She’s 37, having a baby and one of the youngest leaders in the world today. Juliet Rieden meets the extraordinary New Zealand Prime Minister who is shattering glass ceilings at an inspiring rate, even with morning sickness.
When Jacinda Ardern announced her pregnancy last month, it sparked global debate. How could the new Prime Minister of New Zealand have a baby and still run the country? But the gutsy, likeable, keenly principled politician was quick to silence her critics. “I am not the first woman to multi-task! I am not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who have done this well before I have,” she quipped, instinctively sweeping aside centuries of sexism with a mere flick of the wrist.
What’s more, she added, it would be her partner, Clarke Gayford, the 40-year-old TV host of an increasingly popular fishing show, who would be putting his day job on hold to hunker down into stay-at-home-dad role, with Jacinda taking just six weeks out. “After that I’ll be coming back on deck. And Dad will be taking over duties,” she said with a cheeky smile, clearly enjoying the gasps from traditionalists.
But behind that smart, confident, generation Y exterior, I suspect, is a lot of furious paddling. This is Jacinda’s first pregnancy and she tells me she was just as shocked as everyone else by its timing. “We’d been told we’d struggle to have kids without help, so it was a genuine surprise, but an exciting one,” she shares as we discuss the parameters of what will be a challenging year for the couple. “I was really conscious I needed to balance making sure I had recovered enough with baby, while also needing to fulfil the job I’ve been elected to do as Prime Minister.”
BE YOURSELF
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von The Australian Women's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von The Australian Women's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
