Matt Hoover lost a total of 157 pounds as The Biggest Loser's second-season champ and even met his future wife, fellow finalist Suzy Preston, during filming for the show. However both events apparently pale in comparison to fatherhood.
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"It's the coolest thing I've ever done," said Hoover in the July 30 issue of In Touch Weekly. "When you hold your son in your arms for the first time, everything up to that point becomes meaningless."
Hoover and Preston welcomed their first child together, Rex Timothy Hoover, on June 23 and Preston said the 1-month-old baby already "makes a lot of faces" that resemble his proud papa.
"He looks exactly like I did as a baby," Hoover told In Touch. "But he's changing every day and I can't wait to see what happens next."
However parenthood isn't all fun and games for Hoover and Preston, as she told In Touch Rex "wakes up every three hours and wants to eat" and also requires a diaper change "every hour."
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"He is a really good baby. He doesn't stay up all night crying," Preston told In Touch. Added Hoover, "He's a laid-back dude!"
Hoover and Preston began dating shortly after leaving The Biggest Loser ranch in 2005 and he proposed to her during a March 2006 broadcast of NBC's Today show. They were married off-air in a small beach-side ceremony conducted in Jamaica on September 19, 2006. Only six weeks later, the couple revealed they were expecting their first child together.
While Preston lost 95 pounds while competing on The Biggest Loser 2 and finished third, she said the weight quickly came back with the pregnancy.
"I'm more confident in my body than I've been in a long time," Preston told In Touch. "I don't even remember all the anguish about the weight because Rex is so worth it."
Hoover agreed with his wife and said being a dad "is the most important thing" to him.
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"I grew-up in a place where you'd hear, 'Once you become a father, your life is over,'" he told In Touch. "But for me it's just getting started. It's awesome!"
Hoover, Preston and baby Rex currently reside in Des Moines, WA.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio