Q Radio presenter Declan Wilson certainly has plenty to smile about these days.
The Finaghy native is looking forward to impending fatherhood, turning 30 in a few months time and preparing for his fourth year hosting the station's popular breakfast show.
And it's just over a year since Declan and his wife Kelly, a software engineer, finally enjoyed their beautiful wedding day in Newcastle, Co Down.
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The couple got engaged on December 26, 2017 but their special day was cancelled on two different occasions due to coronavirus. They finally tied the knot, third time lucky, on September 6, 2021.
"I have successfully managed to avoid being told to leave over the past year so we're doing alright!" Declan joked to Belfast Live.
"Kelly has always been a great support to me in terms of my career. When I was first trying to get into radio, she was the one telling me to leave the job I was in at the time and focus all my energy on that.
"I had a cousin in the radio business and it was something I'd always listened to growing up. I remember feeling that the job was so impossible to get into and I'd have to be some sort of special person to do so that I'd never manage it.
"Instead I worked in many different jobs in retail, sales and in a school with a view to a career in teaching but then I thought 'well maybe I can do radio'."
"I started to DJ at and host private events and tried to go for it from there. I started off with voluntary work, as many have to do in the industry, but I like to look at it that if you put the time in, then it will pay off further down the line.
"I got a weekly show on Queen's (University) Radio and I thought it was brilliant. It became my home away from home every week and I couldn't wait until every Saturday came around to get on air.
"After that I sent a few demos out to different stations across Northern Ireland and thankfully Q Radio picked me up just over four years ago," he added.
"Kelly said she would cover us financially and do whatever it took for me to get the job so a big shout out to her for that - I'm hoping for some brownie points there!"
Now Declan, 29, and Kelly, 28, who live in north Belfast, are looking forward to welcoming their first child in early 2023.
"It's a very exciting time to be starting a family but also very new and scary. I'm thrilled something new is happening and I always look for the positives in life," he said.
"Kelly is keeping very well and is obviously a lot quieter than me so she keeps me grounded. She designs computer packages every day while I play Rihanna!"
Before that Declan faces another milestone - turning 30 this coming January: "I might throw a Q Radio listener party so it could be a bit of craic if people would be up for it?
"It'll be an exciting start to 2023 and is coming at a time when I've chased my dream job and just as the next big thing to focus on comes along - becoming a dad and raising a family."
Declan went ‘on air’ at Q for the very first time back in August 2018.
He said: "I never thought that three years later I would be fulfilling my dream of hosting the breakfast show. That was an ambition from the moment I started in radio and with a mixture of hard work and good timing it happened for me in a short space of time."
Since he took on the Q Radio breakfast show on 8th March 2021, a job he describes as "a dream come true", Declan's new morning routine consists of waking up at 4.30am on weekday mornings.
"I absolutely love the early starts even though it's obviously that little bit harder in the winter months. I know it sounds cheesy but I always say that if you have a job you love, then you'll bounce out of bed in the morning. That's definitely the case for me," he added.
"You could say that I'm the hyper and random child of the station as you don't know what I'm going to come out with next.
"The show doesn't kick off until 6am and I'm always looking forward to getting into work so having to get up that little bit earlier makes me feel like I'm getting the best out of the day.
"I have a great team behind me including producer Yazz, who also hosts Q Radio's mid-morning show, and she chirps in every day so we have great craic.
"The show is very much listener based and with enough negativity happening in the world we try to keep the mood upbeat so people are smiling and laughing along on their way to work.
"Our listeners respond to and interact with the show every day so that helps me get out of bed every morning."
Declan hosts Q Radio Breakfast from 6am-10am every weekday. You can listen to his podcast here.
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