Johanna Griggs felt like a ‘failure’ when her marriage to actor Gary Sweet fell apart quickly in the late 1990s.
The TV personality, 51, is now swiftly approaching her 20th wedding anniversary with second husband Todd Huggins, 50, whom she wed seven years after her relationship with the actor ended.
Johanna told n Women’s Weekly the down-to-earth builder taught her that ‘failure is the greatest gift in the world’.
Johanna and Gary were married from 1995 to 1999 and share two adult sons, Jesse and Joe Sweet.
Their split sparked false reports the actor walked out on Johanna, leaving her to raise their two sons alone.
Gary described the media coverage ‘vicious, personal and ill-informed’ to South Weekend.
Better Homes and Gardens host Johnna Griggs, 51, says her husband Todd Huggins taught her that ‘failure is the greatest gift in the world’
The beloved TV personality previously revealed she felt like a ‘failure’ when her high-profile marriage to actor Gary Sweet fell apart in the late ’90s. Pictured: Johanna and her family
Johanna and Todd were introduced by mutual friends – with the Better Homes and Gardens host admitting she wished she’d met him much earlier
‘When a marriage ends, you feel like you’re such a failure in that aspect, but at the same time it really uncomplicated our lives,’ Johanna told Women’s Weekly in 2019.
Twenty five years on from the break-up, the swimming star turned TV host has a better perspective on it.
‘The greatest opportunities in my life, the greatest lessons I’ve learnt, and the greatest pivot points where you totally change direction, have come from my failures,’ she said.
‘And that’s not a bad thing.’
Johanna and Todd were introduced by mutual friends.
‘I feel so lucky I met him but I wish I met him earlier,’ she told Now To Love back in 2018, describing him as ‘pretty exceptional’.
Johanna readily she and her husband have faced struggles, from divorce and single parenthood, to her chronic fatigue syndrome, and Todd’s recent hospitalisation following a surgery to remove skin cancer.
But she credits her union with Todd and their loving family for her success and happiness.
Johanna and Police Rescue star Gary Sweet were married from 1995 to 1999 and share two adult sons, Jesse and Joe Sweet
Todd Huggins pictured with Joe and Jesse Sweet on Father’s Day
‘Always been the king of these kids,’ she penned in a touching father’s day tribute to him on Instagram last year. ‘The most wonderful father, friend, Pepe, and North Star in our lives.’
Her sons, Joe, 28, and Jesse, 29, are ‘two of the funniest, kindest, most considerate, often wildest and brilliantly clever men’, she said in a birthday post last month.
Life looked very different for Johanna in her mid-twenties. She was single, broke and feeling defeated after being fired by fax from her first job at Channel Seven whilst on maternity leave.
Left alone with two toddlers to support, she moved back in with her parents and set out to turn her life around.
Johanna rose to fame early in life as the first female n swimmer to break the 30-second barrier for the 50-metre backstroke.
She won a bronze medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1990 Commonwealth Games aged 16, and won the 50-metre backstroke race at the n Swimming Championships in 1993.
After her competitive swimming career ended, Johanna became a popular media personality.
She began as a guest on Andrew Denton’s ABC sports program Live and Sweaty, before ultimately landing the hosting role on Channel Seven’s House Rules in 2013.
Jesse, Johanna, Joe and his partner, and Todd pictured on Christmas 2024
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Johanna has a long-standing career at the network since joining Seven Sport in 1993 as a host at the n Open.
Producers poached her right out of the pool after she struggled to keep her swimming career on track following a chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis.
The veteran presenter and former athlete now also hosts the network’s Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.
Johanna also hosted the renovation show House Rules from 2013 to 2019, and began hosting Better Homes and Gardens in 2005.
The Logie-nominated series celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, with Johanna saying: ‘You realise what a privilege it is to work on a show that has been part of people’s lives for generations.’
Meanwhile veteran actor Gary, 67, is gearing up to release his latest film, Shelly.
Gary has now been with girlfriend Nadia Dyall for 21 years, and they have two young children (in total he has six, aged eight to 37).