EXCLUSIVE: 'What Snezana taught me about being a dad'

When it comes to Sam Wood, there's one thing for sure – marriage and fatherhood suits him.

The celebrity trainer and The Bachelor alumnus married wife Snezana Wood née Markoski in December of 2018, after becoming an instant father to stepdaughter Eve, 13 when the pair fell in love in 2015.

The couple welcomed Willow, 13-months, earlier that year and recently revealed they are expecting another daughter together.

Life couldn't be sweeter.

While falling in love, getting married and raising children can be difficult under any circumstances, it's even more so for the public pair.

Still, Wood says Snezana is "pretty chilled" about most things.

"Snez is the most amazing mum," he says. "Nothing phases her. I don't know if it's because she was a single mum for so long that she's got that strength and that resilience and that unflappable nature, or if that's just how she is.

"I think it's a bit of both."

Wood says he's learned a lot from her when it comes to being a parent.

"It's good for me," he says. "It's definitely rubbed off on me, because it's very new for me. I'm probably a little bit protective.

"I follow Willow around one step behind her, heaven forbid she falls over."

Wood describes his daughter Willow as "the best".

"She is an absolute gem," he says. "She's so curious and funny and she spends a lot of time with us, which is good. She loves being around people."

When it comes to pregnancy this time around, Wood says Snezana is struggling with sensitivity to smells.

"She gets put off by smells," Wood says. "She's got like a hypersensitivity to dairy smells. Even if Willow's milk isn't freezing cold she's a bit funny about it. And she's got an obsession with breakfast cereals."

"We have more cereals in our pantry than Jerry Seinfeld," he continues. "It's actually ridiculous. Because she doesn't know what she's going to be craving at any particular day or hour so she needs options at her fingertips.

"It's quite funny."

Wood says not all of his wife's cereal choices are so-called 'healthy' ones.

"She's got some of the fun ones," he confesses. "And it's not much, just a small bowl fix and then she can move on with her day."

He says Snezana is very relaxed about pregnancy-related weight gain.

"It's just about staying strong, staying healthy, now's not the time to be worried about your weight," he says. "It's about pregnancy and then spending quality time with your baby and easing your way back into it."

"Once you're feeling good you can slowly but surely increase it," he adds.

"But she, particularly because we didn't have Willow that long ago, I think for her it's like, 'I did it all not that long ago, I worked my butt off, I got back into great shape and then I ended up pregnant again!'"

When it comes to health and fitness, Wood's message is equally down-to-earth.

"People think too much that a bad week or a bad day is a write off," he says. "It just takes a workout and a couple of healthy meals to be back on track."

That being said, just 30 minutes before our sit-down interview my daughter Caterina, nine, and I had participated in one of the celebrity trainer's 28-minute workouts at Sydney's Centennial Park for Australian Banana's #peelgoodfeelgood campaign.

Just 10 minutes into it, Caterina threw up.

I quickly explained to Wood that Caterina had eaten reheated McDonalds for breakfast (hey, it happens to the best of us) so he wouldn't feel bad.

"All kids go to McDonalds once in a while," he says. "It's no big deal."

In fact Wood shares my concern about the impact negative body image has on children these days, particularly young girls.

"It's massive, it's massive," he says of the impact. "I think focusing on the process and not the result with kids.

"Kids need to eat, they need to move, and it needs to be fun," he continues. "If kids are being forced to exercise that's not going to be fun. If they are being forced not to have their favourite foods, that's not going to be fun."

Wood says when it comes to kids and food, he says getting children as involved as possible is key.

"Get them in the kitchen learning what real food is, enjoying cooking and teaching them that not everything is out of a packet," he says. "I think that's really important."

When it comes to exercise, Wood's advice is once again, family-focused.

"Exercise as a family," he says. "It's not enough for kids to see you exercising. Get them to do it with you.

"Go for bike rides, walks, swimming at the beach," he says. "It doesn't have to be structured workouts. They are sponges. They see us eating well, they eat well. They see us exercising, then exercise is a positive association to them.

"It's just the little things."

National Banana Day is on May 1. Find out more about the Australian Banana's #peelgoodfeel good campaign by visiting their official website.

Sign up to Sam's next round of 28 by Sam Wood program by visiting his official website.