We've seen him make his debut on Total Diva's and the spin off show Total Bellas, but what we didn't know was that he has now become a full-time, hands on, work from home Dad!
Yes, Work From Home Dad. Not only does this man change diapers, do feedings, and serve as his daughter's main caretaker throughout the day, but he effortlessly runs his business while doing so.
To start from the beginning, as JJ walked me through his wife's pregnancy up until her delivery, it was easy to hear his genuine enthusiasm through his story telling.
He and his beautiful wife, Lauren Garcia, welcome their daughter Vivienne James Garcia into the world on the evening of October 21st in Scottsdale, Arizona.
"It didn't feel real to us until Lauren started pushing. Her water broke at 1 pm. She started pushing at 6:25 and we had "V" at 7:10 pm."
It's suffice to say he adores these two women in his life. He often refers to his wife as 'Lola' and daughter as 'V' and despite having his hands full, he takes each day in stride. Throughout our conversation he would both playfully and confidently praise his wife, "Lauren is truly a rock star. She's born to be a mother...she's just such a natural!"
Despite Lauren only having off 6 weeks with the baby, which was a short term disability leave as she did not have access to a paid maternity leave, JJ was back to work on Monday with the birth of his daughter on a Friday. As paid family leave is one of America's current hot buttons, JJ took his story to a place where it makes us all fall in love with his new journey into fatherhood a little bit more.
After Lauren returned to work a very short 6 weeks later, it was important for them that one of them be with their daughter. JJ decided to move his corporate job to their home, and now he tackles the roll of running his business while also taking care of their daughter.
He handled our conversation with such genuine grace as he spoke about his days working while also taking care of baby 'V'. However, he admittedly laughed as he said there are naturally some days where he is eager for Lauren to walk through their door where they are back to being tag team partners. "She's great. We make it work. We communicate all the time and are always a team."
JJ's sisters and WWE Superstars Nikki and Brie Bella have loved being aunts of Vivienne, who is now almost 7 months old. "They're just so great with 'V'. They're both very hands on. We see Brie weekly and she is great with V. Always wanting to hold her - very hands on. Nikki checks in all the time and will ask for pictures of Vivienne daily. My sisters and I are extremely close. We have always been each other's home base."
As JJ and his sisters had a non traditional upbringing, he went on to positively talk about the present yet strained relationship he has with his own father, "I've never been happier. I have no stress with it." He feels that some of the unforgiving experiences he has had with his biological father will only make him strive to be a better Dad himself.
His mother, Kathy Colace Laurinaitis, who we have also got the privilege to meet through the WWE reality shows, proves to stay true to character to be the loving, endearing, patient woman we see on television. She's very involved with her granddaughter and JJ refers to her new husband, John Laurinaitis, in such a strong manner. "That is 'Grandpa' to V and will always be."
All of his experiences and relationships have naturally molded him into how his marriage and role of a father currently is. When we talked about who handles what duties, he quickly responded, "It's all a team effort." He went on to share one of the reasons he has such a solid relationship with Lauren, "Marriage counseling is one of the best things a couple can do." He and Lauren have found this is such a healthy thing to do for their marriage and family. He testifies that this has only helped improve their communication and relationship and why we see them constantly working together as a team.
As I joked about how much sleep he was getting, or lack there of, JJ was very gracious when he said that despite Vivienne being a great sleeper, when she does wake, Lauren handles those night time feedings so he has still been able to stay refreshed while multi tasking being the corporate, work from home Dad.
He and his wife Lauren may start trying for #2 sooner rather than later but have already decided whether they have a boy or another girl, two children will be it for them and complete them as a family of four.
JJ is likewise enjoying life as an uncle as his sister Brie just gave birth at the beginning of May. She and WWE Superstar and Smackdown General Manager, Daniel Bryan, gave birth to their baby girl, Birdie Joe, on May 9th. Both Brianna and Nicole have recently started sharing very intimate details on their new YouTube channel, giving followers an additional sneak peek into their lives, in between their reality show filming.
When asked what is the best piece of advice for new fathers or fathers-to-be, JJ assuredly responded, "Be hands on as much as possible. Even if you're a working father, offer to help as often as you can. It will go such a long way. I don't care what your job is, taking care of a baby is the hardest job in the world. Be very hands on. They are soaking in right from the start."
I think as he has openly shared his story and how he courageously tackles and embraces working from home all the while taking care of the baby, this will set a new precedence for Dads everywhere...showing that fathers may need to show off their Super Hero capes every once in a while, too.
Be sure to tune in to Total Bellas as their new season kicks off on Wednesday, September 6th where we will get to see JJ in action as “Dad” for the first time, while sweet baby Vivienne makes her television debut to the world! Jonathan "JJ" Garcia, can be followed at: https://www.instagram.com/thevacationjj/
Author, Entrepreneur, and Blogger Regan Long can be followed on Facebook as well as The Real Deal of Parenting