From their first adventure in Tokyo in 2017, The Fren Family have become one of the most beloved stars of Travel Guides.
Hailing from Newcastle, New South Wales, couple Mark and Cathy and their children Jonathon and Victoria first began their jet-setting journey on the inaugural season of Travel Guides.
Known locally for their German restaurant Oma, the Fren Family’s transition to television was not always set on travel, with Cathy revealing to InTouch Magazine, “A producer rang me from Channel 9 and had read all our restaurant reviews on the interest and asked if we would audition for a restaurant competition.”
While their cooking prowess may not have received a starring role, Cathy revealed that Nine later encouraged the family to audition for their upcoming travel show and after some deliberation, the Fren’s jumped at the opportunity to explore the world.
“I said to the kids we’ll either love it or hate it, but it’ll be a great life experience, and I guess we like taking risks. Mark and I were school teachers for nearly 30 years in executive positions, and we opened the cafe to have a family business, so we were keen and we loved it!”
Signing on to the show for the first season, Mark, Cathy, Jonathan, and Victoria, were quickly embraced by Travel Guides fans, with audiences loving their heartwarming family bond and no-filter personalities.
“Something we said straight off was that we’re portrayed exactly how we are… and that’s what we like. We’re ourselves.”
“We always tell the truth, because we know that there are so many people out there who actually go and do the same holiday we do,” Cathy told Vacations & Travel.
Now venturing on their seventh season of the hit travel show, the Fren Family have shared that they now spend roughly six months of the year on holiday, with the family adding over 60 trips to their travel tally.
“I mean, who doesn’t love a free holiday?!” Victoria joked to Vacations & Travel.
Outside the world of Travel Guides, the Frens have welcomed a few new members into their family, with Jonathan tying the knot with his wife Danielle in June 2021.
In May 2023, Victoria also walked down the aisle – celebrating her nuptials with her husband Nathan Moran in a picturesque ceremony in the Blue Mountains. Staying true to their new jet-setting lifestyle, Victoria and Nathan travelled to Thailand for their honeymoon.
Despite both Victoria and Jonathan embarking on their newly married lives with their partners, Victoria shared that her time with her family on the hit travel show offers a great opportunity to reconnect.
“There are so many places in the world we still haven’t been to yet. We love Travel Guides. It’s so nice, with me and Jonathan being older, to be able to still travel with our parents,” she told Woman’s Day.
