{"id":418956,"date":"2026-05-09T03:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T03:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/418956\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T03:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T03:44:09","slug":"napier-mum-of-quads-finds-love-again-after-heartbreak-and-answered-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/418956\/","title":{"rendered":"Napier mum of quads finds love again after heartbreak and answered prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hawke\u2019s Bay is small, so sometimes they\u2019d bump into each other at a cafe or in the airport departure lounge and it was always lovely to catch up. But what Joanne didn\u2019t know that day in July 2025 was that Paul, 54, had been carrying her plight close to his heart.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne with her kids, Peter, Esther, Lucy, Oliver and Jonathan. Photo \/ Suzy Gasson<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d read an article online about Jo losing Brett and I felt for her,\u201d says Paul, who also has a strong Christian faith. \u201cI wanted to do something to help.\u201d So he did.<\/p>\n

Paul had entered and won a weight-loss challenge at his workplace, Hastings District Council, and instead of spending the winnings on himself, he chose to purchase supermarket vouchers for Jo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI messaged to arrange how to get everything to her and Jo explained how hard it was to meet for coffee with five little ones, so asked if I wanted to drop by the house,\u201d he tells.<\/p>\n

Which is how Paul got welcomed into Joanne\u2019s home on a day where she happened to be toilet training not one or even two, but four toddlers at once<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a procession of potties,\u201d laughs Paul.<\/p>\n

Joanne says that having raised three kids of his own, now all in their twenties, Paul was \u201ctotally unfazed\u201d.<\/p>\n

Glancing at her new love, she tells, \u201cHe took it all in his stride. We\u2019re a busy household and you just have to go with the flow, which was no problem for Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul confides that although his intentions that day were nothing but platonic, seeing Joanne again stirred something within him.<\/p>\n

\"FaithFaith was pushing Paul into Joanne\u2019s orbit. Photo \/ Suzy Gasson<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had been a number of years since we\u2019d caught up, and I remember thinking about what she had been through, and reflecting on her strength of character and faith in God,\u201d he says. \u201cHer sense of calm was so admirable and I began feeling something for her that caught me by surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting to text more regularly, one weekend, Joanne invited Paul to accompany her and the children to the Napier Aquarium. That turned out to be the beginning of a blossoming romance. Which was exactly what Joanne had been hoping for.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the year after Brett passed, I\u2019d done a lot of work on myself and started thinking about my future,\u201d she tells. \u201cAs much as I love my kids, I knew I didn\u2019t want to continue raising them on my own. But I also wondered how on earth I\u2019d ever meet anyone new when my weeks were absolutely full and I spent the weekends exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I prayed \u2013 I prayed with Peter for a new daddy and for myself that I might meet someone. And that someone would need to literally walk up to my front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faith was also pushing Paul into Joanne\u2019s orbit, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod had put the same thought into Paul\u2019s heart at the perfect moment. Honestly, if he\u2019d come for that initial visit even a few weeks earlier, the timing would not have been right for me mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe children seem just as besotted with Paul. Photo \/ Suzy Gasson<\/p>\n

With Paul in her life, Joanne \u2013 who works for \u201chugely supportive\u201d software firm Technology One \u2013 says the load began to lift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d feel excited about weekends again and our time as a couple. We don\u2019t believe in living together, so Paul maintains his home, and me and the kids are in ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the children seem just as besotted with Paul.<\/p>\n

He reflects, \u201cThe first day we met, Peter climbed straight on my lap with a book. It just seemed easy and natural. When I turn up at Jo\u2019s, Lucy will take a flying leap into my arms.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an enormous undertaking to be in a relationship with someone who comes as a package of six, but Paul sees it as a blessing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJo made it clear from the start that she wasn\u2019t interested in casual dating, and that any relationship needed to be intentional<\/a> and lead to marriage,\u201d he says. \u201cThat meant having some very open and honest conversations about family life from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

After six months of dating, Paul asked Joanne\u2019s dad for permission to wed. The two men were moving a pile of firewood and, during a break, perched on some logs to chat. Paul explained how things had progressed, and that he wanted to be with Joanne and the children forever.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul presented his love with a beautiful ring set with four diamonds. Photo \/ Suzy Gasson<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had some questions,\u201d admits Paul, \u201cbut he could also see how we were around each other and how settled the kids were, and he gave his blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A romantic vineyard dinner and heartfelt proposal on the beach at Bay View in Napier \u2013 where Paul presented his love with a beautiful ring set with four diamonds \u2013 followed.<\/p>\n

The next day, Joanne had news for the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018How would you like my friend Paul to be your new daddy?\u2019 Peter was ecstatic. But my heart broke when Oliver asked, \u2018What\u2019s a daddy?\u2019 The quads were only a year old when Brett died. They don\u2019t remember him. I\u2019ve explained that Paul is special to me and that you can have more than one daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The pair will pledge their vows in July. But it\u2019s what comes after that they\u2019re looking forward to most. Paul will move into the family home, and they\u2019ll begin their lives as husband, wife and \u201cDaddy number two\u201d.<\/p>\n

Brett is still very much a part of the family \u2013 there are photos dotted around Joanne\u2019s home, constant chatter from Peter about the things they used to do together, and cake and candles on Brett\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have prepared the children\u2019s hearts for this,\u201d says Joanne. \u201cAnd I\u2019m so excited. I\u2019m looking forward to the little things, really \u2013 taking a walk together, debriefing at the end of the day and just normal daily activities. I can\u2019t wait to do life with Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hawke\u2019s Bay is small, so sometimes they\u2019d bump into each other at a cafe or in the airport…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[74,6030,95,1075,33167,11424,38626,42,72919,302,91666,113164,2882,5829,19275,130,5969,2721,3607,43,1118,53651,215175,55142,131,40,38,41,39,13797,3608,1316,24943,26157],"class_list":["post-418956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-after","tag-again","tag-and","tag-answered","tag-expression","tag-finds","tag-grateful","tag-headlines","tag-heartbreak","tag-its","tag-joanne","tag-joyful","tag-love","tag-many","tag-mere","tag-more","tag-much","tag-mum","tag-napier","tag-news","tag-of","tag-prayers","tag-quads","tag-relieved","tag-than","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-used","tag-were","tag-when","tag-wills","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418956","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=418956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}