Having spent nearly a decade documenting his and his family’s life via YouTube, Jonathan and his family have a combined online audience of over 4 million. Followers have come along on their journey from Jonathan’s time living in Ireland with his girlfriend Anna, right through to present day with four kids and six dogs. There have been lows along the way, a devastating miscarriage 3 years ago and their struggles with online trolls, but coupled with highs including Jonathan being announced as this year’s Celebrity Dad of the Year, even beating Prince William! The Young Londoner caught up with the family to ask a few questions.
What are the challenges of being such a successful (and famous) YouTube family?
Jonathan – Keeping up with the demand for new content on top of managing four kids and six dogs is definitely a challenge! Putting our lives on show so publicly naturally invites criticism, but on the whole we take that really well. Of course we’re only human so it can get to us sometimes, but we have each other’s backs and support each other through it.
How have you dealt with trolls?
Jonathan – As I said, we are only human and of course when people say hurtful things, especially about us as parents, it can be hard to deal with. We accept that people are going to have their opinions of us, but try not to let negativity drag us down.
What does the future hold for your family?
Anna – We’re really looking forward to spending more time together as a family. As the kids grow up, we can do more and more things altogether and I’m really looking forward to that – particularly the traveling! We’ll of course be continuing to make videos and sharing our lives as well.
How does it feel to be Celebrity Dad of the year?
Jonathan – It was genuinely such a surprise and a huge honour. There were guys like Prince William in the running, so I must be doing something right! But seriously, I love being a dad and sharing my experiences with the world, so it felt really nice to be recognised for it.
What would be your one piece of advice for new mums/dads out there?
Anna – I would just urge new mums to always trust their instincts when it comes to their baby, and that you don’t have to listen to every piece of advice you’re given. There’s so much conflicting information out there these days, particularly online and it can get really overwhelming, but mums have a natural intuition when it comes to what’s right for their child, so my advice would be to go with that.