Life Uncut - Love at 37, Babies at 40 & How MAFS Has Changed. Uncut with Jules Robinson

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

Many of you will know Jules from Married at First Sight Australia, where she met her now husband Cam Merchant in what has become one of the show’s most successful love stories. They met on the experiment in their mid-30s, fell in love on screen, and have since built a family  life together with two kids. Since the show, Jules has grown into a successful entrepreneur, launching the inclusive shape wear and fashion brand FIGUR. Jules lives with PMDD and explains how her hormones really threw a spanner into the works after having her first baby.  Today we speak about what it was like going on reality TV later in life and unexpectedly meeting your husband, how her experience on MAFS compares to what the show looks like today, the realities of postpartum mental health, and how she’s turned her platform into a thriving business. We chat: The concept of ‘timelines’ and how Jules’ life pivoted at 37 years old Having babies in her 40s What a ‘gender selection specialist’ does and how Jules feels about getting pregnant in her mid 40s What PMDD actually feels like  The post natal period with PMDD The difference a supportive partner can make Why Jules started Figur after MAFS and being body shamed  The realities of growing a business Who we all think will last as a couple from this season of MAFS We did an episode on PMDD with endocrinologist Dr Izzy Smith that you can watch here  You can find Jules on Instagram and Tiktok  You can watch us on Youtube Find us on Instagram Join us on tiktok Or join the Facebook Discussion Group Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne Produced by Keeshia Pettit Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! XxSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi guys and welcome back to another episode of Life Uncut. I'm Brittany and I'm Laura and today's guest is one I'm sure you are all familiar with. She graced our screens, oh I don't know, eight years ago maybe, Jules Robinson. She has probably got one of the most successful love stories to come out of Married at First Sight. She met her husband Cam on the show in their mid-30s. They went on to have a very successful love story, get married again in real life, have a family, start a very successful business figure. Jules has created an amazing online community. And something that I think is really incredible is Jules talks really openly about timelines and I guess societal expectations. And it's okay for things to look

could be different for you and maybe meet your partner in your late 30s and have kids into your 40s. That is something we're going to unpack today with Jules. Also, we want to get her opinion on the current season of Married at First Sight and how that reality show has changed from when Jules graced our screens until now. Jules, welcome to the podcast. Oh, thanks for having me. Hi. Oh, but MASH is going to be on my tombstone, isn't it? What, MASH? No. It sucks, doesn't it? It's so, like i always feel like so split by it because like you are so successful you have created so much since that show and like i feel the same about like where i've come from from bachelor but people always like and she was on 2017 bachelor where she met her husband maddie j

and i was like yeah my husband is still my greatest achievement thank you i know that you're right you're torn because it's like you're so grateful for everything that's come with her but it's like it would just always be next to your name it's the algorithm right it knows it's going to get the clicks when they've got maths next to it well it's also because that is how people met us i say us because we've all done tv it's how people met us and as much as you say i've done so much since then because i often i hate when you could be winning all these awards for the podcast or doing all these amazing things and the only headline is like dumped on bachelor yeah bachelor's britney hockley yeah and you sort of like it's frustrating but at the same time

you think well that started everything like the only reason i got a headline is because i got dumped yes but um no we're so excited to talk to you today we kick start with an accidentally unfiltered which is an embarrassing story do you have one oh I've got many of embarrassing stories but one that's palatable yeah I could tell you when we were talking about it before and Jules was like what's one that's not gonna get me in trouble with the Daily Mail most of them would so I used to work at Woolworths when I was about 17 no must have been younger started hairdressing and I was 16, so probably 15. I was illegally working there at 12.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I did lie to work at McDonald's. I lied about my age working at McDonald's. But it was a different era then, wasn't it? It was. And there was this guy that I really liked from afar. I was the checkout chick and I really liked him and I just was obsessed with him actually.

I wouldn't have liked an understatement. And I got his number from someone but the person that gave it to me thought I was talking about someone else. Anyway, so I started texting this guy. Stop it. It wasn't him. I'm like, I'm talking for months and our shifts wouldn't work. And anyway.

Stop it. At what point did you figure it out? When I met up with him. Oh my God. How committed to the lie were you? Oh, I just went, I'm sorry. You're the wrong person. Walked away.

Sorry. You was walking to this guy for months. Yeah. Flirting. Set up a date and then said, sorry, my mistake. But about a year later, I ended up meeting the guy that I did like. And we ended up dating for two years. Wait, I don't care about the guy you like.

the poor bastard what happened to him the guy from aisle eight he thought he was in I think he was a manager actually yeah but anyway I just was like no like yeah oh I was mortified anyway that was quite embarrassing oh my god Jules that's hilarious one thing it's one of many that's like tip of the iceberg but there's nothing I just can't imagine that talking to someone for months and also because you thought it was someone else did things that you would have been saying those are my little nokia 3210 like we didn't have the you know the internet it's only pics to each other imagine if you got you're like we're doing like snake and all that that looks different like 82 characters you know how you had to like delete spaces and use the number two

instead of like writing two you know how you could only have oh yeah no because it was because back in the day we used to pay per message and each message had a certain amount of characters and then it would go into a second message and because your mom was paying for your plan You had to make sure you didn't exceed the single message. There were no spaces. There was no grammar. There was no punctuation. Two things on that.

I loved that you had your top 100, like in your Nokia phone. If you went in the top 100, you weren't my mate. Now I've got 4,000 people on my phone. I don't know who they are. And also I saw this meme the other day and it's so true. We all used to wait till like after 9 p.m. for our free minutes so we could call people. Now we've got unlimited.

We don't call anyone. I called four girlfriends on Sunday. Not one of them answered. Because everyone was like, what does Jules want? This is a text. that's a text message you posted recently and I mean it's a big part of why we wanted to talk to you because I love the way in which you have redefined timelines so much and I and you know when you when you came on to maths and you met cam a big part of your storyline was like I have

gotten to this point in life and I have been relatively unlucky in love to get to this point and I don't want to miss out on these life things that I want for myself yeah and you posted the other day you were like 37 did a reality tv show I have since then launched businesses married the man of my dreams had two babies and we were just talking you just had your 44th birthday last week at the time of what we're recording this what do timelines mean to you and how do you feel like your approach to them has changed if anything I think yeah when I did that post like it there's a lot going on in my mind when I did that really wanted to be clear this is not me showing off to be like look at all the great things I've done it was about perspective of like it really is just a

number. I don't want to be defined by my age. I wanted to be defined by my energy and what I do with my life. And I've always really believed that, but there was a time in my life where I had to really just trust the timings of it because I had those feelings like a lot of women do in their early thirties. And that's because society tells us that, oh, you're dried up by 37 and you can't have children anymore. And like that whole left on the shelf kind of thing. And a lot of my friends were married and had children and I was like, and I didn't, you know, and I just was like, maybe I'm that's not that maybe that's not my my path but I really want it to be and that's okay so you know going on maths honestly was like it just felt like a really big date I was like what

have I got to lose so I think that that's how I see it you know just trusting the timings and honestly like I still feel like I'm 25 and I still act like I'm 25. Isn't it funny though because when you think back to when we were kids I remember my parents saying that all the time I remember going to my parents 40th right I'm 38 in a couple no am I 39 you're 39 fuck I'm 39 I know but that's my point I'm like you're like you don't remember 39 in a couple of months but I remember going to my parents 40th and it was a huge party and I remember them saying at that party like first of all I was old enough to go whereas like I don't even have kids yet but I remember them saying I still feel 21 because I was like you're so old you're 40 and they were like we still feel 21

and your parents used to say it all the time and now that we're there you understand it I think that we could be turning 80 and you will still feel like you're 21 let's hope but I think you have to too if you're going into your 40s and having kids and launching businesses and stuff like you you have to be like that but when you went on married at first sight did you truly believe that you could get a husband and a love story out of it or was it a bit like I got nothing to lose like let's have some fun I mean I look back now and think oh how naive was I really like going on there and seeing what does happen on there actually honestly just thought what have I got to lose like and it wasn't you know it was kind of like the series before was the one that you know I think

the producers fell on that recipe you know it was about love and then we had uh oh my god what's her name's Dean and what was her name remember she had the she cheated you know Dean Wells and I didn't watch that it starts with T I can't remember Tani no she's now a mom and like she didn't even cheat like the version of cheating i think they text each other and they met up what's her name she's great anyway but she like she did that and they're like oh this formula works so let's copy that you know so obviously that series did really well and then obviously series six that i went on i think you know globally it really did go because it was real and so much as a viewer i watched unfold in front i was like even i didn't know that was going on tracy jewel it was tracy

yes and I was thinking of someone else it was Tracy yeah and Dean and then the other girl yeah so I think that's how that all started from it but yeah I honestly just was like I've looked the whole world like I had literally looked the whole world and I hadn't found him so I just thought I'm just gonna go on here and see what happens and I didn't think past my wedding day I didn't think what's gonna happen because it wasn't like that then maths didn't roll on with opportunity it wasn't like that so I didn't go in there I've always had an incredible life I could have written my book before I went on maths it probably would have been a little bit different yes 100% I mean I want to talk to you about this because I feel like life is chapters right like

I even think now it's my 40th very soon and I feel like I had my chapter of my 20s my chapter of my 30s and now I can't wait to see what the hell is coming for my chapter of my 40s what has 40s been like for you so far I know you're still in the first half of it but I mean from the expectation that you had or where your 30s were at what has being 40 as a woman been like for you 40 for me like I genuinely feel great I feel that I even like I know who I am I know who I'm not I'm very I have my values and I'm just like very stuck in my lane of like this is who I am I like me you know and I think that's a really good place for any woman to be in and I just accept myself so having a baby in your 40s I will say like hits a little bit different

physically talk to me about that as a woman that's going into her 40s that's looking at having kids what do you mean by that in terms of falling pregnant carrying the baby I think for me anyway physically carrying the baby felt a lot different like it was only a few years but I physically felt a lot like whoa and that's why I want to have another baby um yeah I've been seeing a gender sway expert actually for about six months now hang on what gender sway expert yeah what's that I mean, I get it, but like – So instead of doing it like, you know, when people go and take out the sperm and like each to their own, but I'm just like, oh,

it just feels like it's missing a little bit too much of nature. So this is just a natural way to, I guess, make your home for what female sperms like and male sperms don't. So it's been so – I'm having the week off this week. Like I had a coffee this morning and I've had seven coffees since the beginning of December, which I usually would do in a week. So it's been diet, supplements, like – That's so interesting.

So much like going into it. Because you want a daughter. If I have another boy, like, you know, if I get full pregnant again, I would, you know, I would love a daughter. And if I don't, once you hold that baby, like it's meant to be yours, right? But I would, I've got two boys already. I'd love a girl. And so does the, I'm sorry, I haven't heard about this.

I'm curious. Is a gender sway expert, is that based off like a generic recipe for anybody that anybody can do? Or is it like they see you and they do tests on you and they're like, Oh, for you, you need to do this. Yeah, so like day 10 of every month I have to go down to pathology at 7 a.m., have blood tests so she can check my hormone levels and then be like, yep, go for it, or wait,

I have to do my temperature every day on my chart, like ovulation tests like three times a day. Like she's very particular. And then your diet to, like I haven't had a tomato in six months. You know, it's all about low sodium. But what about Cam's contribution to this? Because like you're only one part of the making of a baby and he is the one that carries the genetic.

He's stopped taking, like, protein powder, stopped doing too much testosterone, like all that kind of masculine. I mean, Matt takes a lot of creatine and testosterone and he has a lot of time in the gym and that man is shooting out girls. But obviously it's like he's genetically, you know, more to make a male, right, make a boy. Random, like, you know, when you heat up yourself when you've got, like, period pain, but putting that on your gen,

like as a guy, just male sperms apparently don't like heat. heat you're not supposed to yeah do you worry and I know I get this all the time because you know we had three girls and so people were always like are you going for number three because did you want a boy do you worry about the disappointment or the perception if you're putting in so much energy and effort into choosing a gender and then that doesn't come into fruition do you have any worries about that what that could look like if it does end up being another boy I would this time I've never done a gender reveal I would this time just so I can be prepared but I just know that I just have that feeling that another baby would complete my

family and Cam was a little bit to catch up with me on that because he's like well okay you know we've already got a lot going on like we're going again and then he went on um what's that show he's going on soon um Traders oh my god Cam yeah oh I love Traders it's my favorite show in the whole world I sort of wish I got asked to do it and I didn't do it so he went to that and you're in isolation for quite a bit and like you know I'm there juggling kids and like just carnage by myself and he's come home from like being isolated and just having an epiphany you know yeah so he came back and he spent so much time by himself like in this room like in between like but you would have thought that would be like oh my god I got peace and quiet we can't go again

you would have thought it would have the opposite yeah and he came home and he had like little tears in his eyes and he said you're right like I just he did a lot of like meditation by himself and he just like I had visualization he's like you're right like I feel like another baby would complete our family so the answer is absolutely I'm just being honest I would love a daughter but if once I hold that baby and it's a little boy it's meant to be mine you know so but it's okay he'll hear this one day where where are you at with if I can ask obviously don't answer anything you don't want and I know it's a frustrating question because it feels like it shouldn't matter but biologically it does. Where are you at with thoughts around falling pregnant naturally at 44 slash 45? And

are you speaking to somebody about that? Are you going to do genetic testing? Do you feel like you should be doing IVF to test? Yeah. I honestly just believe that, you know, I know everyone's completely different, but I just believe that my body is capable. And until in a, you know, a long time that tells me I'm not, then I will do something about that. But I just believe like mentally that my body is capable to do this I'm really excited I'm really excited for you I didn't know that you were going for a third yeah and I think that's I think that's really cool and I'm look and also the fact that you're talking openly about it because a lot of people when they're trying don't want to talk about the fact that they're trying but I like

that you're putting that out to the universe number three is the best it's so good I had so much fear around the chaos of it and had a lot of fear around how are we going to juggle it all and you know obviously it's a lot like you know you're adding a whole other human to the mix but all of the fears I had around having three are not what came into fruition and it is all the love without any of the anxieties that I felt with one and two like one and two yeah you have this real sense of like I'm able to do this I'm a good mom I'm like my kids are healthy and happy when they're making weird noises at nighttime or they're crying about something you're not like oh my god what's wrong because you're like oh I know this we've done this and it kind of comes

back as rote memory and yeah I had the same feeling as you as like you know I think that we have another another one in there like there's we have a third baby that's supposed to be in this world yeah I'm not unrealistic like I am I am 44 and I know that things change once you get into your 40s but I can't explain it like I just like I meant I meant to do this so I'll do it talk to us a little bit about baby number one because you've spoken quite openly about your mental health and where you were at after having him and I guess you had PMDD I think that's what you said talk to us about what that was like and how that affected you so PMDD is um premenstrual dysphoric disorder so I actually think that if you google it it doesn't really do it justice it is the most

intense form of PMS it's it affects your relationships you I had to revolve my diary around it it's like a chemical imbalance in your brain that basically go into a really deep depression probably for like two days around your period and then magically you just come back to normal so we all suffer from PMS and it is what most women do but it's something that I've always struggled with and even when I met Cam at the reception when we married on mass I literally said to him I was like you have to put me under the stairs one day one day a month like putting light on it to prepare him because i knew i was always a lot around my period if you know and you have that self-awareness are you able to self-moderate or is it like i know that something's

wrong that i'm fucking crazy yeah you're like no i'm being awful and i can't control it or i would go into like to self-loathing like uh just rage like a depression around that time or are you are you angry are you like i just feel like every emotion possible like there's that wave of like oh my god who am i and then i had had ollie and obviously so much hormonal changes going on your body and i was breastfeeding but that just didn't work for me i ended up in hospital with mastitis and that was horrific and then so when my period came back after this going breastfeeding is not for me i got my period again and i just was like whoa like i was in a world of pain like do you think as well that it was i mean if you sought out any kind of medical advice around this

Do you think it was because there was already such huge hormonal shifts that have happened postpartum and you're dealing with sleep deprivation, all these other things that amplified an existing condition? Potentially, yeah. And me obviously going deep and reading about it, it happens quite a lot with women. And obviously going public about it about 12 months after I was diagnosed, because I just had to sit with it myself and realize how I felt about it. It felt great actually to be diagnosed and be like, that's it that's exactly what I go through but when I looked on you know went deep and you know online with other people reaching out to me like that's happened to my daughter as soon as she had

her baby it all kicked in so I think when you you've got it and then you have this hormone surge then it just enhanced everything and then I went to the doctors and they kind of said oh it's postpartum and I was like oh my god I was like I just it's not I know it's not and then after months and months and months I could just just taking notes of myself of up down up down and eventually was diagnosed with PMDD and it just felt so good to be able to label myself to be honest to acknowledge it and then honor it and be like some months this is just how I am some months are better than others and obviously I've been with doctors now and taken their advice and it's been um going public with it was actually really comforting that there are so many women out

there who have it and it's just not spoken about enough because it's part of the parcel being when we all have our periods it's like and that's what women were saying to me they they've shared it with their family and they're like oh everyone gets their periods you know yeah well it's kind of like that old trope of like women are crazy around their period if anyone is really interested in this we did an episode on pmdd quite a while back which was more like a functional discussion around like you know how you identify it and we did it with an endocrinologist her name is dr izzy so we'll link that in the show notes as well jules did you when you experienced this you said you had really significantly with Ollie did you have that same wave come back with Carter with your second

baby or was it kind of like you were so now aware of what this was so when I fell pregnant I was like yes you know it's one of the perks of being pregnant I get your period so that's like one thing that's gone out you know it doesn't happen anymore but I I had obviously through like sleep nutrition exercise like mental like just I knew what I was in for like with it coming back and I did deal with it a lot better this time but it's also like you know I'm really lucky I'm in a place now where I can honor it and sometimes I'm like you know I just need to sit here all day and do nothing you know and and and do that and feel like this because I know it's going to pass but it's not it's not it's it is it is hard you know and I had a really difficult time I went to Bali on a

retreat and I think you know when you're in a retreat you're just very much by yourself and your own thoughts and it was so enhanced because I wasn't preoccupied with having to be responsible for any anything else and I had like awful dark thoughts and I literally was like who is this person in my head you know and that's when I was like something's not right and you know funny enough my husband who was the most caring considerate such an advocate for mental health because I am such a you know go-getter striver and he he sees me as this superwoman you know that can do anything you know and I really had to sit with him and be like I'm not okay I need you to listen because I'm me and I can do anything you know that's how he sees me which is a beautiful

thing but sometimes it's for your immediate circle to kind of take seriously yeah and then he was like I'm here I get it because it wasn't fun was um I've heard you talk about Bali was Bali the time for you because you sort of spoke about that you went there to have a break and clear your head and get on top of everything and that there was a moment where you just didn't want to come home and you extended your trip and was that when you say you were having dark thoughts was it around just like could I just stay here forever and never go back and like no it was like I don't want to be here anymore right yeah and then I was meant to leave and this is the thing when you've got PMDD like you are literally so irrational about you know like who you are like I was a different

person and I went to the airport I literally was about to board my flight and I just was like I can't I don't want to go home I don't I just need to stay here and I just turned back around and just managed to get my bag and went back to the retreat and they had welcome home jewels on the bed because like I mean most I would say like and I know Cam is obviously a huge advocate for mental health it's the space he works in but I would say most couples if I went away on a retreat without my kids and then the day I was supposed to come home I was like sorry honey not coming I'm staying in Bali how did he respond to that he was incredible so I was meant to be flying into Melbourne to go to a like a business course that we were doing and I was meant to fly straight in

there and he honestly had this sixth sense and he left the room to come and call me like from the workshop that he was doing and he was like are you okay and I was like no and I said I don't think I want to come home he's like babe he's like you he actually swore anyway you what do you say he's like fucking do whatever you want to do you do what's right for you and I was like thank you so he was so supportive he was like honey whatever you need I'm here he's he's I've got a great husband I married him twice I feel like I could cry over that because it's that kind of a support and it's not the support it's the understanding because a lot of I mean there's a lot of women that don't understand fully if you haven't experienced it but so many men don't get it

these invisible symptoms like everything around your period and endometriosis and migraines all of these invisible things quote unquote that affect women it's really hard for other people to understand what they're going through so to have that level of empathy and sympathy and understanding is quite remarkable but also being able to mobilize to give you that opportunity because it's you know when you're when you're juggling two kids and his own career as well it is definitely a hard thing to be like you know what you stay I'll figure out single parenting for another week or however long like that is definitely not something that everyone would necessarily be able to do for lack of caring or understanding you know it's it's definitely

it's a generous gift to be able to do that yeah you're in a you're in a lucky place as well what was cam's mental health like around the time of children because you hear a lot of dads say that it affects them a lot as well because they don't have the immediate connection and was he fine or did he go through his own issues yeah no he was great the first time around and I wouldn't say it was a mental health thing but when I when I first had Ollie my first son like I had the laptop in in hospital you know I was just starting figure like I was just a one-man show and that was where my life was at so I didn't have a maternity leave like I had him you know I've shared content he's strapped to me and I'm doing you know business like you know I

didn't have that Laura was the same yeah I didn't have that that space so when it came to having Carter I was like I'm doing this differently and I slept with him like literally strapped to me for you know six weeks I had and maybe to some people that's not a long time but for me that was a long time that I was attached to that child for six weeks I just wanted to be I want to do it differently and then when it came to after six weeks I was like here you go Cam you know love this child this is yours and he was very much like oh my god who is this you know and Cam's always been amazing he's always on the night shifts for me because I'm so on you know I'm wired like that that as soon as I wake up I'm I'm on for the day you know and then after a week of being awake since

2am I'm not a very fun person to be around so you know so he said he'd just be at night time with this baby being like who is this you know because as you say like overnight they're a father you know and that's a big transition and also to be like love this person that's not been connected to you so yeah and then now like oh they have like you know he's his little athlete that he's training to be the next get wear a green baggie you know he's um so he's put him in cricket oh obsessed and he's actually amazing he's 19 months old and he has got skill this little boy so does he so we might see him in the Aussie team oh something has been passed down it's crazy but I think that is I mean this is what Ben told me my husband but I think that that is they say that

the athletic abilities does get passed down through the mail I don't know I could be spouting misinformation here but I think that's a thing well I don't is it I think so name your source Ben yeah okay Jules I think I mean what you just said around starting a business and at the same time as entering motherhood I think there's a lot of people that can relate to these big things coinciding at the same time however I do think that there is a very small set of people who walk into a maternity suite with a laptop and I and part of me is like I hate that I also was that version of a person but when you run your own business and you also are juggling motherhood I mean it has its own unique set of challenges how have you managed to be able to do it all

seemingly at the same time I think there's a lot to do with my partnership with with cam we you know there's been a time in our relationship where it's been like it's me you know and we have this dance of like okay now it's you we both can't be doing this at the same time and we understand that you know like the moment he's just um he's got his book first book coming out called clarity which is the eight the eight pillars of clarity which is i've read the first half of it honestly not because he's my husband it is absolutely brilliant and you know so he's had spent a lot of time doing that so i'm like now it's your turn you know and as much i've got a lot going on this is this is his moment you know so we've done that dance of giving each other the space to still be individuals

always come back together when we need to support each other and i couldn't yeah it would be i couldn't have done it without him I can manage a lot on my plate you know which is probably why I end up getting a little bit you know I've got better at self-care over the years because I've learned the hard way but I can manage a lot at once you know it's it's just saying it's it's got its amazing perks of running your own business and you know being able to choose your time but it's also you know I've got two little young kids and it's just always that battle of I don't want to miss out on anything with them but I'm also providing everything for them you know so it's like it's a really hard thing to um to balance you know and and I want to be there

and I want to do everything but I can't also can't do everything at the same time to pay like people need to have a job I also like couldn't relate to it more genuinely do you ever feel like you're missing out on stuff with them I feel yeah sometimes I know that I have to stop myself and be like be present be present you know because I've got a million things you know so It was just teaching myself new ways to be. Like we saw this, we've seen this book where you actually have it cut out and you put your phone in it so your kids can't see you're in the phone. Yeah, I've seen this.

Yes, it was a dad that invented it. Things like that. But I'm like, we don't need that. But it's just putting your phone, you know, putting your phone away and just making those times. Like Cam's so big on it. He's so like, he's so good like that. Yeah.

You know. But also what a joy for them to be able to grow up seeing how powerful their mum is and like what their mum was able to achieve in their lifetime like I think there is so much in that lesson as well and also in the dynamic of a household knowing that like their version of masculinity is having someone like Cam who's plugged into being an incredible parent an incredible father an incredible partner yes like there's so much in that there's so much value to that too yeah no he's a wonderful wonderful father I get emotional but yeah he's he's wonderful he's great like what a amazing person to have to influence them did you legally change your name

when you got married or did you keep Robinson? So I am Merchant, but I say Merchant. Like I'll be at the doctors and they'll be like, Julie Merchant. And I'm like, who the fuck is that? And I'm like, oh, Julie Merchant. But it's Merchant, right? Yeah.

But you just fucking like. You're like, I hate Merchant. I call Kmart Kamar. Yeah. I think that's. But I don't know why I did it. Like I know why I did it, but it was the hardest thing ever. Like this is like, you know, a little bit feminist,

but I'm like, this is why it's a woman's job. A man would not go through what you have to do to change your name. It is so hard to do. I haven't done it. I haven't done it either. But I'm always – What happened to you? I thought you did.

Don't do it. It means as if I could be bothered. It doesn't mean don't do it. It is so hard and it bites you in the ass so much when you're trying to – like your frequent flyer points and your name and you're like, oh, drop me out. Why did I do it? It's because I'm – as far as I got was changing my Instagram handle.

I just added Sigurus to the end. That's all I did. Yeah. But that wasn't even – I didn't even change that properly. I just changed it in the bio. So it's like I did the least amount possible. But for me, I'm like I cannot fathom doing it because I have to fly so much to see Ben because he lives on the other side of the world.

There's never a period that I can do it because I'm so panicked that like my passport won't come through and it's not going to match my ID and it's not going to match my Medicare. And I'm so panicked. So I was like I don't think I can ever be bothered to do it. But even Cam said, why did you do that? And I'm like I don't know now. Like it just – it's my name.

Like my name is my name. And I'm like, I don't know. I think I just was stuck in that like, oh, what you're meant to do. I don't know. But you don't use it. You don't use it publicly. No, I don't. The only people that do publicly is Who magazine for some reason.

I'm like, can you stop putting my name as Julie Munchen? At least put the accent on it for Munchen. Yeah, Munchen. Put a little hyphen there for me. I sound much more glam. Talk to us about figure. I mean, you created this business. It's incredible what you've created.

And obviously it came from a longing of inclusivity and making women feel great about their bodies. but you've also gone from and I want to talk about these chapters again you were working and owned a business within being a hairdresser yeah and now you run an incredibly successful shapewear company and manufacturing like what has that transition been like for you and what is and where is the company at now it's something that never honestly like hello I own a shapewear brand like it never even crossed my mind it literally was because I went on maths and I'd be at the dinner parties and I wore shapewear every day for three months and it was so bloody uncomfortable and it would roll down and roll up oh my god tell me about i was wearing some the other day and i was like i

cannot feel my vagina anymore i was like full on through here getting cut off at the seams this was on the show after the dinner party and i can the whole time every time i knew we went on camera i was like putting my hands up to pull it down so mine's with any bodysuit it's not even shapewear mine's a bodysuit we feel you we understand why you made it so and then i'd have to go to the toilet at the dinner party and my whole outfit was on the floor like everything and you know it's like you got a microphone and you're like trying to put down the toilet and you're like this is such a pickle and then coming off the show you know I was trolled and body shamed and comments and horrible things about you know basically being fat and just yeah body shaming but then on the

other side I had I guess I was women appreciated that I was curvy and I was a little bit older and and I was getting so much dm like you know back when you would read everything like the rookie era of reading everything when you first go into that world and but in that time I don't regret that because I got so along with the shitty messages I got really like thousands of messages from women who were just like you're so confident and you know I've got the same body shape like you how come I I don't feel like my body like it just was so clear to me that women didn't feel like they were enough because of the size of their body or the shape of their body and I was always like shape has always been my superpower it makes me feel amazing and I honestly just woke up one day

I was like I'm gonna make the most kick-ass pair of shapewear that doesn't roll down it doesn't roll up but it was more important for me to make the brand about just working what you got and you know and not shrinking women like actually making them celebrate their body and you know there's always had people some people online to be like oh you contradict yourself and it's like I believe to the bone that I don't you know I I accept my body for wherever it is at the stage in my life and shape where it isn't about pouring yourself into something to make yourself look skinnier for me it's about working those little bumps and showing them off and putting on a dress and just feeling amazing and that's one thing that I love about figure that it's always been I've always

just had that trajectory of like that is exactly what my brand is about and people now six years on like I feel like I've finally like just arrived with it like it's been hard you know there was a couple of years ago with everything going on in the world and you know all the boring interest rises and I just was like I don't know if I can keep doing this like and I just was like nope I know exactly like what I want to build hang in there hang in there and I'm so like resilience and creativity and just focused and um yeah I just I feel like it's it's going to be a great year for figure I've got so many exciting things happening I've got a campaign coming up really soon called reshaping the expectation and it's going to be a live activation of choosing my

models always use the public because we all have a story to share and I always felt that if women can see themselves in me I want them to see themselves in all the women that I choose and everyone has a story and everyone has something about no matter what size you are that makes you feel insecure and it's all about connecting to be like we're all we're all equal we are all equal we're all just doing the best but i also love when people are like you like you just did and i remember running into you at an airport a couple of years ago so you you were a couple of years deep into figure and i remember we're just chatting and i was like how's it going and i think you'd just come back from london or you were just going i can't remember but you were really honest and

you were like, it is fucking hard. You're like the people that just pretend that they go start a business and it's all rainbows and easy and looks good. You were like, cause I would have thought that from the outset, but then you started to speak really openly about it. And I love that because that's really good storytelling, but it's really honest to connect with people that it's like, it's not, it doesn't matter who you are or what you have available to you. It's really hard for everybody. And the lesson in that is sticking with it and like believing in what you're doing and not giving up. Like around that time when it was hard, like I shared videos, like making content of me packing the orders myself yeah it's real yeah and it's just like and the voiceover was

like you maybe didn't think you'd be here right now but you are and that's okay and I think it's not all like glamour and smoke and mirrors like oh there's so many tears and like yeah things that go wrong but as I said what I'm most proud about is the soul of the brand you know which is just for women of all ages shapes and sizes to feel fabulous and they are and as I said like my campaign is about a bit of a nod to Barbie like Barbie again this year has made some great influential women and it's about you know like the modern icon you know is she's lived and that's what I'm going to have in the boxes is women of all shapes and sizes on the side their story and I just can't it's you know I just love doing creativity stuff with figure and yes it's

shapewear brand but there's so much more to it than just being about you know award-winning underwear yeah but also that's I mean like that's what makes brands stand out these days there's loads of people who make shapewear but it's like storytelling which is integral to a brand yeah But the other thing as well is, and I think you're a testament of it, it takes years to become an overnight success. And I remember one of our very first interviews we ever did on this podcast going back seven years ago now was Samantha Wills. And Samantha Wills was like, you know, it takes, I think it was 11 years that she was working on the brand before it absolutely slayed and it kicked off in New York. Like that's the part that no one sees, you know. And I think the difference with you, though, is that because you are

and have been a public figure since launching the brand, the optics of it couldn't be hidden. So you're like people think it's an overnight success, but you're like hustling, taking your laptop to the birthing suite and then there does come a point where something clicks into gear and you're like, okay, we've arrived, you know, and now we've got steam, you know, and it's really amazing to see. Yeah, thank you.

I'm super proud of it and it's not ever an effort for me to work with it. I literally love it and I believe its values to the core and I do think I, you know, live it and breathe what it is. It's amazing. You should be super proud. The big question, Jules, are you watching maths? Absolutely. Is Cam watching maths?

No, he won't watch it. Will he not? He'll come in and like actually when Joel came on and he did the jokes about the floors and I was like, Cam, get in here, you're going to love him. You're going to love this guy. Because Cam loves a dad joke. Joel, he's an unusual character, isn't he?

He's a funny character. What do you think now as someone that was pretty OG? I guess you were season six, right? So you're, what are we now, 12 or 13? You were about halfway. I feel like you were still, I feel like maths has gone into two halves and it probably changed maybe even seven or eight where I feel like there was a bit of a switch.

As someone that was on it in the early stages, you've had your success. You're still watching it now. How do you think it's changed? I've never missed a series. Okay, I've got a really good philosophy on why I think it's changed. So season six and we were on it, we all as a cast respected the show. We respected the madness of the show and the rules. So if there was a conversation, it was done on camera.

We were in our rooms by 10 o'clock. There was none of this going to the icebergs and everyone getting drunk. And then as a viewer. With the paparazzi. As a viewer, yeah, setting up paps and all that. as a viewer now you watch the show for the last few years going is that true did that happen like do you know what I mean and as a viewer that's not a storyline to follow along with when series six was on like I remember going holy shit like I was there having dinner and those two

were downstairs pashing and people might think well how did you not they're all there but when you're sitting at that table you have to go can I go to the toilet like you all can't just get up and leave so I watched my series as a viewer of things unfolding that I was like wow because everything was filmed and now it's just like everyone does their secret things off camera yeah and it just as a viewer you can't keep up with it because it's not there for you to decide on it's so it's so true and it's so interesting because even when we were on batch like everyone was so scared of breaking the rules they were so scared of whatever those repercussions would be but i think you get put in jail and like sued and well yeah i mean those it

was probably the first time that most people have had to sign an nda in their life like a real you know 20 page document NDA but it's very true like people and I think a lot of it came with the rise of like the podcasting industry and people being able to do podcasting or tell tell their story the true story and it's changed so much now and there is a lot of stuff that happens off screen that then the producers have to figure out a way of weaving that conversation back on so that as a viewer it makes sense it's not also just the stuff happening off screen though it's the ruining of the storyline for the audience so it's like they're just coming out and saying I'm not with this person I'm doing this I'm doing that I I fucking left the show whatever I was engaged to

my husband and I couldn't tell anyone and we like we literally told our immediate family and then that was it like if we like we had paps living outside our house like it was and we really respected like let's not try and make out that we're together yeah so yeah now it's like yeah that's how I think that it's just not like yeah I mean we all watch it but it's just the the storylines you're a bit like well I can't have an opinion when you just it's a guessing game what do you say to people when they say it's scripted or it's completely manufactured I think that you can't edit what you say it's come out of your mouth like yes they will edit and go back to the same reaction when maybe that reaction didn't go to what someone said

but never ever in maths are you told what to say the thing is now they do so much psychiatric testing that they know who you are right and they probably know how you react in different different ways you know and I think maybe some people can if you don't people say to me if you've got any advice like you know I'm going on the show whatever and I'll be like just know who you are and who you're not and be really like dead set in your in your values and your opinions like because don't be led astray yeah because when you are asked a question sometimes I'm like they ask you a question you're doing you talk to camera just pause just wait be like what are they asking me because sometimes you will answer it in a way that you probably maybe wouldn't and then it

sounds different like really just just take your time to respond because that's where you end up saying things that probably aren't you but I am watching it I can't like it's just mental so the moments like explain something to us the moments that we see so for this season for example the drama is between Beck and Gia like mainly but we as viewers because even though we're doing after the dinner party we don't get to watch ahead right we keep up with the audience which we wanted to do as well so that our views aren't skewed. But you see them, like, at each other. They hate each other.

And now they're besties. Yeah, but then they're besties. But then on screen you see them hanging out and whispering together and sharing moments. But then at the dinner party. Well, I heard a theory that potentially they were friends and then it was like, like, let's just do this. That's what I heard.

Do you think? No, I don't. They knew each other and then put your tinfoil hats on everyone. yeah it was like let's do this but then then Gia now is in the you know like besties yeah then then she's now left because she's like no I can't deal I've got I've gone too far I'm out I mean like I really like what you say around the people know like as in like the producers know what they're going to get out of these people like the psychiatric testing is important they do know the version I don't think they always I think sometimes they do get a version of a person that

they didn't quite realize could be as extreme as what they've seen i know um like brooke for example and how oh big and insane that reaction is i think everyone was surprised that that was coming yeah but i do think it's too much of a cop out to say oh the producers made me say that or the producers made me do that i think you've got a choice you've got a choice you can lead a horse to water yeah yeah i mean everyone's watching it aren't they like it is addictive television i find it so fascinating when everyone's like we must boycott the show but it's the most watched show in Australia it's like it should be cancelled but we're all watching it and talking about it's like I love and the thing that I will continue to love about it is that it brings so many conversations

to light and like it makes like so many it's a social experiment right like so many of these behaviors they're happening they happen in relationships they happen in the real world so whether they play out on TV or not doesn't mean that it's not a conversation that shouldn't happen absolutely and that's why I get so annoyed with trolling and people being so mean to these people it's like because you know what 90 of people have done what they've done and they've put you on television to entertain you totally like it is entertaining you and i'm pretty sure you've probably done something just as bad or like and that's my point it's like don't like people people do dumb shit in life right but doesn't mean you have the right to then attack them and

troll them and to be horrible about them like you know like i can't imagine what becks and that's going through right now and it's like it's it's unfair people love to hate on the internet they love to be angry yeah and maths is like at the centerfold i think it's because like obviously the behavior's been really bad but the thing that can be achieved in editing is the extremes right like everyone is this is a shade from black white gray we've got it all in the middle right but when you do edit a person in a reality tv show you can edit the most extreme parts of their character so if someone's been like 70 nice 30 an asshole you can edit that 30 asshole to make it look like they're pretty much an asshole all the time right there's no forgiveness in it and

so you see that version that's on tv and they're not a complex character they're playing a certain role and that's what i think can be achieved in an edit you can't make someone say what they didn't say but you can inflame their personalities or you can quote unquote get a good edit you know and i guess what you're saying is it's not that they're editing them to be bad they're just leaving out the parts they're leaving out the balance they're leaving out the balance yeah and i think that that's sometimes what happens with participants on shows yeah but i think if you're going to go on that show now like you're very brave nowadays to go on there but also like you can people still go on there for love which i think is great you can see the people that are

generally like you know i'm going to give this a go yeah who are you backing i think rachel and steve-o might have a chance that's cute yeah i'm i want them to but i don't know how i i i'm undecided i need another week to decide but i really want them to work out stella and philip is like an obvious one for me stella and philip seem very yeah yes but then they had the vasectomy chat that was awkward so but i think that they're i think stella and philip are real but yeah i don't know i've been fully sucked into this season yeah i'm not sure yeah who else i think we need to find joel a wife i think we need to find joel some drumsticks before we find him a wife jules thank you so much for coming on today thank you for having me we've talked about so much so much

you're an absolute joy and honestly like to see what you have achieved alongside motherhood and in business and how you've taken I mean I know we said it and we started this with being like and it's Jules who was once upon a time on maths but the reality show gives you like a tiny little opportunity to do something with and for most people it's like your you know your 48 hours of fame that follows afterwards you have taken that tiny spark of an opportunity and created such an incredible business an incredible life off the back of it it's really inspirational to see oh Oh, thank you. And I think, you know, one thing that through all that is that I really

just have learned that good things do happen when you're just yourself. And if anything, the show made me actually really step into that because you've only got one option because there's so much coming at you of negativity and people thinking they know who you are or what you look like and you've just got to go, oh, I'm all right, you know. So it's been incredible. As I say, it's been ups and downs and it's not all fabulous all the time but I'm super grateful and, yeah, it's been good.

So thank you for having me, guys.