Nikki's island hideaway: ‘I STILL NEED TO HEAL'

Leaving the buzz of the Beehive has opened up a whole new world

- Wendyl Nissen

Former National MP Nikki Kaye has emerged from a self-imposed quiet time, following her surprise resignation from politics in 2020. She admits to going underground intentionally for several months and it’s a story of needing to heal, of finding a balance and most importantly putting herself at the front of the queue for possibly the first time in her life.

“I was hiding away from the media because I really, really needed to heal,” says Nikki. “It had been a pretty tumultuous time and my whole life, my whole identity, was tied up with politics.”

Nikki, 42, explains she came into politics as a Young Nat and became a National MP at the age of 28. The list of roles she took on during her time at Parliament is worthy of a high performer.

“I was a workaholic and a political addict,” she tells. “So I went cold turkey and really did go underground to get away from the political system and public policy.”

On top of her many achievements, she was also very open about her breast cancer diagnosis in 2016 and was not afraid to talk about her treatment.

“My health still isn’t perfect, so I need to look after myself in that regard, and I was physically and emotionally burnt out,” she confides. “I just gave everything and I certainly don’t regret that, but I certainly think that my health suffered.”

Nikki was National’s Deputy Leader when she left politics in 2020 and after 12 years in public service, it was time for some long, hard realisations about what the rest of her life would be like.