<\/p>\n
Melanie Lynskey dreams of moving back to New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Actress Melanie Lynskey has had a whirlwind few years in front of the cameras, appearing in hit after hit \u2014 from \u201cYellowjackets\u201d and \u201cThe Last of Us\u201d to Adam Sandler\u2019s latest Netflix release, \u201cDon\u2019t Say Good Luck.\u201d But despite being one of Hollywood\u2019s most consistent performers, the mother of one still hasn\u2019t been able to achieve her ultimate dream: owning a home in her native New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Lynskey, 49, who was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, but has been living in Los Angeles for the past 26 years, opened up about her desire to one day return to her home country while speaking to the NZ Herald.<\/p>\n
She admitted that, while she is perfectly happy residing in California with her husband, actor Jason Ritter, and their 8-year-old daughter for now, she still considers New Zealand her true home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI completely consider New Zealand home. I get off the plane and I just feel \u2026 just like the air is different. You just feel like, \u2018Oh, now I\u2019m at home,\u2019\u201d the actress explained.<\/p>\n
However, owning a piece of that paradise is, sadly, still out of her reach, she noted. Property in New Zealand is far more expensive than she had realised.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have this dream of being able to buy a house in New Zealand. Not quite there yet, it\u2019s very expensive, as it turns out! And, yeah, can\u2019t have two houses quite yet,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lynskey became globally recognised through hit show Two and a Half Men. Picture: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Although her finances may stand in the way of her goal, the actress revealed it hasn\u2019t stopped her from keeping an eye out on the real estate market in the country, just in case.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m going to sleep, all I do is look at real estate in New Zealand and have a dream of my house when I\u2019m going off to sleep,\u201d she added. \u201cI just love it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Two and a Half Men actress conceded that there is another reason why they cannot make the move overseas just yet: Her daughter is currently enrolled in her \u201cdream school,\u201d while her husband\u2019s family is also all located in California.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously L.A., my husband\u2019s family is in L.A. and from L.A. Our daughter is at a school, which is our dream school for her. She got in there, and so it does feel like, for a period of time, we\u2019re going to stay there,\u201d she said of her child, whose name they have decided to keep private.<\/p>\n
As for the things she misses the most about her home country, Lynskey was quick to point to the food and drink.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love [L.A.], but I dream of home all the time. The milk is better, the butter is better, the wine is better,\u201d she said. \u201cThe bottle of wine you get at the supermarket is going to be a great bottle of wine. Vogel\u2019s bread, marmite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just very simple things. People are always like, \u2018Oh, do you want a piece of chocolate?\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, what\u2019s the point.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lynskey confessed that her dream has always been to snap up a property in New Zealand, in addition to their dwelling in California. Picture: Instagram<\/p>\n
Lynskey, who shot to fame after starring in director Peter Jackson\u2019s 1994 movie \u201cHeavenly Creatures\u201d alongside Kate Winslet, moved to Los Angeles in 2000, after completing high school in her home country \u2014 and spending 18 months at university.<\/p>\n
That same year, she landed a role in the hit musical movie \u201cCoyote Ugly,\u201d which was filmed primarily in and around New York City.<\/p>\n
She purchased her first home in California in 2004 for just $597,500 (AUD $843,000). She sold the adorable Victorian bungalow 13 years later for $950,000 (AUD $1.34 million).<\/p>\n
The sale of that property came four years after she met Ritter on the set of the film \u201cThe Big Ask\u201d and the same year that the couple got engaged.<\/p>\n
In 2018, the couple welcomed their daughter, whom they have kept entirely out of the spotlight.<\/p>\n
In 2020, the couple said \u201cI do\u201d in an intimate ceremony on their home\u2019s porch with just two of their friends present.<\/p>\n
The duo then carried out a dramatic overhaul of their shared home, which they proudly showcased in a March 2026 shoot for Architectural Digest.<\/p>\n
Lynskey explained that they spent a few years living in the property before deciding to renovate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite longing for a pad in New Zealand, the actress conceded that it wasn\u2019t feasible for them to make the move from California because of her spouse\u2019s family and their daughter\u2019s school. Picture: Instagram<\/p>\n
\u201cThe house itself has a lovely feeling, and it\u2019s so warm,\u201d she shared. \u201cBut there was this cold tile on everything. It\u2019s such a happy place, and I wanted to make it as cozy as its soul is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lynskey has filled the dwelling with art pieces from New Zealand, which she said help her to keep her favourite memories of her home country alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost all of my art is from New Zealand,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhen I look at it, I see the hills outside of Wellington or people with moko tattoos \u2014 things that just make me instantly think of home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since welcoming their child, the actors have maintained her privacy by not sharing her name or posting any images of her face online, while their home has become even more of a special sanctuary.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Lynskey told InStyle to keep their family strong, her husband has refused any acting roles that aren\u2019t \u201clife-changing,\u201d so he is not away from them for long.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, while the actress is filming, she writes notes to her daughter to help keep them connected.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loves to write notes and receive notes, like little cards that say, \u2018I love you so much,\u2019 or if she gets upset about something, she\u2019ll write out an apology card,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says, \u2018I\u2019m sorry for getting upset that I wasn\u2019t allowed a lollipop,\u2019 or whatever. So we have stacks and stacks of cards that we\u2019ve written each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2024, she gushed about her daughter while speaking to People, telling the outlet, \u201cI feel so fortunate to have my daughter, and I love her. It\u2019s like the joy of my life. Every day, I\u2019m like, \u2018Thank you, thank you, thank you for this child.\u2019 I want to spend every minute with her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melanie Lynskey dreams of moving back to New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images Actress Melanie Lynskey has had a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-573534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573534","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=573534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}