‘I can’t stop randomly crying’ says I’m a Celeb star Joel Dommett as he reveals breakdown in Sainsbury’s over new baby
JOEL Dommett has had many lives – from a jobbing actor with bit roles on Skins to a stand-up comedian and was even once most well-known for having painted with his penis on TV.
But his life completely changed when he went on I’m A Celebrity in 2016, coming second to former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt.
Not only did Joel, 38, become one of the most loved people on telly overnight, but it’s also how he met his now-wife Hannah Cooper, who was one of the many thousands of women to send him a DM while he was in the jungle.
Having welcomed their first child together, Wilde, in September last year, Joel has now swapped sleepless nights out boozing for sleepless nights filled with a lot of poo and vomit.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun ahead of Father’s Day, The Masked Singer host tells us how becoming a dad has changed him and his relationship with Hannah – and teases his next reality TV venture.
“Being a dad is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions,” he tells us as Wilde sleeps soundly next to him.
“It really is like a rollercoaster in the way that when you’re going up, you’re so stressed, and then it gets to the top and then it goes over and you’re like ‘this is the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life and I love it so much.’
“And then every day is like you get to the end of the ride, and you’re so knackered.
“It’s absolutely insane, and I honestly, really, really love it.”
The most shocking part of parenthood for Joel has been loving Wilde even when he’s vomiting into his mouth, or pooing all over himself.
He laughs: “He loves when I chuck him above my head. He loves it so much, and laughs so much.
“But also, it makes him vomit sometimes and it’s really difficult for me because I love making him laugh, and then obviously I hate having his vomit in my mouth.
“He also sleeps okay now, which is great, unless he completely s**ts up his back.
“In which case, he wakes up and it’s the worst thing of all time – he has the most explosive s**ts.
“It’s so intense. It goes up to the base of his neck. It’s incredible.
“You think it’s gonna be the awful part of it, dealing with these bodily fluids, but, as a parent, you love them so much, when they do something so impressive, like s**tting up their own back, you go, ‘Fair play, man. Well done.’”
But this laidback nature of his isn’t the only new thing about Joel.
“I’ve become much more emotional. I keep just randomly crying in Sainsbury’s. I don’t know whether that’s because I’m sleep-deprived.”
Joel is working with Pampers, who has found that 82 percent of new parents complain about sleep deprivation.
And he admits this has been what’s caused the most arguments between him and Hannah.
He says: “Becoming parents definitely changes your relationship and sleep deprivation is a big part of it.
“Obviously, you become a bit aggy with each other.
If I met Hannah when I was 22, she wouldn’t have even looked at me.
Joel Dommett
“I always try to tell myself it’s the sleep deprivation. It’s not the fact that I hate my wife.
“And you remember that, and then you have a little sleep, and then you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I actually really love her. I forgot about that, I just needed a crisp seven hours.’”
He adds: “This is gonna be so very cheesy, but I feel like Wilde has given me a reason to work and a reason to come home and I just love my little family and our little gang that we have.
“It feels like honestly the first time I’ve ever had a friend. It’s absolutely lovely.”
Lucky love story
Hannah and Joel’s modern love story began in 2016 when the Dutch-born model drunkenly sent him a message on Instagram with a cat emoji, shortly after his appearance on I’m A Celeb.
He replied to her, and they went on their first date together.
He tells us: “There was definitely a moment on our first day where I was like, ‘Oh, this is the best date I’ve ever been on, with the best person I’ve ever been on a date with, and the absolute right timing.’
“I personally think that there’s not necessarily a One for you, but it’s about finding the right one at the right time.
“And it just happened all at exactly the right time for both of us.”
He continues: “If I met Hannah when I was 22, she wouldn’t have even looked at me.
“She would have walked straight past me, she wouldn’t have even noticed me, and I would never have had the confidence to walk up to her either, or message her back on Instagram.
“She’s genuinely brilliant, we just communicate well, and I think that’s the big thing with parenting.”
Who is Joel Dommett?
THE TV presenter is now a well-known face on our screens - but it took years for him to get his big break.
Joel grew up in Rockhampton, Gloucestershire, and performed his first stand-up comedy gig at 19.
His first TV appearance was in Casualty, back in 2004. He had a string of other small parts before landing the role of D.C. Sweeney in Skins six years later.
He also appeared in BBC sitcom Popatron and hosted Live In Chelsea, a discussion show about Made In Chelsea.
The comedian went on to appear in Impractical Jokers UK and later became a panelist on Sky’s Bring The Noise, before his world changed when he appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
He placed second in the 2016 reality show and that same year, fronted World Of Weird, which saw him paint with his penis.
Joel’s I’m A Celeb stint led to a number of lucrative presenting gigs including The Masked Singer and its spin-off The Masked Dancer.
He’s also been the host of the National Television Awards since 2021 and earlier this year, presented Comic Relief.
Masked mistakes
Joel is now best known as the host of The Masked Singer, ITV’s hit celebrity singing guessing game.
However, other than having correctly guessed last series’ winner Danny Jones, he admits his hit rate is very poor.
He laughs: “The problem is when you get someone in your mind, you can’t get it out of your mind, and you feel so strong in your decisions.
“Once I thought Cheryl was someone, and I was so sure about it, and then you start to find clues that make sense.”
He even spent one whole series of The Masked Dancer thinking Glee star Heather Morris was Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts.
He says: “I was sure it was Ashley Roberts, and I know Ashley Roberts quite well, me and Hannah hang out with her all the time.
“So the way I was interacting was like I knew her well, just tapping her on the shoulder and going ‘Well done,’ going up to the head and just being like ‘You were so good, you were so great.’
“And then they were revealed and I’d never met the person before in my life.
“I was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ I’ve been putting my hand on her shoulder, like I was her best friend. It’s really weird.”
‘Huge error’
And it now seems Joel is keen to go back into reality TV, and take part in Celebrity Gladiators, as he recently posted a picture of himself on Instagram, showing off his muscly biceps, with the caption: “Ultimately we all just want to be a Gladiator and be hugged by Bradley Walsh.”
I’ve come a long way from painting with my d***!
Joel
He tells us: “I made a huge error because I found this picture of me from last year, where I was like ‘Oh my god,’ because I don’t look like that now I’ve been running so much for the London Marathon. I’m skinny as hell now.
“And I didn’t even think about it. I just put that as a caption, and then it blew up and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re gonna be on Celebrity Gladiators’.
“I suppose I would do it. I mean, it would be pretty cool. I just love the show so much.”
He continues: “This year, when Gladiators was on, then Masked Singer, and then The 1% Club and The Wheel, honestly, it just feels like Saturday night telly is better than it’s ever been.
“It feels really alive and really exciting, and I love that Masked Singer’s a part of that.
“It’s great and it’s so family-orientated.”
As well as more Masked Singer coming up later in the year, Joel is hoping for more slots stepping in for Lorraine Kelly on ITV’s Lorraine, and he’ll also be presenting the National Television Awards in September.
Joel finishes: “I genuinely love what I do for a living and the fact that Wilde’s here now just makes home life really fun too.
“I feel like my work life balance is really good. I feel lucky that it’s right, right now.
“I’ve come a long way from painting with my d***!”
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