Jacinda Ardern will marry her long-time partner Clarke Gayford at a luxury New Zealand venue on Saturday after several years of delays and cancellations.
The pair are yet to tie the knot as the former New Zealand Prime Minister dealt with a string of tragedies, including the horror Christchurch terror attack, the White Island volcano eruption and the coronavirus pandemic.
Just a year after the couple got engaged at Easter in 2019, Ardern’s government put in place Covid-19 restrictions came into force which reduced gatherings to 100 people.
As a result, they were forced to cancel plans to wed at the luxury rural estate Nick’s Head Station, located 25km south of Gisborne, in the summer of 2022.
‘Such is life,’ the former prime minister said of their decision to call off the wedding.
‘My wedding will not be going ahead, but I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic.
‘I am no different to, dare I say, thousands of other New Zealanders.’
Local media has reported the rescheduled ceremony will be held at a vineyard, 200km away from the original location, in Hawke’s Bay on January 13.
Ms Ardern, 43, and Mr Gayford, 47, first met at an awards ceremony in 2012, but they did not begin dating until 2014 after Mr Gayford, contacted the then-Labour politician about proposed legislation in 2013.
Jacinda Ardern will marry her long-time partner Clarke Gayford at an elite venue on Saturday after several years of delays and cancellations (the pair are pictured in January, 2023)
She arranged to meet Clarke to discuss the issue over coffee.
Before long the pair realised they had an awful lot in common, including a shared love of music and previous experience turning tables as DJs. They became friends, before their relationship began to blossom into something more.
In an interview with Woman’s Weekly, Clarke revealed he took the politician on a fishing trip on their first date so he could share his biggest passion with her – and he realised he had met his match when she reeled in a 5.4kg snapper.
He said: ‘The sea was glass flat and we had a huge pod of dolphins join us. It was literally Jacinda’s first cast and she was like, ‘Ooh! Something’s pulling!’
‘She pulled in a 5.4kg snapper. And she said, ‘Is that good?’ And I was like, ‘That’s real good!”
The couple grew closer as they bonded over fishing and seafood, with Clarke revealing he wooed her by turning up to her house with crayfish.
They went on to have their daughter Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford in 2018.
Before dating Ms Ardern, Mr Gayford was famous in New Zealand, with various roles in the media as a radio host, DJ and presenter.
Mr Gayford is the current host of ‘Fish of the Day,’ a series dedicated fishing in the pacific ocean, as well as ‘Moving Houses,’ a show that revolves around the process of relocating houses.
He has continued to work in the media throughout his relationship with Ms Ardern.
Mr Gayford, was there to support Ms Ardern last January when she announced she would not be seeking re-election, citing exhaustion.
She made light of the wedding debacle and included a special shout-out to her partner in the speech, telling him: ‘And to Clarke: let’s finally get married.’
Just a year after the couple (pictured in 2018) were engaged at Easter in 2019, a series of Covid-19 restrictions came into force including gatherings being restricted to 100 people
The couple are pictured after Ms Ardern announced her shock resignation last January
The couple (pictured with their baby daughter Neve in 2018) began dating in 2014
In January 2023, Ms Ardern shocked the world when she announced she would not be seeking re-election as prime minister after five years in the job.
She was elected on October 26, 2017, and at 37, was New Zealand’s youngest ever prime minister. Before that, she was the youngest sitting MP in 2008, aged 28.
Ms Ardern told a press conference that she’d hoped to find the energy and heart during the Christmas break to stay in the job, ‘but I have not been able to do that’.
‘Once I realised that I didn’t, I knew unfortunately there was not much alternative other than to hand over now,’ she said at a Labour meeting.
‘I am human. Politicians are human. We give all we can for as long as we can – and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time. I know what this job takes.
Local media has reported the rescheduled ceremony will be held at a vineyard, 200km away from the original location, in Hawke’s Bay on January 13
When asked what she would do next, Ms Ardern said she looked forward to spending time with her young daughter and finally marrying her fiancé.
She also admitted she had not expected to become prime minister.
Ms Ardern joined Ivy League institution Harvard University in late 2023 in three fellowship roles in leadership and fighting online extremism.
She will spend a semester at Harvard Kennedy School as the 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and as a Hauser Leader in the school’s Center for Public Leadership to engage with students on ‘principled leadership’.
Ms Ardern has also signed with Penguin Random House to write a book on how to be ‘your own kind of leader and still make a difference’.
The former leader is understood to have received a $1.5million advance for the book.
