Rachel Hunter Considers Herself an ‘Intuitive Mother’

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When Canadian Jarret Stoll thought about proposing to his then-girlfriend Rachel Hunter, he knew that the best way to a mother’s heart was through her kids. Aware of the model’s existence far before their actual first meeting, the professional ice hockey player knew that Rachel was "beautiful and very busy," qualities that proved to be true when the two were introduced during the NHL playoffs — and then went on their first date the following night. "When I met her that first time, the thing that most impressed me was her relationship with her kids. I could tell that Rachel was a good person, a great mum, and gorgeous," shares Jarret.

With Rachel’s two children — Renee, 16, and Liam, 14 — actively a part of the relationship from the start, Jarret has had no difficulties bonding with the kids. Naturally hitting it off with Liam, who plays hockey himself, the 26-year-old shares that fortunately, Renee is equally as "easy to get on with as well," and he attributes their closeness to doing "things as a family. Nobody is excluded, it’s perfect." In fact, with Rachel off working, Jarret was left to spend the day with both kids and Rachel’s mom during a trip to New Zealand, and recalls the day to be "so easy and like we had known each other for a very long time."

As their relationship continued to grow, Jarret admits that his thoughts turned to marriage and he found himself looking to Rachel’s family for support and advice for the perfect proposal. During a trip to New Zealand, where Rachel is originally from, Jarret sent his soon-to-be fiancée off to work and began planning their candlelight ceremony with the two teenagers. Jarret admits in a new interview with Hello! magazine that he "wanted to do it right," and Rachel remembers that "very special" moment when she "said yes straight away."

"Then my mother appears and Renee and Liam and suddenly we’re all walking up the path to this huge arrangement of flowers and I’m saying something like, ‘Gorgeous flowers,’ and Jarret starts laughing and says, ‘Dummy they’re for you!’ I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ Then Jarret is saying he loves me and wants to be with me forever. Then Renee whispered, ‘Jarret, you’re supposed to get down on one knee!’"

Click ‘More’ to read about Rachel as an "intuitive mother" and her future plans.

Despite having her first two children at a young age, Rachel — an "intuitive mother" — is confident she "did pretty well the first time around" and feels having a baby with Jarret would not be extraordinarily different when it comes to her mothering skills. Calling motherhood the "best thing I have ever done in my life," the model stresses that although she was young when she had her children, she fully understood "instinctively how to nurture" then. As the couple are "looking forward" to eventually having children once they have tied the knot, Rachel admits that although she "loves" being a mother, she "doesn’t feel the urgency" to have a baby right away. However, when the time is right, Rachel knows "that Jarret would be an incredible dad."

With an upcoming wedding and possibly a new baby, Rachel, 39, is keeping busy — having recently launched a clothing line in New Zealand — but shares that for the next few years, her main focus is on her kids as they face the ups and downs of the years ahead.

"I want to be there for [Renee and Liam] as they go through their teenage years and help them deal with all the pressures that kids face today. My kids are everything to me. They have grown up pretty much out of the public eye, they like it that way and so do I."

Renee and Liam are Rachel’s children with singer Rod Stewart.

Source: Hello!; November 11th issue