Rob Van Dam spent decades risking his body inside the ring, but becoming a father for the first time gave him a brand-new reason to protect himself. The WWE Hall of Famer says his twin daughters completely changed his priorities and made him look at his future in a different way.
While speaking with Denise Salcedo, RVD opened up about welcoming his two daughters with his wife, Katie. The twins were seven months old at the time of the conversation, and Van Dam admitted fatherhood was not something he seriously considered until he reached 54.
RVD said the biggest change has been realizing that his daughters now depend on him. Staying healthy is no longer only about himself because he has two children who need him to remain present and take care of them.
“I guess the most different feeling is my priorities have shifted. There’s somebody else now that’s very important, someone else to live for, to stick around for and take care of myself for—and take care of them. They depend on us so much. They’re so helpless.”
Van Dam also admitted that he did not spend much time around babies before having children of his own. He said he previously assumed babies were not processing or remembering much during their earliest years, but his daughters quickly proved him wrong. RVD has been stunned by how much the twins already recognize him, interact with him and understand their daily routines. Their reactions to seeing their father have also hit him harder than he ever expected.
“I had no idea that they would interact that much with you. Of course, they remember you and remember day-to-day schedules. They’re just going to replace those memories with so many more that eventually they won’t be able to remember it. They just turned seven months, I think, yesterday.”
“When they smile at me, it just warms me up. It validates my existence. Just to see them smile at me and be happy—it means the whole world.”
RVD made it clear that Katie has been carrying the heaviest load at home. He praised her as an incredible mother and said she handled nearly all the work during the exhausting months when the twins were waking up throughout the night. The babies had only recently started sleeping through the night, and Van Dam said he had no idea how Katie managed to survive the earlier schedule.
“Katie’s an amazing mommy. Now the babies at seven months are just starting to sleep through the night, but they have kept her up every hour. Every hour and a half or so, they’d wake up, and I don’t know how she has been surviving because she does 99% or more of the work.”
Van Dam spent most of his adult life building a wrestling legacy around being one of the most fearless performers in the business. Now, his daughters have given him something bigger to live for, while Katie has taken control at home and helped RVD step into a role he never expected to have this late in life.
What do you think about Rob Van Dam’s comments on becoming a father at 54 and how much his daughters have changed him? Leave your feedback in the comments.
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