The Coast's Sam Wallace was overjoyed to learn he and his partner Sarah Bowman were expecting twins. Photo / Robert Trathan
The Coast's Sam Wallace was overjoyed to learn he and his partner Sarah Bowman were expecting twins. Photo / Robert Trathan
They're soon to become the parents of three children under the age of 3, but The Coast radio's Sam Wallace and partner Sarah Bowman are remarkably relaxed at the prospect.
The jokes just keep on rolling as the parents of Brando, 23 months – who are 25 weeks pregnant with twin girls – catch up with the Woman's Weekly at their Auckland home.
"We're basically using this platform to let everyone know that from this point on, we don't do any washing or cooking," Sam quips.
"We're going to put together a schedule for the cleaning and cooking and I'll be getting that delivered to our friends and family. They can do it however they like, as long as the work gets done!"
And with Sam's friend and breakfast radio show co-host Toni Street just "one k down the road", he reckons there'll be a "fair bit of dumping of all three kids at her place", too.
When Sam, 39, and Sarah, 37, found out they were having twins, their first reaction was to laugh. "I mean, what else could we do," Sarah giggles. "And then Sam went for a walk."
The former TV weatherman laments, "My dream car, my Mercedes AMG63, I could hear driving off. And then pictures of Toyota Highlanders slipped into my imagination."
On a more serious note, he adds, "The really weird thing is that your priorities change, and we went from, 'How are we going to pay for this?' to 'This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to us.'
"Do you agree, Sarah?" he asks his partner, who is positively glowing as she reclines in her chair next to her Celebrity Treasure Island winner husband. "Most of the time I agree," she confirms, with a grin.
"And do you know what's even weirder," Sam continues, "is that my whole career, I've always been really sensible with money. I've never bought my dream car. When other people were buying furniture and having big holidays, we were squirrelling away money for no good reason. It was like there was a part of me that knew I was preparing for something. And then we had this news."
One of the first things Sam and Sarah did was buy a new house – Sam's parents' five-bedroom rental, which they've just moved into and are renovating.
Sam's radio co-hosts Toni Street and Jason Reeves were in charge of the gender reveal. Photo / Robert Trathan
The pair admit they'd already been feeling the squeeze in their former three-bedroom home, with a "full-on" toddler and Sam in dire need of office space. "It's a real sanctuary here," Sarah smiles. "We sit out in our garden and say, 'Who are we, sitting in our established garden?'"
Next on the to-do list will be buying a bigger car and then finding the perfect pram.
"Jenny-May Clarkson [from TVNZ's Breakfast, who has twin boys] said don't buy the double wide pram because they don't fit through doors," Sam tells.
"We've joined some of the multiples clubs on Facebook and they've been really supportive," Sam enthuses.
"But basically, the first thing they say is 'good luck'. They're pretty quick to let you know that it's tough."
Fortunately, Sam's parents and sister live in the next suburb, and while Sarah's parents are based in Morrinsville, they travel to Auckland most weekends, so there will be plenty of family at hand to help.
The couple are soon to become parents of three under three. Photo / Robert Trathan
"Mum was a district nurse and always gives very practical advice that I may or may not take on," Sarah tells. "But it's lovely to have a different viewpoint that's also so close to my heart."
When the couple was given the envelope at Sarah's 13-week scan that revealed the twins' gender, they chose to hand it to Street and Sam's other radio co-host, Jason Reeves, who surprised them with the news by secretly making over their nursery.
It was an emotional moment, recalls Sam, who burst into tears and hugged Sarah tightly when Toni and Jase revealed the room.
The couple is hopeful that their girls, who've had their mother craving melted cheese on toast, will enjoy sitting quietly and playing with books. If they do, it would be in stark contrast to Brando, who loves bashing pots against walls and barely slept for the first 18 months.
"He's a weapon," Sam laughs. "But I think, like us, he's not going to know what hit him when these girls arrive. "You love him so much, and you don't want this experience to take away from his love and his attention. We're determined to make sure that he never feels like our attention is divided."
The doting dad adds, "We're just going to have to roll up our sleeves and get in there. If you can pour as much of your energy as you can into your kids and get that right, nothing else matters."
