Two Doting Dads with Matty J & Ash - #148 Trish Is The Backbone Of The Johns Family

Episode Date: June 1, 2025

Trish Johns is a mum, a straight shooter, and a woman with quiet strength and a wicked sense of humour. She grew up pumping petrol at the local servo in Newcastle, was the spirited one in her massive Italian family, and somehow ended up marrying Matty Johns despite turning him down the first time. Trish opens up about raising Cooper and Jack (and what it’s like having them move back home as adults), the chaos of parenting two very different boys, and her breast cancer diagnosis. She shares why she didn’t tell the boys straight away, how she got through two surgeries, and why she wants women to stop waiting and get checked early. BUY OUR SMELLY T SHIRTS HERE  https://www.twodotingdads.com/category/all-products Buy our book, which is now available in-store! https://www.penguin.com.au/books/two-doting-dads-9781761346552  If you need a shoulder to cry on:  Two Doting Dads Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/639833491568735/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwoDotingDads  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twodotingdads/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twodotingdads   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew, today we are really lucky to sit down with, I would say, the head of arguably one of the most influential NRL families at current time. Would you go as far as to say that she is the matriarch? I would, I would, yeah, took the words right out of my mouth. We are of course talking about Trish Johns, she is a mother, a stretch shooter. Yes, she is married to Maddie Johns, but I reckon he's been in the spotlight for long enough and so have the kids, Jack and Cooper. She definitely deserves her own show, I would say. A straight shooter. Yes, he is married to Matty Johns, but I reckon he's been in the spotlight for long enough. And some of the kids, Jack and Cooper.

She definitely deserves her own show, I would say. Definitely. We're gonna put her up on that pedestal where she belongs. And we dive into her family life, what it's like navigating her kids coming back to the nest in their late 20s. Oh, nightmare! Sounds like an absolute nightmare.

We also get into when Trish was diagnosed with breast cancer. She opens up about finding the lump, going through surgery without telling the boys at first, and why she's so passionate about women getting checked early. Should we get into it? Let's do it. Welcome back to Two Doting Dads and One Doting Mum. I am Matty J. I'm Ash. And I'm Trish Jones.

And this is a podcast all about parenting. It is the good, it is the bad. And the relatable. Now Trish, we have to say this line for legal reasons. We don't give any advice. We're not allowed to, never will, never have. Times that we have, we've gotten in trouble so we just don't. But those legal rules do not apply to guests. So you are allowed to give advice and you'll have no legal ramifications. It's a loophole. We found a loophole. Oh I just like to say, you know, don't listen too closely to what I have to say because you know my children are still works in progress. Too late.

Yeah, and they're adults. We start off right at the beginning. When you were a young child. Yes. And I'm trying to figure out, Ash, I'm on the fence. Do you think she was a good girl or a? Naughty girl. Yes.

I would say, my guess is you were well behaved as a child. And what's your guess, Matty? I'm trying to get a read on you. To Italian parents. And I feel like there was a kind of mysterious streak in you, I think. I might give you a little clue. I was the last of seven children. Seven?

Seven. Really? Uh-huh. Holy shit. So they forgot that you existed a lot of the time. Pretty much. Pretty much. So what's the gap in ages between one to seven? Oh, that would be about 18 years. Wow. Jesus. 18 years. Because Matt's one of five, but not they're very close in years. Wow. Jesus. About 18 years. Because Matt's one of five, but not they're very close in years. All the others were close

and then I was well after thought. Okay. Yes. Is it good or bad being one of seven? I loved it. Yeah, I love it. Love it to this day, yeah. Brothers, sisters?

There were two boys. There's only five of us remaining now. And five girls. Wow. So I imagine if you're one of seven, if you do something wrong, I feel like there's too many kids to really keep a close eye on things. Is that the case? So what are you trying to say?

You got away with it. I feel like you could murder someone and your parents would be like, oh where's the nurse? I've got she exists. Oh she would have done that, she would have, yeah no. I was a good girl, I was a very good girl. Got it. However, I was very spirited.

Spirited? Yeah, I was spirited. I was the risk taker. Okay. Yeah, and which is generally the youngest child's role. Yeah, for sure. Definitely. Maybe the first child is very sensible, takes on everyone's responsibilities, and the youngest

is a little bit more of a free spirit. What would you take risks on? Oh, just being, whereas, you know, for instance, coming on this podcast, you know, just doing something like, you know, my siblings were quite reserved. Okay. A sensible parent wouldn't accept our invitation. And you lived near a petrol station. I lived right, I grew up right next door to a petrol station all my life, yes.

Oh, your whole life, your whole childhood? Whole childhood, yes. And was this in Newcastle? In Newcastle, yeah. Okay, great. Yeah, right, yeah. Right at the bottom of town, so, you know, every Friday and Saturday night, you know, you're usually woken up to a car accident at the intersection.

Everyone get out, have a good look, everyone okay? woken up to a car accident at the intersection. Everyone get out, have a good look, everyone okay? You all right? Yeah, all right, good. So what's it like having a petrol station as your backyard? Well, good on Saturday afternoons and Sundays when they weren't open,

because that's when I'd be able to put my railer skates on and go... Yeah. Lots of concrete. Right around, yeah. Smooth concrete too, yeah. Playground. And when it was open, I thought this was like a joke, but the people pumping gas.

Yeah. The hot chicks pumping gas in the short shorts and bikini tops. Run me through that. Was it common? This is the 70s. Yeah, I kind of feel like it was. Yeah. You know those images you see of the 70s?

Girls in short shorts. Yeah. I thought it was like car wash though. Well, no, they were pumping gas. Yeah. Yeah. So what was your take on that as a young girl? I thought it was amazing.

I'd sit up in the mulberry tree eating the mulberries and just waving at the girls, you know, thinking when I grow up, that's gonna be me. And did that dream come true? Not quite. No. What happened? We're getting self-service, mate. Oh yeah, that's true.

It's never too late. Well, it probably is. We should start it up again. Yeah, there's a- Oh, boys. But with boys and girls so we don't get any flack. Yeah. Oh, you know what? Yeah, now I think a boy pumping gas

is fine, there's something in that. There's definitely a market in it. Yeah, there's the? Yeah, no, I think a boy pumping gas is fine. There's something in that. There's definitely a market in it. Yeah, there's the local cow tax down the road. You see young Cooper and young Jack down in the local BP pumping gas. Yeah, they're all fundraiser, you know. Yeah, if it doesn't work out for them,

at least they can get it. And so they were working a full like nine to five shift, just pumping gas, is that? No, I don't think so. I don't think it was that long. Special hours. I think so, yeah. Clever.

I don't think they were full days. Very clever. Yeah. And you met Maddie at quite a young age. I think teenagers? Early 20s. Early 20s. Can you talk us through how you came across young Maddie?

I just started working in a restaurant actually. I'd just finished uni and I was saving to go travelling. I think it was my second shift and I was put in charge of opening all the bottles of wine because I couldn't open a bottle of wine. I'm very good at opening them now. And now screw tops came in here. He literally was the first guy that came in and he was standing beside me at the bar. Wow. And then actually an old fellow asked me out on his behalf. He didn't even do it in person? No. Getting some old plug to do his dirty work. And I was like, can you give this note to that young lady over there?

I know, kind of like that, yeah. Which I politely declined. Smart. How were you propositioned? Would you just like to go out to a ball the following evening? Mm-hmm. You declined. I declined.

It's always when you're not looking. I know, and you're not wanting. So then, yeah, and then anyway, one of the guys I worked with went, oh, he's actually a really nice guy. I went to school with him. And I went, oh, that's nice, but you know not wanting. So then, yeah, and then anyway, one of the guys I worked with went, oh, he's actually a really nice guy. I went to school with him and I went, oh, that's nice. But you know, don't need that in my life right now. Little cow eyes came up to the bar himself, called Drake and said, oh, look,

I'd really like you to come to this ball with me. And I said, look, I don't know you, you don't know me. I said, you know, but then by this stage, and it's tomorrow night, so I'm thinking, desperate. And I'm thinking, I said, so if I go after the dinner, would you mind if I left? And he said, like, because then I'm just thinking, oh, just do me a favour. Like this poor guy obviously has no date. And he's quite handsome.

Oh, yeah. He flashed the pearly whites and the cow eyes. Yeah. And he said, oh oh no, you can't. It's on the South Stain. Now the South Stain was a boat that just was moored on the harbour as an event. And then we went out and danced the night away actually. It was really fun. On the boat that doesn't move.

On the boat at the nightclub, yeah. Did you think about making an early exit when you were at the event? No I didn't. Not after a couple of drinks, I was having fun then. I was like, no. Your childbirth story is a unique one. And this is Jack,

because it was the same time as a very special event that is considered by some as being one of the most important in the history of sport in Australia. Oh, geez, I love you. It's up there. It's not for me, because I'm a Manly fan, and we're the ones who got beat, right? Yeah, but memorable for you. Memorable. My parents were at that grand final. Oh were they? Yeah, yeah, and I never hear the end of it. Timing-wise, just so happened

the grand final coincided with when you were due to give birth. Yes, yeah, just I was like a week out and each game, like you know getting through the semis and you know thinking oh to the point where and do not take this advice people like I sort of spoke to my obstetrician I said what if I go into labour and he said Trisha have a drink of alcohol like have a beer. Have a beer? To go or? It slows childbirth down. Oh wow.

Or labor. Because obviously they say that. Again, I am not a doctor. That actually did tell me that. And he's like, slug a cigar as well. Slow it down even further. That's how I really felt. Yeah.

Wow. Yeah. So I was allowed to go and have a beer. And how are you feeling when Newcastle is getting closer and closer to that big event? I was focusing on having a baby, everyone was focusing on winning a grand final. Totally. You know, priorities, isn't it? And was Jack Bourne the day of or the day after?

No, no, no, about a week out. A week out, okay. Yeah, about a week out. So Matt had finally come home. Right, okay. Although there'd been a few phone calls. Yeah, about a week out. So Matt had finally come home. Right. Okay. Although there'd been a few phone calls. Right. Okay. So what do you mean by phone calls?

Yeah, it's time to come home now. Okay. Fair enough. Enough. Enough. Get home. Is there any truth to the comment that, I think Maddie said this, that you tried to bar him from entering the hospital? Yep. That is true. Okay, talk us through that. Okay, so I had Jack the Wednesday.

I think we went into labour the Tuesday. I had Jack the Wednesday, Thursday, all lovely. Friday, Matt thought that he should go and wet the baby's head because he hadn't been drinking enough after his celebration. So he thought, you know, he deserved this. I went, okay, took my car into town, was meant to drop it home or do something anyway. He didn't. He left it in town, which I was filthy about. Came home to the hospital about nine o'clock and they close up the hospital. And so he's ringing on the bell and I'm saying to the nurses, don't let him in.

Don't let him in. Oh no, he's all right. I said, no, he's not. Don't let him in. He's an animal. I hate him. What have they said? They let him in. They did. Yeah, of course they did. Not only that, then he orders pizza and has it delivered to the hospital. Very good.

Oh, he kills me. So then the next morning I'm like... Were you hungry though at least? No, I was not. Okay. Nor was the baby. So then he's snoring and, you know... Oh, fuck.

He's just passed out? Yeah. Oh my goodness. Yeah. He's got a full tummy though. Oh my goodness. Yeah. He's got a full tummy though. Yes, yes he does. We'll have words with him.

We'll have shouts at him about that, yeah. What's your take on winning of head? Since you did so much work delivering that child. I don't think I went ahead for either of mine. Oh Ash, now you're getting major brownie points. Yeah, well I'm gonna run with that then. Let's stick with that. I mean, Marley our first, I was pretty good.

Lola our second, I was doing a show called Dancing with the Stars. Oh yeah, yeah. And so a couple of days after Lola was born, I then left to go dance with a young 20 year old. Where's daddy dancing? So I was- With a young 20 year old.

I was pretty absent. I'm sure Laura would have been thrilled. Oh yeah, it didn't help when I came home and showed her the footage of me doing the rumba. I mean, a young dancer called Ruby. But I wasn't drinking. Oh, that's good. Well, and officially you were working. Exactly.

I was providing for the family. Matt's just snoring his head off. Did he have to sit in a chair? Or do you have like one of those uncontrolled chairs? No, he was in bed. What sort of hospital is this? Oh no, yeah, it was a good one. They let him in after a couple, let him order pizzas

and then he's just snoring his head off in there. Yeah, yeah. Amazing. When you compare your two boys. Oh, they're totally different, yeah. Because Marley and Lola are very different. Yeah. In what ways are Cooper and Jack different?

Every way. The way they hold themselves, their moral compass. Who was the easier one? Interestingly enough, they were just different. I wouldn't say one's easier. They're just different. Different reasons. Very diplomatic.

I think that I worried less about Jack because I knew he was more responsible. But again, I go back to that family order thing. He's the eldest. He takes on all the responsibility too much. Sometimes he gets weighted down by worrying about others. Yeah. Whereas Cooper's not worrying about anyone. I get you. Honestly, I pick that up when I'm standing in front of both of them and talking about

I get exactly that. Where it's like Jack is he just holds himself way more like he's the responsible parent. Oh, absolutely. And you know, the minute he got his driver's license, I think the first Friday night after that, I'd gone to lunch with some girlfriends. He drove, found me at my girlfriend's at midnight, now my dad, I think it's time to come home now, mum. I drove home. Oh wow, sensible.

Okay. Right, that was Jack. Yeah. Oh, what a guy. The chauffeur, he's picking you up. It's actually a very big gentleman, though. Oh, he's such a gentleman, yeah. Yeah, what a guy. The shofar, he's picking you up. That's actually a very big gentleman. Oh, he's such a gentleman. Yeah.

Yeah. I get sweet vibes. Yeah, oh, for sure. And yeah, what about when they were toddlers? Interesting, because, and I don't know if you guys have ever found this. Have you ever found with your children, particularly if they're quite different, they're never naughty together. They're always naughty at different times. It's sort of almost some sort of innate thing that happens, yeah, so that parents don't

completely lose their minds. One of them's naughty or doing the wrong thing and the other one's good and then they'll flip. So there were just different times. Like Jack was a really hard, like didn't sleep, like was on the go. And then I had 22 months, Kuba came along and he was this peaceful angel that slept, just slept and ate and slept and ate. Heaven. Oh, it's like everyone went, oh, you deserve this. I went, thank God. Yeah. So different, isn't it? I feel like there's a but coming. So different. But. However. Yes. When we moved to

England something happened. I don't know what it was. Cooper turned into this demon child. He just, he'd still sleep but he just this hive of activity. He just did not stop. And it took me, and like I couldn't keep him in a pram. I'd have 15 minutes with him in a pram to run in and do what I had to do and get back before he was literally climbing out of it. Oh, wow. Yeah. Just restless.

Oh, just out of control. He was out of control. And then Jack became this really good child because I think he looked at him and went, oh, he's really naughty. I can't do this to her. And that just seems to happen all the way through. But with Cooper and that behavior, and it wasn't until probably another year later,

I worked it out. And it was thankfully due to a girl sort of must have noticed his behavior because he was literally out of control. Like he was out of control. Well, like you want to put him on a lead out of control? Want to put him on a lead. Like a runner. Yes. Never lost him, but yeah. Just always doing the wrong thing.

She recommended a book called Fed Up by Sue Dengate. And I do recommend if anyone's sort of looking at their child going, this isn't quite normal. Yeah, all the time. Have a read of it. Have a read of it, honestly. And Cooper, so Cooper wouldn't have one apple, he'd have three. At once?

Oh, after the other. Yeah, right. Now, you would think that's a good thing, right? Yeah. Healthy. Apple a day, you know, you keep them in the fridge. I wonder what three apples would keep away. Yeah, yeah, their mother.

And interestingly enough, retrospectively, I realized another time I caught him sucking the toothpaste out of the tube. Now- Spaking a lot of sense, what's contained in both of those is like a naturally forming chemical, salicylates. Oh, wow. And that's what he had a food sensitivity to. Oh, but just set him off.

Yeah. So three days, I just eliminated everything. I did a whole lot of the same. All the apples out of the house. I think even strawberries may have a lesser amount, but I think it's the toothpaste. I've never heard of it. I've never lot of research. All the apples out of the house. All the apples. I think even strawberries may have a lesser amount, but I think toothpaste and apples. I've never heard of this. I've never heard of that. It's crazy.

What happened? You screwed up. So like, I just, what I did, I just went, I've got to go in hard here, because obviously my next thing was a psychiatrist, this child, him or me, I don't know. I just eliminated his diet altogether. I got rid of everything in the cupboard, colourings.

I wasn't too worried about sugar as such, but anything coloured. And then what I read about with the salicylates. And then there's another thing called amines that some kids can have sensitivity to, which is containing bananas and processed meats. OK. Yeah, so I just eliminated everything. Three days, different child.

Different child. Just completely. I felt very clever, I have to say. Yeah, you like how cracked the code. That's. I felt very clever. Yeah, yeah. You like how he cracked the coat. No, fortunately. Like honestly, I don't know how much sooner I could have done it. But what's his excuse now though? Yeah. What's happened? He's back on the apple.

He's back on the apple. If I ever see him with an apple, I'm going to slap it out of his hand. Exactly. Yes. All toothpaste. Don't leave brushes. He's just sucking on a bit of toothpaste. At a nightclub. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Put it down. Yeah. Wow. So just, just cut, like what's, what were the different characteristics?

Just hyperactivity. Hyperactivity that... Okay. It just stopped. Yeah. He just became this calm a child. My kid loves apples. Damn it.

Yeah, you're in trouble. Yes, but are they hyperactive? Yeah. Oscar is. Oh. Might be something to just try. Maybe I'll get cut him off the apples. He's like, no! He won't get the draw.

I don't know, did I replace it with something else? I don't know. Did he ever get apple withdrawals? We just forgot about it. No, and then he knew as he grew up he wasn't allowed to have apples. On school camp he's like, give me one. I think sometimes I let him have a red apple

just to see if that did anything and I think it was okay, but it red apple just to see if that did anything and I think it was okay. But it was particularly green. The Granny Smiths. Yeah, Granny Smiths. That's the thing in the case, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Not in his case.

An apple a day is going to bring the doctor straight back. Oh yeah, or the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist, yeah. Trish, whenever I think of parenting, like Marley and Lola are four and five at the moment, Ash's kid's are similar age. I can't imagine what it would be like not parenting really young kids. And I always find it interesting talking to parents who have older children of what we have waiting for us in the years to come. When you look at all the years, the 20 odd years that you've been a parent now, what phase was the easiest and what phase was the hardest?

I don't know. At the moment, it's pretty bloody hard. We're all living together, working together. Because let's talk about the fact that, I don't know if this is good news or bad news, but you've welcomed the boys back home after they moved out. Yes, after they both lived in separate cities for five years.

Yeah. Who came back first? Jack came back first and then went again, and then Cooper came back, which meant he got the good room, which Jack's pretty dirty about, which was Jack's old room. And then Jack came back, yeah. Well, what's that like as a parent having the kids back in the nest?

Look, I thought I'd love it. You know, being the good Italian mother thinking, oh, you know, they can stay forever, you know, bring the family, bring everyone. However, they bring their own rules back with them that they think that they're now entitled to. And, you know, they say, no, it's not your house, Trish. It's our house. The manipulation. It's not your house. It's our house. You know, not my house, not your house. So, you know, you try and walk this careful balance of

you get a Tarianism, but, you know, you just want to say, you know what? It's my house. it's my rules, do what I say. You mentioned Jack came back twice. Yes. Now my mum had a rule where if we left and came back and left again, that means we'd left for the final time. See, they didn't leave by choice. Oh, football.

Yeah, they left for football. I still think my mum would stand by that. No. Is that why you accepted them back? Of course. Okay, and why you accepted them back? Of course. Okay. And would you have them back every time or do you think there's a line?

Yeah, no, I'd have them back every time. Be honest, Trish, come on. I think I'd have them back every time. I don't know, I'll spend another 10 years. I'll do them in your voice. We'll see. Have they got any bad habits now that they're back living with you?

Cooper is an absolute pig. I see that. An absolute pig. In what way? I like his clothes. Like, Cooper was this meticulous child who in the car on the way home from school, he'd be doing his homework so it was done. Like it was OCD. Wow.

It was OCD as a child. Well, he lost that somewhere in Melbourne. I don't know. He probably picked up the apples again. Oh my lord. Got on with it. And so he would tidy his room and close the door. So no one would go in as a child.

So no one would go in and mess it up. Okay. Now you close the door because it's such a mess you don't want anyone to see it. I wonder what's happened. Let go of that OCD. The human brain is crazy. Somewhere along the way, he was like, yeah, I give up on this clean-to-the-stuff.

It's not clean. Nothing bad happens. So, you know, it's OK. As a parent to older boys then, because the boys are in their late 20s now? 26 and 27, yeah. Can you enforce rules upon them? How does that go?

It's tough. Can you ground them? It's tough. No, no, no, I can't ground them. Have you tried? What have I tried? I've tried, I tried not cooking for a while. How did that go?

I liked it. I liked it a lot. Everyone was starving though. Oh no, it's just Uber and deliveries constant. Yeah, it's hard. Take their electronics away from them. No, that doesn't work at this age either. You don't want to take their electronics.

You don't want to check the history. You don't know what's on there. Yeah, I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I think you should try a ground one. I mean, I crack it every now and again. Yeah. I know with my mum, like there's certain points where it's like,

okay, I can't push it any further. Do they respect it when you cross that? Yes, they know, they know. Yeah. And who's more receptive to that, Jack or Cooper? Both, actually. Okay. Yeah, yeah.

Cooper, even as a young fella, like always knew, he'd push, push, push, push, and then whoop, but okay. Yeah, all back. Whereas Jack wasn't pushing those boundaries. Yeah. Does Jack have any bad wasn't pushing those boundaries. Yeah. Does Jack have any bad habits? Look, he could be a little tidier, but you know. But I have to say, I have seen a vast improvement.

Yeah. So it's okay. And I think that's more to do with his girlfriend. I think, right. And are the girlfriends allowed to stay over or are they going to stay? Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just want to understand the dynamics of the house. I'm going to have three daughters now. Our third is going to be a girl. Oh, wow. Congratulations, you know. Thank you very much. Did you know with the others as well? No, that was a surprise at birth.

But I said to Laura, we've got to find out. So I just want to know. I did want to have a boy. But at the same time, I'm also happy to have three girls. It's lovely. You're on the other end of the spectrum. You've got two boys.'m also happy to have three girls. It's lovely. You're on the other end of the spectrum. You've got two boys.

Yep. Did you want to have girls? Were you happy to have two boys? It didn't bother me. All I wanted was a healthy child. Yeah, I was well aware of what's involved in having a child. Do you know what I mean?

As in having a baby and everything that has to go right to get a healthy child. Is it hard being in a household where you've got a lot of testosterone? Very hard. How do you keep your identity with so much testosterone pumping through those walls? I spend a lot of time away from them. Yeah.

Smile. I spend a lot of time in my room. That's my little oasis. And it's like, don't come in. Leave me. You're banned from Mummy's room. Just leave me. And I hang out with my girlfriends a lot of time in my room. That's my little oasis. And it's like, don't come in, leave me. You're banned from Mummy's room. Just leave me. And I hang out with my girlfriends a lot. Yeah.

And funnily enough, I have a lot of girlfriends who have a lot of boys as well. So they get there. Yeah. My neighbor across the road has four boys. Wow. You're all escaping them together. Yes, yes, yes.

I think about how protective I am of my kids. And I think it's got to be so tough, like sport in Australia, and especially coming from a pedigree with the surname Johns, you know, there's such high expectation. What's it like as a mom with your two boys playing professional sport, playing NRL?

Well, they did, yep. They're both retired now, yep. How is it trying to protect them when there's so much criticism? Every player receives it. Yeah, you just have to ignore it. Like really, actually there's no other way. I mean, you're not going to fight everyone.

And the thing is, a lot of these people that have so much to say, they've got no idea. Or I would have more idea about football than they do. Do you know what I mean? Which is not saying a lot. So yeah, you've just got to like realize that, you know, you can't fight their battles for them. And they wouldn't want me to either.

You know what I mean? They wouldn't want Matt to. Yeah. They're very strong-willed, independent young men. Yeah. And they seem like, the times that I've spent with them, they seem very much aware of themselves that they don't take it on with them too much.

But I mean, I don't see the behind the closed doors, them having to deal with that. So yeah, I can't imagine someone, especially like a couch quarterback, trying to tell me how shit my kid is, you know what I mean, at 40? Like, that would suck, right? Exactly. Oh my gosh. Well, actually, last week on the podcast, Cooper went down to and spent a couple of days with Matt's grandparents in Cesno. It was on the family podcast. He was telling us

all the stories. Oh my God. I hadn't even heard some of them. So there was one where Matt's under-10s coach had a little bit of feedback that he shared with Gaz, having talent, but he was just a bit lazy, he wasn't doing enough, and Gaz jobbed him. What? Yes! Just straight up. Yeah, that happens. He hit him.

He just hit him. It's wild. I was like, oh. Imagine if he did that these days. You feel the news. Oh my lord. I don't think Gaz took it so well. Yeah, definitely not.

Imagine if he was around the social media. The 70s and 80s, what build the news. I don't think gas took it so well. Yeah, definitely not. Imagine if it was around the 70s and 80s. What a wild time. Coaches getting dropped, people pumping gas in bikinis. Sounds like time to be alive if you ask me. Do you know what? I actually look at you guys, I think you've got a lot harder. Really? Building our kids.

Thank you. It's nice for you to say that. I actually do. In what way? The technological way. Yeah. They're parenting for you to say that. No, I actually do. In what way? The technological way. Yeah. They're parenting our kids, that technology. Oh, it's frightening. Social media, all the expectations, status even.

I think that's become a bigger thing. Like there's a lot more pressure on parents to provide more things for their kids. And I think that's crazy. Instead of just living healthy, simple lives, provide more things for their kids. And I think that's crazy instead of just living healthy, simple lives. I think it's a lot. Yeah, comparison culture is definitely more rife now online. And kids are a nightmare in that all kids have this insatiable appetite for more and more and more. But you could give, I could give my daughter a unicorn and she'd be like,

I want it. Yeah. And I think it's hard now now for kids to just be kids. When my parents talk about their childhood and my childhood, it was sort of like, what are you doing? It's like, get out in the backyard, mate. Get out of here and be a kid, you know, and climb trees and have fun with your mates and wrestle with your mates.

And laugh. You can't, it's like. And get dirty. Play French cricket. have fun with your mates and wrestle with your mates. And laugh. You can't, it's like. And get dirty. Yeah. Play French cricket. It's hard now, I think, for them really, because they've got, yeah, there's all this, all this technology around them. But it's hard, they sort of lose that identity of being a kid a little bit.

So I do, I think it's a lot harder for you. I look at parents now and I go, whoa, how would I manage those things? And I think that in itself is a full-time job. But see, at the same time, I look at you in your era of parenting and I'm like, oh God, you didn't have deliveries on your phone. You didn't have this so many parts of parenting that I'm like, you guys had it so much tougher than us. Yeah, I must say, I do look at parents and the kids are sitting there quietly with iPads.

I go, damn it. Yeah, there's your side who's going, iPad, I go, damn it. Yeah, but there's your side who's going, damn, I wish I had that. Then there's the other side who's going, how could they do that to their kid? How could they do that? It's like easy, you just press the on button. Oh, mate, I would have been happily handing that over. I know, I know. Also as well though, because they don't know how to regulate. So when they're watching something so locked in, we can detach from the emotion. They don't detach from the emotion.

They're like, I know with Oscar, he's just like locked in. Whatever the emotion's happening on the screen, he's that emotion. Oh really? Yeah. What's he into? Anything violent. Really?

No. No, no, no. I'm not okay. No, look, he's a lot of Mario Kart, really. Pokemon, you know, cartoons, all that sort of stuff. And like, YouTube is a tricky one, because I feel that they can easily be taken on a different path to something the algorithm can,

yeah. YouTube kids, bro. Yeah, same thing. I feel like every now and then I'll look over and I'll be like, oh, it's probably not the best for him to be watching two kids. Car crash. You got a car crash. Two kids sort of fighting with figurines right before he's going to go to bed.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to be careful of those sort of things. But that's just one difference. Trish, is it 2013 you had a diagnosis that is one that no one wants to receive. It was breast cancer. Yeah. Was it 2013? Yeah, it was the end of 2012, actually.

And then I had all my treatment in 2013. And so what led up to the moment where you did get diagnosed? I found a little lump. And I'd had a lump before my mom had had breast cancer, but that was sort of in her older age. And so I'd only just turned 40 and ish, ish. And I'm going to sound really stupid here, but in the shower or how did you discover the lump? No, it was a really, it was just like right there. Like it was like prominent. Yeah. And because I'd had a lump previously,

I was meant to go and have scans regularly, but I'd changed doctors, we'd moved and I just, I lost track. It's non-critical. I lost track, lost track of time. Thought I was sort of, oh no, I'm still, you know, within the time to go and have this scan. And then, and I just felt this little,

like they describe it, a little pee. Yeah, right, that's small. Yeah, and then and I just felt this little like like they describe it a little pea. Yeah right that's small. Yeah and then but wait for the story this is and this is why I would say to people and don't wait I mean they have mammograms and things for people at 50. Go when you're younger. Yeah okay. Go when you're younger just ask your doctor to send you for an ultrasound younger, because all you've got is if you can get in early and preventative. You don't want it spreading. Yeah, I'll preface this with that is advice you should take. It is advice. It is absolutely advice you should take.

Yeah, and that's really good too. I think the message is- Don't think you're too young. For sure. Yeah. So did you, your gut gut before you got those results? What were you thinking it was going to be? So I went to the doctor and I said, oh, I've got this little lump.

He went, oh, no, that's nothing. He said, but you're overdue for your scan. I went, OK, cool. So off I go, just, you know, ticking the box and thinking, you know. Yeah. And they did the mammogram, nothing. I should have been alerted when they called a doctor in at the ultrasound thing. But I still didn't really. Unless you're really experienced in doing that all the time, you're not really sure.

Yeah, I didn't really. Yeah. So and they came in. No one said anything though. Like they just got someone else in and I was like, all right. And then that little lump that I felt wasn't anything. Look, and this is why I say, go and have an ultrasound. Despite what your doctor will say, you have to take your own health into your own hands. They'd have never found my lump without an ultrasound. I couldn't have felt it.

It was behind the nipple, yeah. Like I could have never found it. The pee was nothing. And my surgeon actually still to this day said, I said, well, what was that? Was that like a little lymph node that was triggered by the lump? And he goes, he said, I don't know. He said, but no, it's nothing.

But after I had the lump removed, it went. So to me, it's, I like to think that it's my family who's passed looking out for me actually. Oh, I just got goosebumps. Yeah, that's what I like to think. Yeah, wow. It's crazy like when you hear... Yeah, if it wasn't for that benign thing, then you never would have found what was really lurking. And so when the doctor comes in, what do they say to you? How is that news delivered? Well, actually, I got mine over the phone

because he'd- Didn't have the balls to do it in person. No, they're, yeah, anyway, but I knew a surgeon, so I'd already made an, I'd spoken to him and he said, I'll just bring your scans in, I'll have a look, well, this is before anyone had said anything to me. And I was on the way to that appointment

when the doctor rang and said, are you going to that appointment today? I said, oh yeah, I'm on my way now. Thinking I'm just again being very thorough. And he went, yeah, you need to go. It is cancerous. Oh, which wasn't great as I was driving. Anyway.

As blunt as that. Yeah. Yeah. I suppose they kind of got to be, right? Well, yeah. I mean, I feel maybe he thought that maybe I thought it was something, but I didn't because I'd made this appointment to go and see the surgeon. I don't know.

I don't know. What does it feel like hearing those words? Yeah, it was more than I would have thought that how I reacted. Yeah, I just burst into tears. Yeah. And I was in the car on my own, so it was like, not ideal. Yeah. The conversation with your family around the news you got, how did that go down?

I rang Matt straight away and he said, do you want me to come? I said, look, no, like this is just a meeting anyway, just no. But and then I didn't tell anyone. Didn't tell anyone for ages. Why? I just didn't feel the need to. I didn't and I didn't tell the boys.

They were only quite young at the time. Like Coop might've been 12, Jack might've been 15. So I went in for the first surgery and then I had to go back in for another one. And it was after the second surgery, Matt told the boys, which I hadn't consented to, but he felt that they needed to know when I got home that they had to be on sort of best behaviour.

Yeah. And- How did they respond to the news? With yourself when you came back home? Very interesting. Cooper was really frightened. Yeah. He was just frightened.

He was just frightened. He's like, you know, you're gonna die, what's going on? You know? I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no You know, at that age. And it's just relative to the age. Yeah. Yeah. And that's quite normal sort of reactions. Yeah. Yeah.

And so then after you have that initial surgery, do they tell you what your success rate here of, you know, beating this cancer is X amount? How much information do they give you about that? Well, what I learned when I had breast cancer is that there's a whole lot of different types of breast cancer, which I didn't know that beforehand and There's all these there's just a myriad of tests that you then have to go through

You know whether it's estrogen positive whether it's progesterone Positive and that determines the treatment and you have to check node involvement because once it sort of gets to your lymph nodes Yeah, it starts traveling through body. So you don't want. And that's why I say go as early as you possibly can. You don't want it going to your lymph nodes. You just want to contain it. How long was your treatment for? About six months. Yeah, chemo.

I mean, once you'd finished your treatment, and I mean, how did they break the news to you? Were you cancer free or in remission? They do actually. And to answer your question before, when to start, because it's all very, you see this person now. And then when that's done, you see this person. Then you go on, you know, then you go on to your oncologist. And they do enter a whole lot of data into some sort of computer program and they give you some sort of percentage,

like survival percentage, right? But I did notice they always kept saying, oh, five years. Hang on, I wonder what beyond five years, you know? Go beyond five years. So mine's over 10 now. So I had to be on medication for 10 years. Oh, wow. Yeah, because my cancer was estrogen fed.

Yeah, and so when you have beaten cancer, do you celebrate? Do you have a party? Or is it just like, we get on with it? You wet the head, Matt. Yeah. No, no, I think you still always have it there a little bit, a little fear.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, because you know how quickly things can change. I think that's what it is. One minute you're living your life and I wasn't sick. I didn't feel unwell. I didn't think. And that's the irony too, that, you know, once you start chemo and stuff, they're making you sick.

Yeah. They're not actually making you sick. And that's like a real mind game that happens. Do you remember what the sickness felt like from chemo? I was actually, I had a lot of friends who were in the medical profession and they just said, Tusha, take all the drugs, take the programmed drugs that they say and that will minimize it. So I didn't feel nauseous so much like a lot of people and you know half of it was one type of chemotherapy and the second half was

a different kind of chemotherapy. The second half one, that wasn't very pleasant. That just got all your joints in your body and you felt like you had the flu all the time. Just achy. Achy and really tired. Yeah, really tired and achy. I grew up with my mom losing friends to breast cancer. So I think I love your thought process of the fact that it was your loved ones looking out for you.

Yeah. I think it's amazing that you come through the other end and you've beaten it. So well done. Yeah. Congratulations. And thank you so much for sharing that. And our listeners for sure, that advice to go early will resonate with them.

Oh, because I would never. And again, I was only doing it to sort of tick the box to, yeah, I'm done for another few years, I'll be fine. So I was quite shocked. Yeah. Trish, we always like to end the question. End the show with a question. We like to end the show with a question. And it's unique because your boys have kind of done this a few times,

but it's when they have left the nest. Again. And they come back. For the last time. Hopefully that time will come. Surely there's got to be a marriage soon. Surely. Is there anything you would like them to remember about the

house they grew up in? Yeah. Yeah. I want them to remember that dinner time was the time where we all came together. We sat at the table and one of my favourite things to do and we didn't do it all the time but it was like your high low of the day. Yeah. And everyone has was like your high low of the day. And everyone has to give a high low of their day all the week it might be. And you just get tidbits of information that aren't forthcoming otherwise. Particularly boys that don't come out and tell you everything all the time. Although I did love the car trip home from school.

I used to get all the gossip. All the gossip. Because they'd be talking to you.. I'd go, hmm, is that what Freddie's been doing? Oh. Yes. So, yeah, so that's... Well, from the sidelines, it looks like you guys have a lot of fun. I'm sure there's a lot of arguments that we don't see.

But that's part of the fun, isn't it? Yeah. Does everyone get on all the time? No. That's unrealistic. Or just Ash and myself. Just us. I would think that all the time? No. That's unrealistic. I'm just ashing myself. Just to start. I would think that would be...

Boring. I'd be raising my eyebrow and going, what's going on there? Something weird. Someone's not happy in that relationship. Someone's just going, oh, okay. Always, you know. I think when you can argue

and then make fun of the argument later. Oh, we love that. That is the best. That's our favourite thing. It's like you've completely moved on from it and someone will say something and you'll be like, oh, just like when you were angry before. Yeah. Just to poke the bet. I think that shows that you're so comfortable with your family that,

you know, you can just about say anything to each other. Pretty much. We've often gone in to do our family podcast and not talking. Like Matt and I a number of times. Yeah. And I'm not even looking at him. I can't even look at you. It might have been days. And I thought, oh god, this is going to be awkward. And then after the first time I went,

no, actually it works. Get out of here. And then like he can't help himself. He's always the one that breaks the ice. I'm the stubborn one. I see that with Rameem, yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's the, yeah, can't bear it.

Well, it's been a pleasure having the matriarch. I do have gifts. Oh, do you? I have gifts for you. What do you got? The boys have sent backstage. Now, these are not available. These are like special backstage podcasts

for crew from Mat Maddie Johns. Trish has just brought out Too Beautiful. Although I've got to question the colour. Marrone. Manly. Oh, there you go. Perfect for you. Perfect for me.

Oh, it looks lovely on you. Who do you support? I'm from Brisbane. I'm from Brisbane. Works for the Broncos too? Works for the Broncos. I can't remember what size my head was. And these.

What have you got here? Okay, these are really special. Okay. So on the Family Podcast some time ago, we had an incident where Matt was telling us about the time he had to stop through St Ives and pee, but like there was nowhere to pee. He has a bladder issue, the man. Oh no. And so we had some cowboy boots.

He's, thank God, in his boot. So I grabbed one and he's in his car peeing in his boot. Nice. That is the strangest, just get out and pee in the bush. Yeah, I think there were kids around, I don't think he could. Okay, yeah. He can't be here, you're coming walking around

the park with your dick out. So I went on, I think, Teemu and there are these things called... Oh, oh, oh, oh, we don't want to do that. It's a portable urinal. So for the car. So I thought that might be handy for you guys. And I thought even for the kids. I love that I get to take away from this interview

that the Johns family got me a portable urinal. Yeah, you gotinal. Yes. Look at that. You could do other things with it. That's far too big for me. Well, you know, you never know how much pee one is told I'm onto at any one given moment. That is unnecessary but extremely thoughtful. Yeah, keep it in the car. I honestly think this is one of the best gifts I've ever been given.

You're welcome. And also, if you're thirsty, you can... Well, you could, as long as you haven't been using it. It smells good, smell that. Hey, I brought them, made sure they were in the plastic for you, so it wasn't second-hand. So, Kuba hasn't weeded this one? No, no, he's got his own.

They've each got one in their bedrooms. Okay. That is it, like, that's amazing. Thank you so much. I'm going to give it a go. I'll report back. Okay. I won't send it back to your house with pee in it. No,'s amazing. Thank you so much. I'm going to give it a go. I'll report back. Okay. I won't send it back to you. I was with being it. No, don't. Just, yeah. But just, yeah, don't pull too hard on that envy. Yeah, I might take it to Magic Round with me. That did come off him.

I might take it to Magic Round with me and whip it out in front of Cooper and see what he says. Yeah. Oh. Thanks for having me. Again, thank you so much for jumping on and sharing the Johns family and yourself and of course your story about breast cancer is gonna be real beneficial. Listen and say thank you. Yeah, you have to take your own health into your own hands. For sure.

If your doctor says no, you're too young, just say yeah, but I still wanna have an ultrasound. Good advice, sound solid advice. It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Exactly. Trish, thank you so much. Pleasure. Good advice. Sound solid advice. It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Exactly. Trish, thank you so much. Pleasure. Appreciate it. Matt, that was delightful.

I wish I hadn't got gifts at the end as well. I know. The pith cup. I forgot what it was. I'm actually going to use mine to drink out of. I'm wearing my haversies. And remember, please, please take Trisha's advice, which is really, really important, and go and get yourself checked regularly. Yeah, not just mums, but dads as well.

Early detection is key. And if you enjoyed this episode, any episode from Two Doting Dads, we would absolutely love it. We love it. If you would give us a review. Subscribe, maybe a couple of comments, some feedback, if you will,

on any episodes on Up?Podcast or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Yes, join us on socials. To Dating Dads, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. And if there's any mums or dads out there that you would love us to interview, please let us know and we'll do our best to hunt them down. Excuse me?

I'd like a famous grandmother. Oh! Mmm. Yes. I'm into that. Not in that way! Alright, see you later. Bye!

To Doting Dads podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.