EXCLUSIVEBig Brother favourite Farmer Dave Graham drops major family news after becoming ‘donor dad’ to multiple kids – and reveals he was hospitalised from ‘burnout’

Big Brother star David Graham has revealed his ‘unconventional’ family has expanded.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, David – or Farmer Dave as he became known after his stint on the reality show – dropped the bombshell that his brood has grown to five. 

David, 45, who came out as gay on the 2006 season of Big Brother, served as donor father to the children that he shares with two women, both good friends of the reality star. 

While he preferred to keep his children’s details private, the TV personality revealed the joy that becoming a donor father had brought his life.

‘It has been the greatest reward of anything that I’ve ever done,’ he said.

‘There is nothing that comes close to holding your child and being part of the story of humanity.

‘Knowing that you’re not a failure. Knowing that it all ends with me, because that’s one of the trials that you go through as a homosexual.’

He continued: ‘My natural order is that I don’t breed, and coming from a farming background, the only reason you exist is to pass the baton.’

David added that becoming a father had given him a sense of security and peace.

‘To hold my five children, it just makes me feel secure, it makes me feel connected,’ he said.

‘It makes me feel peace, and it makes me feel part of something.

‘It also makes me feel like, with the mums, that I contributed to their feeling of connection and their feeling of being part of the endless chain of humanity.’

He continued: ‘When I look in their eyes, I tell you what, I just see endless possibility and pure peace and joy.’ 

During the candid chat, David also revealed he was hospitalised after suffering ‘burnout’ from an at-risk youth charity he started.

The reality show fan-favourite started the charity RuffTrack in 2019, which aims to connect at-risk young people between the ages of 12 and 17, with dogs to help foster responsibility and trust.

However, David revealed to Daily Mail Australia that he has since walked away from the Sydney-based initiative he set-up.

He admitted that he became overwhelmed with the problem of at-risk youth across Australia.

‘To be totally frank, I had a complete burnout situation and found myself in hospital for six weeks,’ David revealed.

‘I kind of gave everything to trying to save every f***ing kid.’

The passionate youth advocate and mentor continued admitting that he found himself working around the clock to address a problem that continued to grow.

‘We were getting kids from all over Australia come to our program – we had kids from Alice Springs, we had kids from all up and down New South Wales and their problem was just huge,’ he said.

‘The problem was I was like: “well, I’ve got to do whatever it takes – working seven days a week and just burning the candle at both ends and, five years into it, I literally cracked.’

David admitted that 12 months on from leaving RuffTrack, which is still in operation, he is in a much better place and is back mentoring young people, this time through the initiative the Cooee Crew.

‘I’m doing absolutely great now and I’m back working with what we call the super high risk kids that live in complete care situations,’ he said.

‘The name of the organisation is the Cooee Crew and Cooee is this ancient and still used Australian way of saying: “I’m here, where are you?”. That’s what it’s all about, saying: “I see you, I’ve got you, now, let’s go and do stuff.”‘ 

David, who went into the Big Brother house twice – in 2016 and again in 2022, said that he was excited for the anticipated 2025 reboot of the seminal reality series.

‘Too right, I’ll be tuning in,’ he said.

‘I think that Big Brother is the greatest reflection on society there is, it’s a look into the heart and soul of Australia.

‘It’s been a big gap between the last time that they had this version of the show, to now, and I am so interested because there’s all this talk about the Gen X people, the Gen Z and it really is going to be like: “where are we now as a society.”

‘It really does represent a cross-section of Australia that really says, how are we tracking as a people? 

‘And I always have looked at the show as the window into the living rooms of Australia which is why I did it originally,  to really have a conversation and change people’s opinions on the sexual minority that I am a part of.’

David’s on-air coming out proved to be quite a watershed moment for Australian television, however he admitted he never thought his revelation would gain so much traction.

‘I just wanted a bushy to say: “hey this is me”, and no one was doing it and I’m like: “well f***, someone’s got to do it, no one else is doing it, right? Ok, jump up there,’ he said. 

‘I didn’t think it was going to be as big as it was, that was going to be, you know, front page news for months and months and months.’

He added that 17 years after his original Big Brother turn, fans still thank him for his openness on the show. 

‘Still 17 years later. I’m being stopped daily in the street by people saying, “Hey you changed my life”, be it a parent or better child, or a better sibling, by simply understanding that gay people are normal people.’