See the Cute Photo Australian 'Today' Co-host Richard Wilkins Shared of His Children

The once-aspiring pop singer and longtime Nine Network’s TV fixture has led a 40-year-career in the media and entertainment, but there is nothing that makes him prouder than his five children.

66-year-old New Zealand-Australian entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins is the proud and devoted father of five children that he shares with four women, including his teenage years' girlfriend and his former wife.

As brief as Richard’s relationships with his children’s mothers were in some cases, the TV personality is very close to and loving with his five children, and while most of them are adult now, they will always be his kids.

In a recent social media post, Richard shared a throwback snapshot of two of his children, Nick Wilkins, who is now 35, and Rebecca Wilkins, now 36, with the two of them posing and hugging inside a swimming pool decades ago.

“Finding some gold as I clear out my office ... as we move 9HQ to Nth Syd. Standby for more,” Richard captioned the October 6 post, adding the hashtag #mymagnificentchildren

Fans and followers of the iconic Australian TV personality were positively touched by Richard’s little tribute to two of his children, and they took to the comments section of the post to share their impressions.

“Such a beautiful pic,” wrote a user, adding three red-heart emojis. “Love photos! Standing by!” wrote another person. “How incredibly special is this pic, Richard… Bless,” added a third user.

BECOMING A FATHER AT 18

Richard was only 18 years old and still living in his native New Zealand when he conceived his first child with his 16-year-old high school sweetheart Lynette, whose last name and full identity have always been kept private.

Needlessly to say, the pregnancy wasn’t planned, and on top of the young couple’s natural fears and lack of preparation or experience in parenting, they welcomed a child with Down syndrome.

NOT GIVING UP ON HIS SON

As Richard opened up about many years after the birth of his son Adam, who is now 45 and lives with his mother back in New Zealand, it was uncommon for such a younger couple to have a child with Down syndrome.

Richard recalls people recommending him to put Adam for adoption, but this was something that was out of the table for Richard, who had to put the child in a care home for his first years, something that he still feels guilty about.

Fortunately, Richard eventually went back to his oldest son, and while the two live in different countries, they continue to have a close relationship. In 2019, Richard called having a person with Down syndrome in one’s family “an absolute joy.”

Apart from Adam, Rebecca, and Christian, Richard is the father of son Nicholas (age unknown), and 14-year-old daughter Estella Dinnigan, shared with Australian fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.