy’s childhood was spent even further afield on a hobby farm near Dowerin in outback WA. He lived with his four older sisters and parents Lance Senior and Ursula on Rabbit Proof Fence Road, more than two hours from Perth.  

Moving closer to her folks has been a game-changer. Franklin didn’t cope well as a working mum with two tiny kids and a professional footballer husband who was on the road a lot. “The last couple of years in Sydney were really tough,” she recalls. “The strictness of the football schedule was very hard, and I had zero family support. I found the weekends lonely, as well.” COVID-19 lockdowns certainly didn’t help.

“When we didn’t have kids, it was kind of easy and fun. I could jump on a plane for weekend games. Once you have children they become your priority, and dragging kids around the country to watch football isn’t the most practical thing.”

There’s a misconception, says Franklin, that WAGs (players’ wives and girlfriends) spend hours at champagne-fuelled long lunches and employ full-time nannies. “That is not the case,” she laughs. “Anyone with children who has a partner who plays professional sport sacrifices a lot.”

Buddy is part of the furniture these days, although following his retirement the family felt “a bit lost in the freedom”, says Franklin. After all, their relationship was entwined with footy for 12 of his 19-year career. “The possibilities of what we could do together were suddenly endless. I thought, ‘We can actually plan something for once in our lives.’ It’s so nice to have him around more now – we’ve gotten into horseriding and we’ve been mountain biking a lot.”

However, she was stymied by a broken hand recently after an accident with a drill while caravanning shattered it. “I’ve literally just come back from that injury, which was really hard because I couldn’t bike ride, I couldn’t do push-ups, I couldn’t do a lot of the things on the reformer. There was so much that I wasn’t able to do, and having that taken away from me made me realise how good it makes me feel.”

After being practically benched for 16 weeks, Franklin is slowly rebuilding her stamina – the next step on her fitness journey. “I feel like I’m starting at the beginning and building my strength and fitness back up.” 

Image: Lauren Shulz

These days, she feels more comfortable and more confident in her own skin. Gone are the days of punishing exercise regimes before a big shoot or runway show and time is made for rest and recovery when it’s needed – such as after breaking a hand. “Last year, I walked the runway at Melbourne Fashion Festival. I was not training at the time and I just didn’t feel like I had any of that pressure or anything to prove. It felt like a bit of a full-circle moment where I was like, ‘Oh, it’s nice that I’m able to do this now without putting that pressure on myself.’”

Maintaining a healthier relationship with exercise, explains Franklin, is as much about prioritising herself and how she feels as it is about setting a good example for her young children. “I definitely try my hardest to just create a healthy relationship with food, fitness and body image for my kids.”

She gives a very recent, pertinent example. “On the photo shoot today, the stylist handed me this little outfit and the pants wouldn’t even do up,” says Franklin. “It didn’t faze me. Ten years ago, not fitting into a sample size would have sent me into a spin.” 

Stronger now in every sense since the start of her journey with fitness, what advice would she give young people coming up in the industry today?

“As hard as it is and as corny as it sounds, I would say to embrace who you are and don’t try to change it, because that’s actually what makes you so special. And it’s difficult because when you’re young, you’re so influenced and want to fit in with everyone around you. But my advice is: don’t try to fit in.

“And that’s what I want my daughter and my son to feel, as well – that standing out isn’t necessarily a bad thing. So just don’t try to fit in.”

Styling notes

Look 1: Mejuri earrings and bracelet, SIR. top, Reebok shoes, Your Reformer socks

Look 2: Camilla and Marc top, pants and shoes

Look 3: Rachel Gilbert dress

Cover:Anine Bing leggings, sport bra, top, sneakers and earrings

Originally published as Jesinta Franklin on fitness, family and why she feels stronger than ever