Jules Robinson’s powerful reminder for mums struggling with body image
Mum-of-two Jules Robinson is changing the conversation about mums and bodies.
Jules Robinson first captured Australia’s attention on Married At First Sight, where her connection with Cam Merchant quickly became one of the franchise’s most beloved love stories.
In 2019, they made it official for real, marrying in a televised ceremony that marked a rare full-circle moment for the series.
Fast forward to today, and life looks a little louder, a little messier, and a whole lot fuller. With sons Oliver Chase and Carter James Merchant, Jules is deep in the rhythm of raising two young boys while also building her body-positive shapewear brand FIGUR and continuing to carve out space for ambition, identity and selfhood beyond motherhood.
We spoke to Jules about motherhood, pressure, business, identity shifts and why she’s done with the idea of “bouncing back.”
Jules Robinson on motherhood, ambition and ditching the bounce-back narrative
You’re in the thick of it with two young boys. What does motherhood look like for you right now?
Motherhood right now feels like expansion, not perfection. It’s full, it’s loud, it’s emotional, and it’s also incredibly grounding. I’m deeply present with my boys, but I’m also building, creating, and still very ambitious. I think that’s the shift. Women aren’t choosing one version of themselves anymore. We’re allowing both to exist. My boys are growing up seeing that you can be a mother and still be fully yourself.
The pressure to “bounce back” is still everywhere, how did you navigate that after having your boys?
I stopped seeing it as something I needed to respond to. After my first, I felt it. After my second, I rejected it. I realised there’s nowhere to “bounce back” to, because you’ve moved forward. My focus became to support my body, Respecting my body for what it had done, instead of trying to undo it.
What would you say to a new mum feeling that pressure creeping in?
That pressure isn’t yours, it’s something you’ve inherited. There is no timeline you need to meet. Your body, your recovery, your motherhood experience, none of it is on a deadline. The moment you stop measuring yourself against an outdated standard, everything feels lighter.
You’ve spoken about doing life on your own timeline, how important has that been for you, really?
For a long time, women were taught there were windows for everything, career, babies, success. I just don’t believe that anymore. At 44, I feel more powerful than I did at 24, not because I’m trying to rewind anything, but because I’ve stopped letting age define what’s possible. There isn’t a deadline on becoming who you’re meant to be.
Motherhood can completely shift your sense of self, how have you stayed connected to who you are through it all?
I don’t think it’s about choosing between who you were and who you are now, it’s about allowing both to exist. Motherhood does shift you. It softens you in some ways, strengthens you in others. But I never saw that as losing myself, more as expanding into another version of me. There are parts of me that feel exactly the same, the drive, the creativity, the energy I get from building something. And then there are parts that are newer, slower, more present, more grounded.I’ve stayed connected by making space for both. The woman I’ve always been, and the mother I’ve become. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.
Running FIGUR while raising two kids is a lot, how do you juggle both without burning out?
I’ve learnt that you can’t hold everything the same way forever. In the beginning, it’s all-consuming. I held everything! But if you want it to be sustainable, you have to learn how to hold it differently. For me, that’s been about boundaries, trusting my team, and understanding where my energy is best placed. You don’t need to do everything, you need to do what matters.
What’s something about motherhood you think we’re still not talking about enough?
The identity shift, but not in a losing-yourself way. It’s mental, emotional, and physical, and it doesn’t replace who you were, it adds to it. Well it doesn’t have to. You’re not just becoming a mother, you’re becoming more of yourself in a different way. There are parts of you that stay the same, and parts that expand. It’s not one or the other, you can hold both.
If you could change one conversation around mums and their bodies, what would it be?
The idea that you need to “get your body back.” Because it was never lost. I’d replace it with moving forward. Your body isn’t something to fix, shrink, or rewind, it’s something to respect and support for what it’s done and what it continues to do. That shift alone changes everything. It takes women out of pressure and puts them back into ownership of their bodies.
What does a “perfect” Mother’s Day look like for you now?
In my head? Flowers, a beautiful long lunch, Cam driving, me being driven, a glass of champagne in hand… and the kids sitting there perfectly, eating everything, and calm!In reality? There’s still flowers, still champagne… but also noise, mess, someone refusing to eat, someone spilling something, and probably a moment where I’m like “okay, deep breath.” Lols
And what’s the one thing you’d love every mum to feel this Mother’s Day?
That she can see her body not for how it looks, but for what it’s created. The love, the life, the family. And to trust that the way she’s showing up, every day, is already enough.
