Laura Byrne on Life Uncut, ToniMay and the reality TV lesson she had to unlearn

Laura Byrne rose to prominence via the highly manufactured and edited world of reality TV. But it was abandoning that world in favour of authenticity, connection and warts-and-all honesty that allowed her to not only remain in the public eye when many others were long forgotten, but to carve out two hugely successful brands.

In the Instagram age, it is hard to think of another Australian celebrity couple who have lived their lives as publicly as Byrne and her husband, Matty Johnson.

From falling in love on The Bachelor in 2017 to a romantic proposal in Fiji two years later, followed by a fairytale wedding, the arrival of three daughters and a major house renovation, the couple has taken their Australian fans along for the ride.

At the same time, they both built successful personal brands — as a couple, and individually. Matty J, as he is known, co-hosts parenting podcast Two Doting Dads, co-authored a book, has had partnerships with Myer, OMO, Telstra and Afterpay and carried out numerous TV hosting gigs.

Byrne hosts the hugely popular relationships podcast Life Uncut with close friend and fellow Bachelor star Brittany Hockley. She was a regular on Channel 10’s The Project and has worked on campaigns with The Iconic, Seed Heritage, Destination NSW and SkinCeuticals.

Byrne and Hockley also hosted Stan’s MAFS: After The Dinner Party alongside Jules Lund earlier this year, the debut episode delivering Stan’s highest ever single-episode subscription driver.

What few realise is that Byrne’s primary career, and income, comes from the business she created when she was a teenager. ToniMay, the bohemian jewellery brand which started at the Bondi markets, is now stocked in more than 50 retailers across the country.

It’s an impressive and exhausting resume, but Byrne believes the jobs she said no to are just as important as those she took on.

“In terms of having my finger in so many different pies, I guess from the outside it probably looks like I’m doing everything,” she says.

“And I think a lot of people who come into the world of media or have this really short window of visibility after doing a reality TV show think it’s a sprint, and they’ve got to say yes to everything.

“But Matt’s been a great leveller for me in this world, as he’s always said, ‘It’s a marathon. Don’t do a job that doesn’t bring you joy, don’t do a job that’s going to put stress on our family’.

“And as much as we say yes to loads of random and fun and different opportunities, we very much always come back to, how is this going to impact our family, and our relationship.”

Life Uncut, which launched in 2019, was a pioneer of Australia’s community-led, cross-platform audio model.

It is now part of a saturated market but has continued to grow its highly engaged, fiercely loyal community of “Lifers”, with more than 100 million downloads, a range of merchandise and a book titled We Love Love.

At the start of this year, Life Uncut joined the LiSTNR podcast network, which Byrne describes as a major new chapter.

“It’s been huge. It’s been one of the best things that we’ve done. New studio, new look . . . it was kind of our moment to breathe new life into Life Uncut,” she says.

Byrne and Hockley release four episodes a week, helping listeners to navigate “love, life, lust and a bunch of other stuff”. In doing so they share much of their own lives, from pregnancy loss to fertility struggles, relationship issues and family drama.

“It grew so organically, and it had this incredible snowball effect because what we were talking about was just so universally relatable,” Byrne recalls.

“Everyone has been through, or is in the trenches of, dating. Everyone knows what it’s like to have their heart broken, or to try and form new friendships.

“But what we grew to realise foundationally is that the golden thread of our podcast actually wasn’t so much the relationship side, it was female friendship. And Brit and I are genuinely the best of friends, and so it’s just a really incredibly authentic part of it.”

This authenticity is behind the podcast’s success, as well as the popularity of Byrne and Johnson’s funny, deeply relatable online content.

“I love the closeness, I love the conversation that it creates. When I first started, I was very much like, ‘I’m never going to talk about this, and I’m never going to talk about that, and I absolutely will keep these things private’,” she recalls.

“Then all of a sudden you’re talking about stuff you never thought you would talk about because your tolerance for what feels shameful or embarrassing slips away.

“But where the good stuff lies in podcasting is in shared experiences. And sometimes saying something that people might go, ‘Oh my God, that’s so embarrassing’, is what makes it so authentic, because other people are thinking, ‘Yeah, me too, you’ve said that thing out loud that I’ve always felt shameful about’.

“And this is where the truly deep and authentic community has grown from, because it gives people permission to just be themselves.”

While Byrne is now at ease with her unfiltered online existence, it wasn’t always that way. When she finished filming The Bachelor, she thought she needed to curate a perfect online presence.

“I thought that’s what Bachelor winners were, perfect and beautiful, and everyone loved their style, and they were so manicured,” she recalls.

“I tried that for a year, and it was exhausting. It’s so not me.”

As a result, Byrne was unhappy and unsure of herself, until the podcast started and she found her voice.

“I realised who I was and what I wanted to talk about, and then things became a lot more unfiltered, and truly we’ve never looked back,” she says.

Her loyal fanbase has cheered her on through various seasons of life, most recently the chaotic, imperfect but love- and joy-filled reality of parenting three small children.

“It’s a constant juggle, it really is. Probably one of the hardest parts is trying to be everywhere at the same time and be everything for everyone,” she says.

“It’s hard as a mum when opportunities do come up that you want to explore, but at the same time any opportunity that you say yes to, regardless of how amazing it is, ultimately does equate to less time with your kids.”

Byrne knows firsthand, as a business owner and a mother, that there is no one more efficient than a working mum.

“The best hires are women who are back from maternity leave, because there is no one who will get s... done faster than someone who has a finite time to do it in. They are so laser-focused,” she says.

While it wasn’t planned, Byrne has found herself in business with the people she is closest to in her personal life. Her sister, Alisha De Graaf, is her business partner in ToniMay, managing the business operations while Byrne is the creative director and jewellery designer.

The duo have overseen phenomenal growth over the past 12 months; in the last Black Friday sales they shipped out 13,000 orders. Byrne is also proud of their 48 per cent return customer rate.

Byrne and her sister are preparing to open a store in Melbourne before looking to expand into the tough American and UK markets.

“ToniMay is a really robust business. We’ve had over 50 per cent growth year on year since we started, we employ 30 staff in Australia and have stockists all over the country. So it’s bigger, I think, than people might realise,” she says.

“I love being split between something creative, which also allows me to use my business brain, and then I love getting on a podcast and having a yap.”

Whether it is working with her husband, her best friend or her sister, Byrne says the key is playing to her strengths.

“It doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve been so incredibly lucky that it’s strengthened my relationships. I trust that we bring different skill sets to the table; I don’t need to micromanage them, and they don’t need to micromanage me.

“If we allow each other to excel at what we’re good at, it only adds to the business. I’m happy to stick to my lane and trust they are sticking to theirs.”

She’s also learned to expect, and grow from, the inevitable curveballs that come both in life and in business.

“Some of the best growth comes out of moments of radical change. You really kind of have to pivot, and then from there, business takes on new and sometimes really interesting directions because you’re forced into a growth period,” she says.

“Life Uncut is going through one of those little evolution periods at the moment.”

This evolution included the recent departure of long-time producer Keeshia Pettit, and welcoming new executive producer Sophie Nathan.

What won’t change, Byrne says, is the genuine sense of community that Life Uncut has created.

“People long to feel a part of something, and that’s what the podcast gives them,” she says.

“We’ve got big plans, and we’re excited for this next chapter.”