For people under 40, becoming a grandparent is a milestone that sits on a distant horizon.
Not so for Brisbane radio star Matty Acton.
Matty made headlines last year when he revealed that he had become a grandfather at the tender age of 37.
His stepson Ethan, 23, and wife Maddy welcomed their first child, Illyria Fay Acton, into the world in October.
Matty has been married to wife Esther, 41, for 12 years and she welcomed Ethan into the world three years before they met.
Speaking to Daily Mail, Matty said that while the ensuing 12 months had provided a lot of ‘chaos’ he wouldn’t change a thing.
Radio star Matty Acton made headlines last year when he revealed that he had become a grandfather at the tender age of 37
His stepson Ethan, 23, and wife Maddy welcomed their first child, Illyria Fay Acton, into the world in October
‘Mate, it’s been amazing,’ he said. ‘But it’s been a wild ride, to be honest.
‘I remember the phone call when our eldest son rang me to say that he was going to propose and that at the time I was like, “But what is life? What’s happening now?”
‘They got married, and then to find out that they were having a baby was just incredible.’
He said he felt lucky to have ticked off the grandparent milestone before 40.
‘It’s really cool,’ he said. ‘It’s a stage of life that we’re not meant to be in for probably another 15 or 20 years, but we’re lucky, too, that we’re doing it so young, I think.’
Matty added that all of the hoopla he had heard about becoming a grandparent had turned out to be completely true.
‘She’s just turned one and it’s been the best, honestly,’ he said.
‘People tell you: “Oh, when you become a grandparent, it’s the best thing ever, you know, you love them, just like your own kids.” And it’s true, it’s one of the most amazing experiences.
‘And the best part is, you get all the good bits and then you go: “Here is your baby, over to you now.”‘
Speaking to Daily Mail, Matty said that while the ensuing 12 months had provided a lot of ‘chaos’ he wouldn’t change a thing
Matty has been married to wife Esther, 41, for 12 years and she welcomed Ethan into the world three years before they met
Matty said that hadn’t always been the case, with Ethan, Maddy and Illyria living under the same roof as he and Esther and their two younger children Xander and Eden.
He said that the young family has since branched out on their own, but regularly return home to give Matty and Esther more of that wonderful chaos.
‘Yaunty and Yuncle the kids call themselves because – young aunty and young uncle,’ he said.
‘And Ethan and Maddy are over a couple of times a week, they pick up the kids and take them out and stuff like that. So, you know, the house is always pretty chaotic.’
A fertile source of chaos in the busy Acton household has always been dinner time, particularly with three children, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter at the table.
To that end, Matty recently teamed up with meal kit delivery service EveryPlate which offers easy-to-follow four-step recipes, with many able to be whipped up in 20 minutes.
For Matty it’s the perfect mealtime hack to cope with the chaos.
‘Tonight, actually, is family dinner night at our house. So, my son and his wife come with the baby, and we’re all under one roof eating dinner,’ he said.
Matty and Esther are pictured with children Xander and Eden
Earlier this year, he launched a podcast with wife Esther called Underage Grandparents , which details the ins and outs of becoming nan and pop before 40
‘The EveryPlate under 20 minutes challenge, has just been perfect because it’s like, you start to cook dinner, and you know you’ve got people coming and you go: “Oh my, they’re going to be here any minute.”
‘You can’t just put a roast into the oven and be, like, oh yeah, that will be ready because people are sitting around for an hour starving. It’s so great that you can throw something on and it’s done in under 20 minutes and feeds everybody.
Matty added that his EveryPlate meal hack has also given many the impression that he is a whiz in the kitchen.
‘My wife is a fantastic cook and I’m an okay cook,’ he said.
‘So the fact that EveryPlate is basic and it has everything, I can get lots of praise for what I’ve cooked and I don’t even have to worry about doing too much.
But using EveryPlate isn’t the only dinnertime hack Matty has picked up, with the radio star revealing an important tool in his belt was ‘gaslighting’.
‘The biggest thing is getting people to agree on what to eat. So one of the things I like to do, especially with the children, is not tell them what they’re having for dinner,’ he said.
‘I’ll quite often say: “Hey, remember, you said you wanted blah, blah, blah? We’re having it tonight for dinner.” Then they’ll say: “I never said that,” and I’ll say: “We talked about it last week,” so it’s definitely gaslighting.’
He’s also dipped his toe into the world of children’s literature with the hilariously titled book Bumble the Bumstinger which he penned with his B105 breakfast co-stars Stav Davidson and Abby Coleman
‘And you know everything’s chicken if the kids ask.’
In the midst of the ‘chaos’ of his home life and busy working schedule, Matty has also found time to add a few more projects to the list.
Earlier this year, he launched a podcast with wife Esther called Underage Grandparents which details the ins and outs of becoming nan and pop before 40, providing what Matty describes as ‘an outlet of decompression’ for the couple.
He’s also dipped his toe into the world of children’s literature with the hilariously titled book Bumble the Bumstinger which he penned with his B105 breakfast co-stars Stav Davidson and Abby Coleman.
With the book hitting shelves this week, could the trio’s side hustle turn into a main gig?
‘I know what you’re saying, Bluey should watch his back,’ Matty laughed.
‘We did it to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation, so, if it’s wildly popular, maybe there’ll be a second book.
‘But our main thing was, we just wanted to write a really great kids book, for families, and hopefully raise a large amount of money to make a wish for some kids to put smiles on their faces.’
