Award-winning television personality, meteorologist and mother Magdalena Roze is one of those instantly likeable, funny and honest women who you want to be friends with (leaving the house without “vom” on her T-shirt is a goal for 2016). She’s also incredibly inspiring and down-to-earth...
“My parents took a big risk coming to Australia and left everything behind in Poland to give my sister and I the chance to have a better life here, so they’ve always encouraged us to do what we love and live life to the fullest. Work hard, be humble, be generous, don’t stress, don’t lie and enjoy and share the fruits of your labour are their mottos. My dad always says “No Strrrrrresss, rrrrrelax!” in his thick Polish accent!”, she says, with a laugh. Roze’s seemingly countless career highlights include co-hosting Network Ten’s The Project, covering two Olympic Games, co-hosting the Australian Grand Prix coverage, reading news and weather on both breakfast and prime-time bulletins, and reporting nationwide on some of the biggest natural disasters in Australian history. “Accepting the ASTRA award for The Weather Channel’s coverage of the Black Saturday bushfires is a moment I’ll always treasure,” says Roze. Let’s just say she’s been busy. And even busier since her adorable son Archie arrived late last year. Roze and her chef husband Darren Robertson also relocated from Sydney to Byron Bay last year, where Robertson has now opened a second Three Blue Ducks restaurant on The Farm at Byron Bay, a project celebrating sustainability, farm produce and food education. “Making the tree change to Byron forced me to reconsider my career and prioritise my commitments and, unexpectedly, it’s opened up other opportunities. I’ve scaled back some things to focus on being a mum with Archie but luckily I haven’t had to change too much on the work front,” she says. We loved catching up with this beautiful mama to talk about her passion for meteorology, memories of her childhood and what motherhood has taught her. Photography: Raegan Glazner Hair and makeup: Alexis Mahoney Shot on location at Rae’s On Wategoes Go to www.magdalenaroze.com
Motherhood has taught me...
How to get ready for date night in 60 seconds; juggle a pram, baby, car keys and five bags of shopping up the stairs; go to the toilet while feeding (glamorous!) and kill a mozzie Mr Miyagi style if it comes anywhere near Archie! On a deeper level, it has taught me selflessness, patience, and an unconditional love that I never thought possible. It has also taught me to relax, slow down, trust my own instincts and shown me how resilient we are! The first few weeks of motherhood were such a blur. I was recovering from a challenging birth, my milk still hadn’t come in after a week, I had so many people offering differing advice and opinions on what to do, and I was totally overwhelmed and sleep deprived! It was hectic, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. But we got through it – as all parents do, and you realise that everything gets better, each day is a new day and it doesn’t need to perfect. In fact it can’t be. As long as Archie is healthy and content then I’m happy. Motherhood has expanded the spectrum of my emotions to limits I never knew and in the case of love, it’s limitless.
To my younger self, I'd say...
Trust yourself and your intuition. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t so don’t be afraid to back yourself. Follow your dreams and don’t feel pressured to ‘know what you want to do’; just do what you love and enjoy where that takes you. Careers are fluid and ever-changing so nothing is a bad decision or the wrong path, especially if you’re always learning. Don’t be afraid to be different and embrace your inner nerd.
My secrets for a strong marriage after children are...
Rather than holding onto what your partnership may have been like before baby and the freedom that came with it, I think it’s accepting that your relationship change’s with kids, embracing the family cocoon and laughing at the craziness. It takes a bit more planning for Daz and I to do the things we love, like travelling and eating out, but when we do find time, it feels special. Our mornings cuddling Archie or listening to him coo and talk to himself in his cot when he wakes up are magic! Having said that, it’s important to make time for being a couple and yourself. As hard as the first few months are for the mother with the baby being reliant on you 24/7, I often think that it must be hard for the dad too losing his partner in crime! I’m conscious of having quality time with Darren, once Archie’s asleep and having the occasional date night which will only increase as Archie gets older. The one thing Daz and I haven’t compromised on, is our morning ritual of a coffee and crossword! Yep, we’re so rock n roll!
I always knew I wanted to work in television so I studied Media and Communications at Sydney University straight out of school...
Following an internship at Getaway at Channel Nine, I was offered a job as a researcher and that’s where my career in television began. I went on to produce various shows for Channel Nine and then the BBC in London. It was while I was producing for Nine’s Uncharted Territory that my boss at the time (and now one of my dearest friends) Karen Warner suggested I go on screen after seeing a little doco I was making in my spare time after work. She made everyone on the show stop what they’re doing to put together my show reel and then asked me, “What’s your dream gig?”, I said “National Geographic”, so we sent my reel there and I had a job in two weeks! This reinforced my belief that success comes from a mixture of opportunity, luck and (mainly) hard work. While I was working at Nat Geo, I presented a lot of weather and climate stories and realised that I had this untapped passion for science so I started presenting at The Weather Channel, and went back to university to study Atmospheric Science. I really wanted to know what I was talking about. The amazing thing about the weather is that it’s one of the only things on the planet that affects every single person, every single day. I became a bit obsessed with having accountability for my forecasts and I absolutely love communicating the weather to audiences in a way that means something to them, beyond just “fine and 22.” After four years at The Weather Channel, I went to Network Ten to do the weather “Breakfast” program and ended up working on other fantastic shows such as The Project, Australian Grand Prix, Olympic Games and many more.
I started my website as a way of exploring and sharing my passions for food, travel and lifestyle, but through the lens of the weather...
So “Sunny” stories might include; my recipes for popsicles, a guide on where to eat in a sunny place like Byron Bay or stories that are positive and uplifting. It started off as a bit of a hobby so I’ve been surprised by how well it has done and the exciting opportunities it has lead to, especially in the food space. Since becoming a mum, some of my most popular posts have been on motherhood and babies – the good, the bad and the poonamis!
I love that every day is different...
Working in the media has given me the opportunity to meet so many incredible, funny, talented and intelligent people from sports stars to politicians, as well as ordinary Aussies doing extraordinary things. I really enjoy interviewing and listening to other people’s stories – there’s always so much to learn. Travelling, work, shopping recipes for my blog, and food reviewing, are really enjoyable too – it’s what I’d be doing in my spare time.
Interestingly, I diversified my career before I fell pregnant with Archie because we moved to Byron Bay...
In retrospect, this was the perfect preparation for having a baby as it has given me the sort of flexibility I never had when I worked in television full-time.
Darren and I had both been coming to Byron on holidays for years and it was actually our first holiday as a couple...
I absolutely love it here – the beaches, food, nature and the bohemian and cosmopolitan vibe that attracts so many interesting, creative people. Like a lot of people, we’d often dream about moving up here one day but we didn’t think it would happen before retirement! So when the opportunity came up for Darren to open up a Three Blue Ducks restaurant and produce store on a working farm, it was too good to pass up. I just said, “yes, we have to go” without really thinking about the consequences, especially for my career! There’s no TV station in Byron and that’s all I’d ever known. But I was totally committed to supporting Darren and equally passionate about creating a true farm to table project, that’s ethical and sustainable. I just figured that I’d make it work! I’m not going to lie, finding an identity and purpose that wasn’t exclusively linked to TV and reinventing myself was a challenge at first and I felt quite isolated away from my friends and family. And then I fell pregnant! But it was one of the best risks that we’ve taken. We still come to Sydney for work, but this definitely feels like home too. The lifestyle here is idyllic and it’s a beautiful place to raise a family. While the perfect work/life balance is ever-elusive – I think we’re close to it here.
The Three Blue Ducks restaurant in Byron takes the philosophy of being honest, local, innovative and ethical from the original cafe in Bronte, and takes it to the next level - as it’s on an actual working farm...
It’s about sharing delicious food with people but also getting them to connect with it by seeing the produce being grown right there. They can walk through the macadamia plantation and veggies patches and see the chickens, pigs and cattle. It’s especially great for kids. What’s grown on the farm is just a small portion of what ends up at the restaurant, so it’s also about working with dozens of local farmers that are also committed to spray-free, ethical produce.
I’ve always enjoyed quite a healthy lifestyle and naturally gravitate towards wholesome food probably because it tastes better, but it’s not something I’m obsessive about...
I eat everything and love my food and cooking too much to cut things out so it’s a bit of an 80/20 scenario. I just listen to what my body wants and don’t deprive myself. I actually really enjoy coming up with healthy but delicious recipes and using Darren as my guinea pig. Becoming pregnant with Archie, has made me more conscious of using chemical- free products and I’m a big fan of acupuncture. I think it really has contributed to a great pregnancy.
Archie is still breast feeding but he’ll be on solids soon and Darren and I are really excited about giving him his first bit of food...
We just can’t decide what it should be! My approach towards feeding Archie is just to keep it as wholesome, spray-free and unprocessed as possible. I come from an eastern European background so as daggy as it was at the time in the 80s, I grew up eating rye bread, pickled things and homemade everything by either my mum, an aunty or grandma. We still had Polish doughnuts and sweets but things like soft drinks or Spam ham weren’t something we ate. I’ll be following the same approach with Archie and I’ll try to avoid sugar especially while he doesn’t know what it is, but we’ll have ice-cream and the like occasionally. Plus, it’s inevitable that my mum will sneak in a chocolate here and there and I wouldn’t deprive her of that grandmotherly urge!
My parents came to Australia with a bunch of other Polish families. Once they got settled my dad bought a plot of land, built 11 townhouses so all the families and kids could live next door to each other...
This seemed so normal at the time but I now appreciate how unique it was! Every few months, a family would fly a granny out from Poland to look after all of us while the parents went to work. We’d all go to school together, eat home-made soup at someone’s house and then play into the night. None of us really had money for computers or expensive toys so we were quite creative with the games, play dress up’s and do fashion shows and musicals for the parents. There were kids of all ages so there was a hierarchy and a lot of negotiating about who was the leader or who could ride their bike down the hill first- life skills! We had a communal pool, treehouse and sand pit. It was quite old-fashioned but really awesome.
Motherhood forced me to be much more efficient and selective with the jobs I do...
One of the challenges of living away from Sydney is not having my mum or close friends around to help out as much as possible. I try and work while Archie is asleep or I take him with me to things like photo shoots. My first priority is always Archie, and then I just try and fit things in around that. I’m still figuring out and sometimes feel guilty and a bit frazzled, but I’m not sure if that ever goes away!
The first few weeks of motherhood were crazy - recovering from labour, sleep deprivation and just trying to keep this little human alive all at once!
All the differing opinions and advice on everything from feeding to sleeping were really overwhelming too. All you want to do is the best thing for your baby and now that where in a groove it’s so much easier to filter through all the information out there. I just go with the flow so we’re in more of a rhythm than a routine.
I did breaky TV for 7 years so I thought I had this in the bag but OMG, the sleep deprivation was next level...
We got through feeling like zombies with a sense of humour – and coffee!
Coconut oil is my favourite multi-purpose balm for lips, hair and body...
I love Dr Hauschka Rose Day Cream as a face moisturiser. My look is quite natural these days but I never leave the house without MAC Prep and Prime concealer under my eyes and fill in my brows. My make-up staples for both TV and going out are the Armani Luminous Silk foundation, Bronzer by Nars and Nars blush in ‘Orgasm.’
At the moment my wardrobe is pretty limited because I need access to the milk bar!
Basically, I have the Byron wardrobe which is full of bikinis, sandals and beachy boho pieces like summer dresses and playsuits from Spell, Zimmerman and Camilla. My city wardrobe is wear I get to be a bit more fashion-forward and bust out the heels. I love a gorgeous dress. The casual pieces that see me through season after season are; Bassike and Acne T-shirts, black leather jacket, black Helmut Lang blazer, Sass & Bide ripped boyfriend jeans, converse trainers, and an obscenely large collection of knits and crochet pieces from my sister’s hand-made knitwear label First Born.
I have to be honest and say that I’ve never been much of a fitness type...
I love walking and running on the beach as well as yoga and Pilates but it’s never been that consistent. I just kind of do it when I feel the urge. I haven’t had time to exercise yet since having Archie but we go for an afternoon walk on the beach each day. He falls asleep in the sling listening to the sound of the waves and to the rhythm of my walking with his little head on my chest – heaven! It’s a great circuit breaker no matter how long or exhausting the day has been.
Success is being happy in my personal life...
Having a full heart and being fulfilled intellectually and creatively. If these boxes are ticked, there’s a good chance that my professional life is on track too.
My goals for 2016 are...
To be the best mum I can be to Archie and nurture our happy home life; get back into TV and do a show; finish my book (watch this space!) and finish decorating our home in Byron, and travel! Realistically, being on my own and leaving the house without vomit on my T-shirt would be quite an achievement.
I love herbal tea but at the moment a flat white is one of life's greatest joys...
A typical breakfast is usually granola with berries and almond milk at home or the “Farm Breaky Bowl” from Three Blue Ducks Byron which is filled with all sorts of pickled, veggies, poached egg goodness.
On my bedside table you’ll find…
Silk eye mask (can’t sleep without it!), a couple of tea cups, candle, photo of Archie, card from Darren and a cook book (I peruse them while breast feeding!)
I'm currently reading…
Lunch Lady (it’s technically a magazine but it’s gorgeous and I love the recipes and light hearted take on being a parent). I just finished The Oldest Foods On Earth by John Newton and The Third Plate by Dan Barber. #foodnerd
My pram of choice is...
My Bugaboo Chameleon. I just bought a Mountain Buggy Nano travel pram, which apparently folds up into the carry-on luggage compartment of a plane, to help us prep for a European holiday with Archie this year. May the force be with us! My baby bag is from Claudine & Ash Kalani in black.
Tidy or messy…
With a surfie partner and small baby, it’s now a “relaxed” tidy.
My dream travel destination...
So tough! I’d love to go to Costa Rica and on the opposite end Antarctica before it changes.