Aussie dad’s ‘sneaky’ hotel act sparks debate: ‘Everyone act cool’
Matty ‘J’ Johnson has revealed he often sneaks food out of hotel buffets so his family can snack on it during their holidays.
The former Bachelor star and his wife Laura Byrne were enjoying a tropical resort holiday in Bali with their three daughters – Marlie-Mae, Lola and Poppy.
During one of their breakfast buffet visits, the doting dad was seen quietly wrapping a napkin around pastries before walking out.
‘Laura is forcing me to try to smuggle out a pile of pastries from the buffet,’ he joked.
In the video, Matty J suggested taking the entire bowl, to which his wife responded: ‘You can’t take a bowl out. They’ll see.’
Unfazed, he responded: ‘I’m going to do it. Watch me.’
The clip shows the dad power walking to their room with the napkin-wrapped pastries in his hand – leaving his oldest daughter Marlie-Mae stunned by his sneaky move.
‘Everyone act cool,’ the dad said, adding: ‘Nothing to see here. Everyone act cool.’
Matty ‘J’ Johnson has revealed he often sneaks food out of hotel buffets so his family can snack on it during their holidays
During one of their breakfast buffet visits, the doting dad was seen quietly wrapping a napkin around pastries before walking out
‘Me trying to look completely normal after accidentally leaving the buffet with enough pastries to feed a family.’
As the family walked past the housekeepers, Matty J appeared stressed as he nervously said: ‘Hi, how are you?’
‘Oh my god, quick, run.’
In a follow-up video, Laura can be seen handing a bag of pastries to her daughter, with Matty J joking: ‘We’ve officially become an organised crime family.
‘Taking pastries from the buffet is no longer a crime… it’s a family business.’
On his podcast, Two Doting Dads, Matty J addressed his buffet act.
‘I didn’t know everyone was doing this,’ he said, after being surprised to see so many people come forward and admit they did the same thing when staying at hotels.
‘We would just go the old napkin,’ he continued, adding: ‘The napkin unfolded on the table, loaded in.’
In the video, Matty J suggested taking the entire bowl, to which his wife responded: ‘You can’t take a bowl out. They’ll see. Unfazed, he responded: ‘I’m going to do it. Watch me’. Days later, Laura was seen packing pastries into a bag after dining at a buffet
Matty J later joked: ‘We’ve officially become an organised crime family
After sharing his buffet act, Matty J said many suggested he should bring ziplock bags the next time he goes away with his family.
‘The number one feedback I got is that I should start using ziplock bags,’ he said.
Many confessed they did the same thing when staying at hotels.
‘I thought my parents invented this napkin move,’ one woman said, laughing.
‘We all always get our lunch from buffet breakfast, we take containers to breakfast and even a Thermos for coffee later in the day,’ another added.
Meanwhile, others shared ‘genius’ ways they sneak buffet food out.
‘I took our daughter’s lunch box on holiday especially for this. Made cheese and Vegemite sandwiches at the table and loaded up on pastries and fruit every morning. No parent needs to pay for resort lunch,’ one mum said.
‘My dad used to put a whole plate together, put a linen napkin over it and walk out smiling. Worked every time,’ another revealed.
‘I always take ziplock bags on holidays.. I’m not wasting the delicious pastries from breakfast! No shame,’ one explained.
After getting engaged in Fiji in April 2018, Matty J and Laura tied the knot on the south coast in November 2022, five years after meeting on The Bachelor.
They are one of the most successful couples to come out of the reality TV show, having welcomed their daughter Marlie-Mae in 2019, followed by Lola in February 2021 and Poppy in September 2025.
