To millions of Australians, Matt Shirvington is the familiar face beside Natalie Barr on Sunrise — energetic, upbeat and seemingly at ease with the early mornings that come with breakfast television.

But away from the cameras, Matt and his wife Jessica have shared chapters that were far more difficult than viewers might imagine.

Their relationship began when they were teenagers and has survived the pressure of elite sport, periods apart, career changes and the demands of raising a family. At one point, Matt summed up their marriage in a few simple words.

“We’re very accepting of each other, but we’ve also lived through a lot,” he said while reflecting on their relationship.

Among those chapters was an intensely personal struggle the couple rarely discussed publicly — their long attempt to welcome a third child.

And for a time, it appeared they might have to leave that hope behind.

A RELATIONSHIP THAT BEGAN LONG BEFORE THE SPOTLIGHT

Matt and Jessica’s story stretches back well before Olympic stadiums or breakfast television.

The pair met as teenagers and became a couple after finishing Year 12. Matt has recalled that they moved in together at 18 before marrying in 2001.

A year later, they moved to London while Matt pursued his athletics career. Their eldest daughter, Sienna, was born there in 2006 before the family eventually returned to Australia, where they later welcomed their second daughter, Winter.

Jessica was also beside Matt during some of the most demanding years of his sporting career.

Matt represented Australia at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and was one of the country’s leading sprinters, with his career also taking him to World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

But the pressure of elite competition did not stay on the track.

Matt has spoken candidly about how heavily his performances affected his emotions during those years, admitting Jessica had to navigate the highs and lows with him.

He has also acknowledged how much she sacrificed to support his athletics career.

“WE’VE ALSO LIVED THROUGH A LOT”

Their relationship was not always straightforward.

Matt has previously revealed that he and Jessica had periods when they separated before eventually finding their way back to each other.

Rather than presenting their marriage as something that had always been effortless, he has credited their ability to accept one another and offer support without constantly assigning blame.

“We’re very accepting of each other, but we’ve also lived through a lot,” he said.

Those words take on another meaning when viewed alongside what the couple later experienced while trying to expand their family.

After Sienna and Winter arrived, Matt and Jessica hoped to have another child.

What followed was a much longer and more uncertain journey than either had expected.

THEIR HOPE FOR A THIRD CHILD BECAME A PAINFUL STRUGGLE

Matt has said the couple tried unsuccessfully to have a third child before eventually putting the idea “on the back-burner.”

One important factor was Jessica’s endometriosis.

According to Matt, the condition was making it difficult for Jessica to become pregnant naturally. The couple explored IVF and, at one stage, had around 14 frozen embryos.

Matt has been careful about how he describes the situation.

He said he did not necessarily believe infertility itself was the central problem. Instead, he felt Jessica’s endometriosis was interfering with her ability to conceive.

Jessica later underwent surgery, and Matt said they eventually reached a stage where she was likely able to become pregnant naturally.

But by then, the couple had already endured disappointment and uncertainty.

They had tried.

It had not happened.

And eventually, they began moving forward with the family they already had.

THEN CAME THE NINE-YEAR TURN THEY HAD NOT EXPECTED

Matt later described what happened next in remarkably simple terms.

“We tried and failed to have a third and let it go on the back-burner. Then 9 years after, Lincoln came along.”

Lincoln was ultimately conceived naturally, rather than arriving through a successful IVF transfer, according to Matt’s account.

After years in which another child had become increasingly uncertain, the Shirvingtons suddenly found themselves preparing to become parents again.

Their son Lincoln arrived in 2018, creating an unusually large age gap between him and his older sisters.

For Matt and Jessica, it was not simply another addition to the family.

It was the arrival of something they had once tried for, struggled with and eventually stopped expecting.

LINCOLN CHANGED MORE THAN THE SIZE OF THEIR FAMILY

Years later, Matt has spoken about how raising Lincoln has been noticeably different from raising his daughters.

In a 2025 interview with 7NEWS, he described the nine-year gap between his middle child and youngest as creating a “different dynamic” within the family.

Having much older sisters has given Lincoln an unusual perspective, with Matt noting that his son benefits from being around siblings who are already far more independent and mature.

Matt himself has also changed.

When his daughters were young, he remembered constantly anticipating the next milestone — when they would crawl, walk, talk or move on to the next stage.

With Lincoln, that urgency has largely disappeared.

Matt said he is now considerably more relaxed, trusting that those milestones will happen in their own time.

It is a subtle change, but one that reflects just how much his perspective on parenthood has evolved.

JESSICA HAS BEEN THERE THROUGH EVERY VERSION OF MATT’S LIFE

Matt’s career has changed dramatically since he and Jessica first became a couple.

She knew him before Australia knew him as an elite sprinter.

She was there through the Olympic years and the enormous pressure he placed on himself as an athlete.

She was there as they became parents, moved between countries and later built a family life back in Australia.

And she remained beside him as his career moved from the running track into broadcasting, eventually leading to his role as co-host of Sunrise in 2023.

Matt has made no secret of the debt of gratitude he feels toward her.

He has previously said Jessica sacrificed significantly to support his athletics career and acknowledged that he still felt there was much to repay.

That history makes his comment about everything they have “lived through” feel less like a casual observation and more like a summary of a relationship that has repeatedly had to adapt.

THE FAMILY STORY THEY ONCE COULDN’T PREDICT

Today, Matt and Jessica are parents to Sienna, Winter and Lincoln.

Their family looks settled from the outside, but the path that brought them there was anything but straightforward.

There were years when Matt’s sporting career dominated their world. There were periods when their relationship itself went through difficulties. And later came the deeply personal uncertainty surrounding whether they would ever welcome a third child.

They explored IVF. Jessica dealt with endometriosis and underwent surgery. Eventually, they put their hopes for another child aside.

Then came the chapter they were no longer expecting.

Nine years after they had first tried, Lincoln arrived.

Perhaps that is why Matt’s reflection on his marriage carries more weight with the full story behind it.

“We’ve also lived through a lot.”

For Matt and Jessica Shirvington, those words cover more than two decades of change, sacrifice and uncertainty — including one long wait that ultimately ended in a way neither of them could have planned.