In the six years since Rafe Spall first met Esther Smith on the set of Apple TV’s Trying, the on-screen couple’s romance has turned into a real-life fairytale.
Now the 43-year-old actor has spoken candidly with Metro about just how special his family life is after welcoming a child with his co-star two years ago.
Most will know the duo as the lovable Nikki and Jason on their hit streaming series, which explores their chaotic but down-to-earth lives as adoptive parents to Princess and Tyler.
The comedy-drama has touched the lives of countless people who are navigating their own journey with fertility, adoption or even unconventional family set-ups.
But no one’s life has been more transformed than our lead stars, Rafe and Esther, who found in each other a partner for life on set and at home and have even welcomed a child together during the course of the show.
This is not the screenstar’s first rodeo. He shares three children with his ex-wife and, when we talk with him about what family life looks like now ahead of the Trying season five finale, his love for being a father shines through immediately.
‘I was 27 when I had my first child, and 42 when I had my fourth, and it means that you’re very aware that nothing lasts forever when you’re raising kids,’ he tells me.
In fact, having his fourth child in his 40s with Esther has allowed him to step back and see fatherhood through all its phases from newborn through to the teenage years.
‘It gives you perspective,’ he says of being a father for so many years.
He explains: ‘Sleepless nights never last forever. Potty training doesn’t last forever. Everything passes, and when it goes, you miss it. It gives you the perspective and the reflection to be able to cherish every moment.
‘Not to say that it’s not difficult having interrupted sleep, but I know now that it will end.’
I’I’m needed. Four people really rely on me and I’m very, I’m very, very grateful for that.
Just as blended families are at the heart of the new season of Trying as Princess and Tyler’s biological mum comes back on the scene, bringing together the different spheres of his life has also been a matter of pride for Rafe.
I ask how he and his co-star have taken to parenthood, whether their relationship has evolved.
‘Esther’s my family and we have a family, and our family is big. I had three children before I met Esther, that I share with my ex-wife, and we have a big, beautiful, full life, and I’m nothing but grateful for it.
