Honey’s heart break - ‘MY WIFE IS FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE’

The league and rugby legend opens up about the devastating diagnosis that’s rocked her beloved family

- Cloe Willetts

Almost three years ago, former Kiwi Ferns captain Honey Hireme-Smiler tied the knot with her love Rochelle Smiler in an intimate wedding ceremony in the Waikato, opening an exciting new life chapter together.

Tragically, though, last December, the inseparable pair received some heartbreaking news. After visiting her GP for an unexplained itch, youth mentor Rochelle learnt she has bile duct cancer. And, even worse, the long-term couple were told it’s terminal.

It was a devastating blow for Sky Sport commentator Honey, whose mother Caryn Hunter passed away from stomach cancer at age 62 shortly after the nuptials, which were held specially in Waikato Hospital’s chapel so she could attend.

“This is like what happened with her mum all over again, so when we heard the news, my first thought was for our family and how Honey would be left to pick everything up,” shares Rochelle, who met the former Black Fern 10 years ago while playing club rugby in Hamilton. “I didn’t want to break down because I could see how broken she was.”

A month before her diagnosis, Rochelle – otherwise feeling fit and healthy – visited her doctor because of excessive itching, which was worse at night and particularly on the soles of her feet. She recalls her stomach also feeling a little off and losing her appetite, which she put down to the stress of her brother passing away from an unexpected heart attack just two weeks earlier.

“She was scratching a lot and we just thought it was eczema or the change in season,” says Honey, 40, who retired from professional sport in 2020 after an impressive 18-year career playing both rugby and league for Aotearoa.