upcoming election year<\/a>.<\/p>\nShe and her new fiance are not only united in their political beliefs and desire to make the world a better place, but they also simply love spending time together. Reconnecting later in life has been a blessing, says Toni.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known each other a long time and always had a lot in common, but navigating post-separation life, managing kids and careers, and trying to balance it all is really tricky,\u201d she admits. \u201cHaving someone who\u2019s been through it too \u2013 someone you can lean on \u2013 is really lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, blending two families hasn\u2019t been without its juggles and trials, but they share there\u2019s no greater joy than seeing their kids, who range from primary-school age to their teens, enjoy each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n
Tells Toni, \u201cThe scheduling and the dynamics can be challenging, but it\u2019s all absolutely worth it when you see the evolving, loving family ecosystem you end up having.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life is hectic with Chris\u2019 demanding political role \u2013 and this year will be more so with the election looming \u2013 but the pair says home is their sanctuary, where they are able to live simply and authentically. Toni adds she\u2019s amazed by Chris\u2019 capacity to carry out his job while still being a committed dad and also a partner.<\/p>\n
![\"Toni\u2019s]()
Toni\u2019s prepared to step into the spotlight to support Chris. Photo \/ Hagen Hopkins<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s incredibly caring, and he always makes me feel very loved and appreciated,\u201d she reveals. \u201cHe gets up early day in and day out, works really hard and has the world on his shoulders, but he can still put all that down to be there for me and the kids at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris is also grateful that Toni is happy to do, as he puts it with a laugh, \u201cthings like this\u201d \u2013 meaning the Woman\u2019s Day shoot and interview. While the couple is protective of their kids, Toni\u2019s prepared to step into the spotlight to support Chris, even if it\u2019s slightly outside her comfort zone. Public scrutiny is something she\u2019s still getting used to, she admits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made the mistake of reading the comments at times,\u201d she grimaces. \u201cI don\u2019t do that any more! We just focus on living our best life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ensuring their home is a sanctuary, where they can simply be themselves and do the things that make them happy, is vital. <\/p>\n
Chris explains, \u201cWe have things we can come back to that make us feel kind of centred and happy. The rest is just noise, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
In their downtime, they love nothing more than pottering about in the garden, cooking and playing with the kids.<\/p>\n
![\"Wedding]()
Wedding plans are on hold for the couple now. Photo \/ Hagen Hopkins<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you come here on the weekends, you\u2019ll find us in shorts or track pants, doing jobs around the house or the garden \u2013 pretty much what every other family does,\u201d tells Chris, who\u2019s a keen gardener.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis summer, we\u2019ve planted a lot of pick-and-eat food because the kids get excited about that. There are sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, strawberries and other things that they can snack on straight from the garden. Then there are lots of herbs right at the back door, so we can easily grab them when we\u2019re cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toni shares, \u201cWe\u2019re both quite grounded and happy to be our authentic selves, even if that means rocking around in pre-loved clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 2026 gearing up to be a busy election year, it\u2019s no surprise that wedding plans are on hold for now. There\u2019s a campaign to focus on first \u2013 although their four kids clearly have other ideas. Delighted by the engagement, the children have already begun taking matters into their own hands.<\/p>\n
![\"\"]()
<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re making plans for us already,\u201d laughs Chris. \u201cThey\u2019re picking out outfits and getting a bit ahead of themselves, but that\u2019s all right. It\u2019s actually really lovely to see how excited they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Chris, that enthusiasm mirrors what he treasures most about his blossoming relationship with Toni. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe effortlessness of what we have is so incredibly special,\u201d he shares. \u201cWe connect on every level without even really trying. Every day is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI had absolutely no idea it was coming,\u201d says Toni, who has an impressive background in sustainable development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[140101,95,11164,6325,75031,3276,49159,2004,2109,140100,13480,2944,6721,13489,424,5812,111,43,139,69,5502,4762,660,15120,30606,49953,1316],"class_list":["post-237343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-40th","tag-and","tag-began","tag-birthday","tag-celebrations","tag-chris","tag-determined","tag-engagement","tag-family","tag-graces","tag-hipkins","tag-inside","tag-labour","tag-leader","tag-life","tag-make","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-partner","tag-party","tag-planning","tag-remembered","tag-sure","tag-toni","tag-when"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}