Jesinta on Buddy rumours: ‘He just wasn’t sure’

As she heralds the biggest campaign of her modelling career, Jesinta Franklin has opened up about life, family - and whether her husband, AFL star Buddy Franklin, will play on past 2023.

At a time when she might have expected her modelling career to be slowing down, Jesinta Franklin happily admits that she is busier than ever. As she emerges from two years of what she calls “survival mode” in the motherhood trenches and embarks on her new role as the global face of Australian swimwear brand Seafolly, she tells Stellar about continuing to seize new opportunities, why she won’t bow to body-image pressures and teases her young family’s next big move.

Jesinta Franklin is keeping it real – that’s why you won’t find the Australian model and budding business mogul looking unnatural on Instagram.

“The reality is we put the best version of ourselves forward online, right?” Franklin tells Stellar. “But I won’t ever alter my photos, as in [use] those filters that can change your nose and your lips and your cheeks. That’s one thing I just won’t do.

“I think it’s really, really toxic. You’ve got to realise not everything you see online is real.”

It’s clear that Franklin has continued to take her status as a role model seriously ever since she stepped into the spotlight after being named Miss Universe Australia in 2010.

Not only is the 31-year-old now one of the country’s most in-demand fashion faces, she’s also a busy mother-of-two, sharing daughter Tullulah, 2, and son Rocky, 1, with her AFL star husband Lance “Buddy” Franklin, 35.

Jesinta Franklin opens up about getting back to work after two years in ‘survival mode’ Picture: Holly Ward for Stellar

Given that she has 373k followers on Instagram, Franklin is well aware of her influence – and of how easy it is to be influenced.

“If I see anything that makes me start to question my own self-worth around my body, then I just unfollow those accounts. It’s not worth it,” she says.

“It’s always so interesting seeing people in real life, who I have followed on Instagram and [who] use those heavy filters and editing. Sometimes you feel like you’re not looking at the same person.

“There have been times where I would look at people, and have even followed on Instagram, and not recognised them in real-life. It can be very altered.”

Despite Franklin’s focus being divided across her career and family these days, the modelling work hasn’t slowed down; in fact, quite the opposite has happened.

Case in point: her new role as the global ambassador and face of Australian-born swimwear brand Seafolly. On a recent afternoon by the Sydney beachfront where she and her family live, Franklin posed in the brand’s new collection.

Just hours earlier, the city and its surrounds had been drenched by another stretch of rain, yet by the time the photo shoot had begun, the sun had started to emerge – almost as if on cue, particularly given the latest swimwear campaign is dubbed “The Bright Side”.

“It’s probably my biggest career campaign that I’ve ever shot,” Franklin reflects. “Seafolly swimwear is sold in over 40 countries around the world… They shoot one campaign and that goes global.”

Given such scope and international exposure, does this mean Franklin may pursue more work overseas?

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” she admits. “I mean, it would be amazing if other opportunities did pop up… Just before I fell pregnant it felt like there were a lot of international opportunities coming up and then I got pregnant and Covid happened.

“I feel really settled here. I love being a mum – if anything more comes of it and it fits into mum life and all that, of course I will explore it.”

For now, she says, “I feel lucky. I’m always joking that it’s nice the kids will get to see me on a [Seafolly] billboard now – it’s always Bud [with the high profile]; now I’ve got some bragging rights, too.”

After modelling for more than a decade, Franklin says she has witnessed a positive change in the industry, away from models being alarmingly thin, and increasingly toward inclusivity.

“I’ve seen a huge shift from when I started. At that time, you had to be near six foot and a size six to work, and if you were outside of that framework, it was always like, you’re not going to work.

“I still think there are pockets of that which exist within the fashion industry… Seeing Paris Fashion Week, a lot of the brands still use very small models and they’re quite tall.

“On the flip side, you’re starting to see some of the runways bringing in a diverse range of sizes, from height to shape. It’s definitely come a long way from when I started.” That said, she notes, “There’s still room for growth.”

Jesinta Franklin on modelling after pregnancy: ‘We go through so many stages in our lives; it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel as valued as someone who’s 25 and wrinkle-free’ Picture: Holly Ward for Stellar

Part of that change, Franklin adds, is accepting who you are – in all stages of life.

“There was always a narrative that, once you get to a certain age, you’re no longer appealing or marketable. There’s been such a shift,” she muses.

“I shot with Seafolly twice when pregnant and once when I’d just had Rocky – I was six weeks postpartum and I was so nervous. I kept saying to them, ‘My body doesn’t look the way all of these models look. I’m still breastfeeding, my stomach is still going down.’ And they didn’t care”

“They fully embraced me and that gave me confidence as well. We go through so many stages in our lives; it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel as valued as someone who’s 25 and wrinkle-free.”

Life isn’t all business for family-orientated Franklin, who describes herself in her Instagram bio as “Tullulah and Rocky’s mum. The rest is just for fun.”

In fact, she reveals, “I actually feel like I’m finally starting to really enjoy motherhood. And it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it before, or that I didn’t love my kids or they didn’t bring me so much joy and love.

“I just felt I was in the trenches for a good two years there. It was an intense period of my life and I was in such a grind.

“I felt like I was in survival mode for a long time. Now, I can’t wait for them to wake… I miss them when they go for naps.”

This summer, the family are relocating to Franklin’s hometown of the Gold Coast – at least, she says, until Buddy “has to go back to Sydney for footy. My family is there. We’ve got an apartment…

“We love the lifestyle, the fact that it’s slower-paced and we can spend our days on the beach and riding our bikes. We’ll have a bit of a sea change for a couple of months and switch off – I’ll go back and forth [to Sydney] for work a bit.”

Days before her husband played in the Sydney Swans’ grand final loss to the Geelong Cats last month, he announced he had signed a new one-year deal with the team.

“It was truly a very difficult decision,” Franklin says of his move to play on. “We’re at that point in our lives where we’re starting to think about the next chapter and the next stage, and what that looks like.

“This year, as time went on, he just wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He was still thoroughly enjoying football, but I think the pull of family and spending more time with the kids intensified.

“Just before the grand final, he said, ‘I feel like in my heart and my body, I need to go on for another year.’ I support him fully in that.

Jesinta Franklin: ‘I want to support [Buddy] in following his dreams and goals. Football careers don’t go on forever’ Picture: Holly Ward for Stellar

“I’m probably more ready for him to retire than he is; among the football world, it’s quite known that when the footy season is on, the partners do take on a lot more of the responsibility of parenting and life because there’s very little flexibility in their schedules and the fixture and all of that.

“I have so much respect for any woman, or man, who is married to a professional athlete.

“I’m his wife... and I want to support him in following his dreams and goals. Football careers don’t go on forever.

“The kids are just starting to understand football and go to the games, and the fact that we get to have another year of that is really, really exciting.

“It was a big decision. He was 50-50 all along – some days, he’d wake up and he was on one side of the fence. The next day, he’d be back on the other side. He was able to come to that decision in his own time and on his own terms.

“It’s going to be a good year, next year.”

As for whether 2023 will definitely be Buddy’s final season, Franklin is almost philosophical.

“I don’t know. He feels so good in his body – if his body allows, he would play for another 10 years. He lives and breathes football. His biggest thing is, as long as he’s still contributing to the team, then he’ll continue on.

“It’s part of life and sport that unfortunately, there’s an expiry date. It’s open-ended; we’ll see how next year goes.”

Franklin, too, is thinking about life after modelling, and earlier this year became an accredited AFL player agent – though, as she’s quick to point out, she isn’t currently managing anyone.

“I got my accreditation a couple of months ago now,” she explains. “Bud and I are starting to think of things for him post-football, but for me, too.”

Jesinta Franklin stars on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Holly Ward for Stellar

Among the power couple’s interests is raising awareness for Indigenous issues. It’s a cause that Franklin feels particularly passionate about, having spoken out about her support for the movement to change the date of Australia Day.

“I have a strong vested interest in Indigenous issues with Bud being Indigenous and our children being Indigenous,” Franklin says.

“I feel like there’s a changing of the guard in a lot of ways – in the political way, sporting way, people are becoming more aware of racism and Indigenous health issues. Things are being spoken about more.”

And yet, she adds, “As a country, we have such a long way to go.”

Originally published as Jesinta on Buddy rumours: ‘He just wasn’t sure’