Scott McGillivray Shares His Cutest Valentine’s Day Memories With Sabrina and His Daughters

I don’t want to pat myself on the back too much, but I really think I deserve “Husband of the Year” for this one. One year I surprised Sabrina with a tropical vacation. She woke up one morning and I told her to pack her bags and grab her passport. She didn’t even know where we were going until she got on the plane. It took a lot of organizing but it was totally worth it!

Sabrina is a dancer, and I am not. When we got married I knew the first dance would be a big thing, so a few months before the big day, right around Valentine’s Day, I surprised her with some dance lessons. She didn’t need them but I did, and she really appreciated how hard I worked to try and master the dance. Little did we know at the time that the video of our wedding dance would end up on YouTube and get hundreds of thousands of views!

Back in the early days we really knew how to do it right. Dinner, drinks and a couple of sombreros equals the perfect recipe for romance! For the record, everything is more fun when you’re wearing a sombrero.

Valentine’s Day used to be all about romance, but since our two little girls have entered the scene things have changed a bit. Champagne flutes may have been replaced with juice boxes, but I still like to make it a special night. So every year on February 14th I take all three of my girls on a “date.” We dress up and go to a nice restaurant and I treat them to whatever they want. As my daughters grow up I hope they’ll remember that this is how they deserve to be treated.

Sabrina is an incredibly hard-working woman. She’s a full-time teacher, a full-time mom, an amazing caretaker, and the best partner I could hope for. And since she rarely takes time for herself, it’s up to me to spoil her every now and then. One of my favourite surprises for her was last year when I hired a personal shopper to come to the house and bring the stores to her. She had a ton of fun, made even more so by the fact that it’s not something she ever would have done for herself in a million years.

As much fun as it is to be extravagant sometimes, the best gifts are always those that come from the heart. A couple of years ago, Myah, Layla and I made some handmade heart crafts and gave them to Sabrina on Valentine’s Day. Those three smiles (Layla was smiling on the inside I’m sure) are worth more than any expensive trip or fancy shopping spree ever could be.

I need to be clear that while I love to give Sabrina great gifts, she’s done a million amazing things for me too. She has always supported everything I’ve done with my career, but one thing she was never interested in was joining me on camera. But when the idea for Moving the McGillivrays came along, I knew it could never happen without her. Despite her hesitations, she agreed, because she knew how important it was to me. It’s not an easy thing to allow strangers into your home and to put yourself out there, but she did it for me. How awesome is that?

You know, as much fun as it is to be romantic on Valentine’s Day, my favourite thing to do is sit back any night of the week after the kids have gone to sleep and have a glass of wine with my wife. It’s the perfect time to reconnect, let go of the stress of the day, and remind each other why we chose to spend our lives together. I’m a very lucky guy, and I’m reminded of it each and every day.