{"id":46011,"date":"2025-09-27T08:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T08:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/46011\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T08:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T08:02:08","slug":"radio-host-jay-jay-feeneys-partner-granted-visa-lifeline-to-stay-in-auckland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/46011\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio host Jay-Jay Feeney\u2019s partner granted visa lifeline to stay in Auckland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI honestly couldn\u2019t believe it when we found out he didn\u2019t have to leave,\u201d says Jay-Jay. \u201cI was jumping around and crying. We still don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen, but at least we have a few more weeks together.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Minou \u2013 who\u2019s taken extended leave from his medical sales job in Algeria to be with the woman he loves \u2013 it\u2019s a dream come true. He insists he\u2019s always had faith their relationship would work out<\/a> and happily admits he\u2019d marry Jay-Jay tomorrow if he had the chance!<\/p>\n

\"TheThe couple’s unlikely union began back in 2018. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I will love her forever, so of course I want to get married,\u201d he declares, gazing at Jay-Jay as she has her hair and makeup done. \u201cIt\u2019s my duty to love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay-Jay, who confesses that Minou already calls her his wife, says, \u201cHe\u2019s so romantic \u2013 much more than I am! He\u2019s very affectionate and loving, and he\u2019s always leaving little notes for me. He probably kisses me too much! We\u2019ve talked about marriage, but I don\u2019t think we need to rush. We\u2019ll just have to wait and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their unlikely union began back in 2018, when Minou stumbled upon a photo of the former More FM star while scrolling on Facebook. Liking her smile but having no idea who she was or where she lived, he sent a playful message. Jay-Jay, bemused by a \u201cyoung hot guy\u201d sliding into her DMs, initially sensed a scam.<\/p>\n

But eventually, they began chatting and a friendship developed. Taking a chance, they met for a holiday in the Maldives later that year, and romance blossomed. After another getaway in Malaysia, where they both realised things were serious, Minou visited Jay-Jay in New Zealand in late 2019, spending Christmas with her family.<\/p>\n

Because of Covid border closures<\/a>, the pair made the heartbreaking decision to split in 2020, and Jay-Jay started dating again. But when the star ended a relationship early last year, she realised she still had feelings for Minou and they got back in touch. Cue a romantic holiday reunion in Bali, where their love was rekindled.<\/p>\n

\"Jay-JayJay-Jay has battled to get their relationship taken seriously by the authorities. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n

Since then, Jay-Jay\u2019s been forced to become something of an expert on immigration as she\u2019s battled to get their relationship taken seriously by the authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor anyone who thinks it\u2019s easy to immigrate to New Zealand, they\u2019re very wrong,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s such a difficult, expensive and complex process. We\u2019ve had to prove over and over again we\u2019re a legitimate couple.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to provide our messages, photos and emails. It\u2019s felt pretty uncomfortable and violating at times. For all those people who are saying he\u2019s just using me for a visa, the reality is it\u2019s pretty bloody impossible!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, after several failed applications, Minou was finally granted a visitor visa in June and soon afterwards, he arrived in Auckland for a 10-week stay. It would be the longest period the pair had spent together, and while she was delighted to see her beau again, Jay-Jay admits she was a little worried about how it would go.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery other time we\u2019ve been together, we\u2019ve been on holiday, and it\u2019s been fun, exciting and amazing,\u201d she says. \u201cThis time, though, I knew I\u2019d be busy working, and I was worried about what Minou would find to do during those hours. I didn\u2019t want him to be bored and miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turned out, Minou loved exploring the city while Jay-Jay worked. He\u2019s become a regular at the local mosque, has joined a gym, made new friends, and happily goes sightseeing solo on an electric scooter.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe pair are from vastly different backgrounds, and Minou\u2019s continually amazed by how open-minded and free it is in New Zealand. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, he\u2019ll turn up at work out of the blue and poke his head around the door to say hi,\u201d says Jay-Jay, who runs the Podlab podcast studio with her ex, Dominic Harvey.<\/p>\n

Aside from a fabulous trip to the South Island and a quick visit to Taranaki, the couple have simply enjoyed being together at home in Auckland, feeling like they finally have the chance to do \u201cnormal couple things\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jay-Jay says, \u201cIt\u2019s been quite a good test of the relationship because we\u2019ve had the chance just to hang out together, cook dinner and watch TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

Culturally, the pair are from vastly different backgrounds, and Minou\u2019s continually amazed by how open-minded and free it is here compared with his deeply conservative Muslim homeland. In Algeria, same-sex relationships are illegal, landlords often refuse to rent to unmarried couples, the concept of flatting is unusual, and social conventions limit friendships between men and women.<\/p>\n

While Jay-Jay\u2019s an atheist, Minou\u2019s deeply religious<\/a>. It\u2019s a subject they discuss a lot, often with a good dose of humour thrown in.<\/p>\n

She smiles, \u201cI\u2019ll tell him, \u2018Say hi to Allah from me,\u2019 when he goes off to pray and when Minou tells me he\u2019s here in New Zealand thanks to Allah, I\u2019m like, \u2018Er, no, you\u2019re here because of Immigration New Zealand and me!\u2019 I\u2019m lucky he has a good sense of humour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jay-JayJay-Jay says her feelings for Minou continue to grow. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n

Minou\u2019s aware he\u2019s breaking the rules of his religion by sharing a bed with Jay-Jay, but sometimes the heart must win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love her so much that it feels like I don\u2019t have a choice,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes you have to be like, \u2018Oh, my God, this will be hard to explain,\u2019 but you have to live your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the pair are incredibly happy together, they\u2019ve been hurt by some of the negative comments made online about their unlikely union. Jay-Jay knows that as someone who\u2019s in the public eye, she\u2019s fair game for judgment, but she\u2019s still been shocked by the strength of strangers\u2019 opinions on their age gap and Minou\u2019s perceived motives.<\/p>\n

More often than not, it\u2019s middle-aged Kiwi men who are the nastiest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t understand why people feel they can share their thoughts on someone else\u2019s relationship,\u201d muses Jay-Jay.<\/p>\n

Despite the detractors, she says her feelings for Minou continue to grow. And while they wait to hear the outcome of the visa application, Jay-Jay\u2019s doing her best to enjoy this extra time with Minou, rather than worrying about what their future will be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been hard, but I wouldn\u2019t change a thing,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that he\u2019s so open-minded, intelligent and funny, and I love his curiosity for the world. But mostly I feel so safe with him. I\u2019m really lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI honestly couldn\u2019t believe it when we found out he didn\u2019t have to leave,\u201d says Jay-Jay. \u201cI was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[51,36980,156,35964,40483,40481,19196,12022,78,302,40480,16099,40484,34590,13840,40485,2882,111,139,69,5502,4965,31119,2069,1361,4468,61,28066,10708,1316,15391,40482],"class_list":["post-46011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-auckland","tag-emotion","tag-entertainment","tag-feels","tag-feeney","tag-feeneys","tag-granted","tag-host","tag-in","tag-its","tag-jayjay","tag-kind","tag-learned","tag-lifeline","tag-like","tag-longdistance","tag-love","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-partner","tag-radio","tag-rollercoaster","tag-stay","tag-that","tag-thing","tag-to","tag-true","tag-visa","tag-when","tag-wild","tag-wonderful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46011","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=46011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}