The famous entertainer shares the bright new addition to his young family.
Pre-school superstar Anthony Field finally has a little blue wiggle of his own! Proudly showing off his bouncing baby son, the top-rating RSPCA Animal Rescue host laughingly admits he came late to fatherhood.
But 44-year-old Anthony and his beautiful wife, Miki, have certainly put a wiggle on since their fun-filled multicultural marriage in May 2003.
Lovely Lucia, aged three-and-a-half, was conceived on their wedding night. Her sister Maria was born in 2005 — the same day that Anthony’s beloved Wests Tigers won the Rugby League premiership.
And baby made three when Antonio Carlos Field arrived on Black Friday, April 13, at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, weighing a healthy 3.5kg.
It’s a far cry from Anthony’s pin-up days as Cleo Bachelor of the Year, but the mega-rich — and remarkably modest entertainer — couldn’t be happier. Anthony says Miki has helped him defeat the black dog of depression that stalked him for years, despite his worldwide success.
In a funny, frank and sometimes moving interview, the Blue Wiggle and his wife invite Woman’s Day into their home to share their thoughts on family, fame and Dorothy the Dinosaur.
You’re not doing badly for a couple who feared you’d never have children, are you?
Anthony: It’s amazing. Miki had severe endometriosis and only a month before our wedding, she was in hospital trying to get it all fixed up. We didn’t know if it would ever be possible for us to have kids. We thought we’d have too many fox terriers forever, but that changed pretty quickly.
Miki: We are blessed. After Antonio was born, Anthony got a tee-shirt with “I make good babies” written on the chest!
Has having children of your own made you a better Wiggle?
Anthony: Totally. I was an early childhood teacher, but even that’s different from having your own kids. I think The Wiggles have become more inclusive of the girly world. We’ve got more fairy tales and princesses. We used to be more about pirates and boy things, like Captain Feathersword. So my family has probably inspired me to be more encompassing of things that would appeal to girls.
What’s their favourite Wiggly thing?
Anthony: Dorothy the Dinosaur! Maria loves Jeff (the Purple Wiggle) too. I don’t get a look in, but that’s cool.
What kind of a father are you?
Anthony: I think I’m a dad who just keeps trying his best and realises his limitations. Children are very demanding and you can’t always give them the answers, although you want to. Sometimes they stump me and I just don’t know what to say; sometimes I don’t know how to console them when they’re upset. But I try to be an honest dad. I keep learning lessons from the children as well, which is good.
Do your children know how famous you are?
Anthony: It doesn’t mean anything to them, especially at their age. We get recognised and people come up to talk, but it’s always positive. It’s just part of our daily life. I certainly don’t get a big head over it. You still have to be a nice person, no matter how famous you are, and I hope my kids will realise that.
Will they follow in your footsteps?
Anthony: If they want to dance or sing, fantastic, but we don’t want to push them in any way. At home, we try to encourage them to be whatever they want to be, do whatever they want to do, because it’s very entertaining. Lucia is a classic girly girl; she dances all day on her toes.
Miki: There’s always something going on. It’s never boring. I think all three of them will be entertainers — although Maria loves the smell of my coffee, so you never know.
The Wiggles’ new DVD Pop Go The Wiggles! is out now. Their national tour starts in Perth early December. For dates, see www.thewiggles.com
For more of this interview, and more gorgeous photos, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale October 8)
