Inside Mark Wahlberg’s Inspiring Family World as a Father of 4

No wonder he’s been so excited to bond with Ella’s boyfriend—finally, someone wants to hang out with him!

However, now that his sons are getting into golf and he’s an avid player—and is friends with lots of professional golfers and other athletes—”they’re a little bit impressed with that,” Wahlberg said on the April 10 episode of the Sunday Sitdown podcast. “But I think they are secretly impressed with my work ethic and my discipline. And I have to be an example for them, I have to show them that Dad’s gonna get up and he’s gonna do whatever he has to do. I could easily be complacent now that I’ve had success, but I’m more driven now and determined than I’ve ever been.”

As for his faith, which is so central to his world, “I don’t force it” on the kids, he told Hoda Kotb on Today April 7. “But they know that Dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass. And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for Dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate towards it on their own.”

In the meantime, he quipped, “They think Dad’s crazy and he’s boring.”