‘I’m really just ready to receive whatever comes’: Mia Fevola on dating, dancing and her next move

Mia Fevola, the stepdaughter of former AFL star Brendan Fevola, sets the record straight on her personal life and ambitious new TV role.

After watching her famous mum and dad strut their stuff on two separate seasons of Dancing With The Stars – beauty mogul Alex Fevola placed third in 2010 and former AFL player Brendan Fevola placed fourth in 2012 – Mia Fevola is ready to put stage fright aside to foxtrot her way to a trophy.

“My mum had just had a baby when she was on – Lulu was only a couple of months old,” she tells The Binge Guide.

“That was really challenging for her,” Fevola adds. “I was around 10 years old,

and when I went to watch a bunch of the episodes [in the studio], I was blown away by the glitz and glamour.

“It’s been very interesting going from watching it to the other side, and understanding how much work really goes into the show.”

Mia Fevola has confirmed her relationship status as she prepares for her new TV role with Seven. Picture: Getty Images

Now the model and influencer will brace for the inevitable critiques from judges Sharna Burgess, Helen Richey, Mark Wilson and Craig Revel Horwood.

While she’s glad to have her family cheer her on, the introverted 25-year-old – who has turned down other TV opportunities – stresses that hitting the ballroom was not a natural choice.

“I guess because both of my parents did the show, it felt somewhat closer to home,” she explains.

“And I also think there’s a bit of competitiveness in our family with my dad being an athlete and all. I wanted to beat him, basically.”

Fevola admits that besting the footballer-turned-media-personality’s performance on the dance floor seems a far more obtainable goal than equalling his I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! efforts.

Mia Fevola, far right, with her mother Alex Fevola (second from left) and stepfather Brendan Fevola and sisters Leni, Lulu, and Tobi. Picture: Supplied

Mia Fevola and Gustavo Viglio take to the dancefloor in Dancing with the Stars. Picture: Seven

“My dad won that show, so I don’t think I would get near him,” she says of Brendan being crowned the season two King of the Jungle in 2016.

“I’m not sure how I would go with the snakes and the spiders, but doing Dancing With The Stars has been an eye-opening experience, because I’ve overcome so many fears and now I’m open to anything.

“I’m really just ready to receive whatever comes and see where it takes me.”

Despite having had no formal dance training, Fevola says she didn’t find the experience physically taxing, apart from sore feet. Armed with her mum’s advice to “leave myself at the door”, Fevola threw herself into every tango, swing and waltz, recognising that the greatest challenge was overcoming her own self-doubt.

Mia Fevola is on the cover of The Binge Guide. Picture: The Binge Guide

Alex Fevola, second left, with daughters Leni, Lulu and Mia. Picture: Ian Currie

She also credits her fellow competitor, Logies Hall of Famer Rebecca Gibney, with keeping jitters at bay by offering plenty of reassuring words backstage.

“One of the biggest reasons I’m so glad I did this show was the connections I made with everyone,” Fevola reveals.

“It really didn’t feel like a competition. Everyone just wanted their friends to be the best. Everyone was uplifting each other.

“Some of my favourite memories were sitting in a make-up chair, absolutely petrified, just confiding in anyone around me – from the costume designers to the make-up artists and the crew – and people just being so supportive.”

While she had grand plans to keep dancing and build on the skills she picked up, since filming wrapped on Dancing With The Stars Fevola says she hasn’t found an opportunity – or a partner – to help her show off her new moves.

“I’m single at the moment, and I’d like to keep it that way for now,” she says with a shrug. “I’ve got a lot to focus on. And I’ve gone back to uni – I’ve finished my business degree and I’m now doing psychology.

“So, while I’m open to [a new relationship], I’m really not looking for anything in the moment.”

Dancing With The Stars premieres tonight at 7pm on the Seven Network and 7Plus. Read the full cover story with Mia Fevola in the latest issue of The Binge Guide, out today in the Sunday papers.

For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as ‘I’m really just ready to receive whatever comes’: Mia Fevola on dating, dancing and her next move