Love Island alum Jamie Jewitt has opened up about the realities of fatherhood, admitting he didn’t feel an immediate rush of love for his children when they were born.
The 34-year-old, who met his wife Camilla Thurlow on the hit ITV2 dating show in 2017, said he wanted to share his experience in the hope of reassuring other fathers who feel the same.
The couple, who married in 2021, are parents to three children: Nell, four, Nora, two, and nine-month-old Frankie. But Jamie revealed that his journey into fatherhood was far from what he expected.
‘Let’s talk about the moment you become a dad. The “big one.” The Hollywood moment… you’re supposedly overcome with a tidal wave of love the instant your baby enters the world. Except… what if you’re not?’, he wrote on his Substack.
The reality star and former model recalled the birth of his first daughter, Nell, in October 2020, saying his initial reaction was one of disconnection.
‘You’re standing in a room that smells like bleach and adrenaline, watching the love of your life go through something you can barely comprehend, and then someone hands you this tiny, wrinkled, screaming creature and your first thought is: “Oh… so this is it?”’
Love Island alum Jamie Jewitt has opened up about the realities of fatherhood, admitting he didn’t feel an immediate rush of love for his children when they were born
The 34-year-old met his wife Camilla Thurlow on the hit ITV2 dating show in 2017, and have since welcomed three children: Nell, four, Nora, two, and nine-month-old Frankie
Jamie admitted it took time for him to bond with his children, arguing that the widespread belief that fathers should feel an instant surge of affection can be damaging.
‘We’ve been fed a lie,’ he said. ‘A dangerous, damaging, and ironically, well-intentioned lie. A mother has carried the baby for nine months. Her hormones have transformed her body, rewired her brain, and prepared her emotionally and physically for motherhood.
‘A father, by contrast, is often still adjusting to the idea that there’s even going to be a baby. And yet, the expectation is that we’re both supposed to experience that first moment exactly the same. Spoiler alert: we don’t.’
The Essex-born star, who reached the final of Love Island alongside Camilla, said he later discovered he wasn’t alone in feeling this way.
‘Most men have admitted something quietly: “I didn’t feel anything… at least not at first.” They whisper it. They say it like it’s a confession. Like they’re broken, or deficient, or cold,’ he explained.
‘We nod, we smile, we say “Oh yeah, it was magical,” and we post a filtered picture on Instagram with a heart emoji. But inside, we’re wondering: why don’t I feel what I’m supposed to feel?’
Jamie argued that while mothers undergo biological changes during pregnancy and birth that prime them for bonding, fathers’ hormonal shifts tend to come later and only through involvement in day-to-day caregiving.
‘That’s the secret no one tells you: love predominantly grows in the doing,’ he wrote.
But Jamie revealed that his journey into fatherhood was far from what he expected and he now wants to share his experience in the hope of reassuring other fathers who feel the same
Jamie admitted it took time for him to bond with his children, arguing that the widespread belief that fathers should feel an instant surge of affection can be damaging
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‘It’s in the late-night bottle feeds, the burp that hits your chest like a warm milk bomb, the moment your baby recognises your face and cracks their first real smile. It’s not love at first sight. It’s a love that builds with effort, sacrifice, presence.’
The father-of-three said his own turning point came not at the delivery room, but after weeks of showing up for his newborn daughter despite self-doubt.
‘It didn’t happen the day my child was born. It happened after weeks of showing up through the self-doubt and battles with that internal monologue.
‘Until one day I realised the moment had crept up on me… I had slowly and assuredly snuck into the spotlight and became a leading character in my little girl’s world.’
Now, Jamie says fatherhood is the defining role of his life, ‘To this day my world is dedicated to becoming the best dad I can be. Not because I’m supposed to. Because I want to. Because I love them,’ he said.
‘When I look at any of my children bleary-eyed, heart full, I realise I would do anything for them.’
Reflecting on his journey, the TV star said he hopes sharing his story will ease the pressure on new dads.
‘If you’re a new dad and you’re not feeling it yet, relax. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not broken. You’re not cold. You’re just not done.
‘Give it time. Show up. Keep showing up. Because when that connection does hit, it won’t be because the world told you to feel it. It’ll be because you built it.’
Jamie and Camilla now live in the countryside with their three young children. They revealed earlier this year that their daughter, Nora, has been diagnosed with autism.
The father-of-three said his own turning point came not at the delivery room, but after weeks of showing up for his newborn daughter despite self-doubt
Now, Jamie says fatherhood is the defining role of his life, ‘To this day my world is dedicated to becoming the best dad I can be. Not because I’m supposed to. Because I want to. Because I love them’
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by difficulties with social communication and interactions, including understanding social cues and emotions.
‘When you realise you’ve earned your spot in the limelight,’ Jamie continued, ‘and become a star in the eyes of your child, it will be more rewarding than any Oscar, more fulfilling than any other achievement, and more emotional than you may be prepared for.’
Jamie’s wife Camilla has previously spoken openly about their middle child Nora’s slower development with walking and talking and recently revealed that she is autistic.
Marking her 3rd birthday, Camilla shared an array of adorable photographs of herself and Jamie posing alongside Nora as she gushed over the ‘gentle soul’.
In one photograph, the trio all sported T-shirts which read ‘Love Needs No Words’, with Camilla discussing how Nora is non-verbal in an accompanying caption.
She penned: ‘On the eve of Nora’s 3rd birthday, there is so much to say, and here she is doing it on her own terms, because while she may not speak I hope you can hear exactly what she is saying here.
‘That you understand her the way we do, through those eyes that tell every part of the story of the gentlest soul and the strongest heart (love heart emoji).
‘Thank you for meeting her here with understanding, encouragement and most of all, joy (smiley face emoji). For her love, our love, needs no words at all – it just needs us.’
In March, Camilla announced that Nora had been diagnosed with autism in a heartfelt Instagram post.
Jamie’s wife Camilla has previously spoken openly about their middle child Nora’s slower development with walking and talking and recently revealed that she is autistic
Camilla and Jamie are one of Love Island’s biggest success stories after meeting on the ITV2 dating show and becoming runners-up to Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay (pictured 2017)
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Camilla Thurlow shares sweet tribute to her non-verbal daughter Nora on her 3rd birthday
She praised her daughter for her ‘strength’ and gushed that she and Jamie are ‘so grateful’ to be her parents as she thanked her loved ones for their support.
Camilla and Jamie are one of Love Island’s biggest success stories after meeting on the ITV2 dating show and becoming runners-up to Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay.
The couple announced they were expecting their first child together in May 2020, and welcomed daughter Nell into the world that October.
Jamie proposed in February 2021 by putting Nell in an adorable ‘Mummy will you marry my daddy?’ onesie.
The couple then tied the knot in September 2021 at Gosfield Hall in Essex, with co-star Marcel Somerville in attendance.
The pair announced they were expecting their second child together in December that year and welcomed Nora in May 2022.
Camilla and Jamie then welcomed their third child, son Brodie, into the world on May 8, 2024, with the couple confirming the news on Instagram at the time.