EXCLUSIVE: “It’s for our own sanity”: Rachael Finch reveals how she makes her marriage work

Rachael Finch and and her now husband Michael Miziner met in the most unlikely of circumstances – on Dancing With The Stars.

The former Miss Universe Australia, 31, was partnered up with the professional dancer in the 2010 season, and was immediately smitten.

“I had no clue who my dancing partner was going to be. I walked into the room and my jaw dropped – before me stood the most attractive man I had ever seen,” Rachael wrote about the first time she met Michael, in her 2016 book Happy, Healthy, Strong.

“I just remember walking in and thinking, ‘He has got to be gay!’ I was instantly attracted. He had such a beautiful aura and all I could think was ‘OMG!’ So during my first dancing lesson in an unfamiliar room with an incredibly attractive man and feeling so out of my element, I started to fall in love,” Rachael wrote.

Turns out, it was love at first sight. Almost ten years later, the couple are now married and have two children together, Violet and Dominic, and run Rachael’s own dance-inspired exercise program, Body By Finch.

They live, work and play together. And by the looks of their adorable, loved-up couple selfies and cute dancing videos on Instagram, they certainly aren’t sick of each other.

“Ever since we met, we’ve been together pretty much seven days a week, 24 hours a day. We haven’t known any different,” Rachael tells Now To Love.

“We work together, so our kitchen is our office. The only times we’re separate is if we have to fly somewhere or travel for work,” she said.

So how do they make it work without driving each other crazy?

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“We do structure time in our day when we are separated,” Rachael revealed.

“He does a workout three-four times a week and that’s his time to go and be with his mates and workout.”

Plus, they know not to get pissed off if the other person says they need some space.

“We have a good understanding of what we both need. We have a good respect for each other’s space. When we want more time to be together or not to be together. It’s for our own sanity,” she said.

“We’ve learnt to be as patient as we can and we know what it takes to just keep growing in a positive direction.”

It’s a stark contrast from her previous relationships, which Rachael says certainly weren’t as open and honest.

“I was always on guard and I would hold grudges and wouldn’t speak [to them] for days,” she said, “but Mish opened my eyes to getting things really balanced in a relationships.”

In 2016 Rachael caused envy – and quite a bit of anger – among some Aussie parents when she revealed that then two-year-old Violet when to her mother-in-law’s house every weekend, leaving Rachael and Michael to enjoy their much-needed couple time alone.

“I think that’s incredibly healthy for the relationship. And on Sunday, when we pick her up, we have 100 per cent energy back,” she told Sunday Life.

But Rachael says that doesn’t happen anymore.

“Violet is in school now so the weekly routine is changing,” she told Now To Love.

“Sometimes Grandma will still come over on a Saturday and stay with the kids and we will come home in the afternoon, or she will take Violet on a Saturday night. Every week is different. I might be travelling. It just depends on the week,” she said.

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Health and fitness are two things Rachael is incredibly passionate about. She loves sharing her workouts with her followers, as well as her delicious healthy meals.

But despite her iron-clad discipline, she still has “something naughty” everyday.

“I have a sweet treat everyday,” she revealed.

“It could be a couple of squares of dark chocolate or an ice cream made from frozen bananas, macadamias, vanilla essence, dates and almond milk and I make a choc fudge sauce made with coconut oil, almond butter and cacao powder. You put it all in a pan on super low heat and whisk it all together and it turns into the most decadent rich chocolate sauce. Then I pour it over the ice cream and it’s guilt-free.”

Rachael’s children also stick to a very healthy diet, but yes, in case you were wondering, they do sometimes eat junk food.

In 2017, some parents were shocked to find out that “for the first two-and-a-half years of her life, Violet didn’t know what sugar tasted like, and she still hasn’t had lollies,” Rachael told Stellar magazine at the time.

“I’m with her and while I don’t say no to everything, she understands it’s a treat when she has a tiny slice of birthday cake,” she said.

Rachael says she’s relaxed her stance a bit since then.

“There are kids parties and there might be some hot chips and chicken nuggets on the table … it’s not a big deal. I’m not going to go crazy if they have food that I wouldn’t make at home,” Rachael told Now To Love.

“Violet asks for dessert at home and pretty much every time I will give it to her, maybe strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce or we’ll make the health ice cream together.”

But for the most part, they eat “really healthy ingredients”

“I ate loads of veggies when I was pregnant, so the kids got familiar with those flavours. I pureed sweet potato and green apples and I would mix it with broccoli. I tried to keep it really plant-based and with as many whole foods as possible.

“When they came to a point where they understood what lollies and chips are, I do my best. They’re always in the kitchen with me so they can see what ingredients I used from scratch to create these meals. I try to explain what they do, so I’ll say to Violet ‘We eat our vegetables and lettuce and spinach and good quality meats because it makes our hair grow and our skin beautiful’.”

In terms of exercise, Rachael sticks to her own Body By Finch program, which consists of workouts that range from short five-minute “blasts” to full 30 minute HIIT sessions.

Plus, she encourages her members to incorporate lots of incidental exercise into their daily routine.

“We call them body move days. Outdoor sessions with your family, rather than saying ‘I’m going to sit on a treadmill for 40 minute’ and be bored of out of your brain.

“It’s about moving in ways that you enjoy so that your body doesn’t recognise it as a chore.

“It’s not about losing 10kg and you get into your bikini and away you go. It’s not about counting calories or macros, it’s eating to how you feel. It’s implementing things you can maintain long term.

“Exercise shouldn’t be a chore. Do something that feels good, rather than a certain number of reps or a certain time limit.”

Now that’s something we can get behind!

You can find out more about Body By Finch and Rachael’s new supplement line Kissed Earth here.