TONI AT 40 'I'VE STILL GOT A LOT TO GIVE'

The beloved broadcaster opens up about her liberating new chapter, a painful wake-up call and her fun-filled birthday bash

- Sophie Neville

While many of us approach a milestone birthday with mixed emotions, Coast radio star Toni Street has welcomed her forties with open arms. There was certainly a lot to love about the past decade, but the broadcasting belle admits much of her thirties passed in a blur.

Juggling life at home with babies and toddlers, as well as a hugely successful television and radio career, plus the devastating diagnosis of autoimmune condition Churg-Strauss syndrome, saw her pushed to the limit at times.

"I sometimes think, 'Where did those years go?!' because looking back, that period was incredibly demanding - mentally and physically," says Toni, who turned 40 in September, but only celebrated last weekend with a fabulous '90s-themed bash.

"That might be one reason why turning 40 felt exciting. I'm in a new chapter now. Life is still full and busy, but it's much more settled. I look back at when I was 30 and it was like I was on a treadmill, constantly looking ahead to the next thing and working out what the next goal was. I was in that phase of saying yes to everything in my career and doing my darndest to make it work with a very young family. I was happy but very stretched."

And it's certainly a relaxed Toni who welcomes Woman's Day into her home on Auckland's North Shore on a sunny Monday afternoon. It's a peaceful scene. Her husband Matt France is working at the kitchen table, their children, Juliette, 11, Mackenzie, eight, and Lachie, five, are at school, and Toni has just returned from an F45 workout after hosting her Coast breakfast show.

It was her first time back at the gym since she suffered a painful sporting injury the day after her 40th birthday. For someone who'd never worried about getting older, she admits the timing of her torn calf muscle couldn't have been worse.