Sam's Mountain High - The Man Who Melted My Heart

The TV beauty conquers love and a challenge

- Sophie Neville

Newsreader Sam Hayes has never been one to shy away from an adventure, but even she couldn’t have been prepared for the highs and lows of the past 12 months.

After winning Dancing with the Stars last year, she courageously attempted to conquer one of the highest peaks in the world and to top it off, has found love along the way with an old friend from the other side of the globe.

“I’m in a really good place,” she smiles as she catches up with Woman’s Day over coffee and hot-cross buns at an Auckland café. “It’s definitely been a big year.”

After taking out DWTS back in July, Sam, who’s just turned 35, admits she suffered a bad case of the blues when it all ended. With the excitement and adrenaline of the hit Three series over, it was hard to find much to smile about.

“I was in a real funk,” she recalls. “I felt physically and emotionally exhausted, and just really down. I missed the cast and the crew – you make all these deep friendships, but just like that, it’s over. I’ve since found out it’s a real thing – actors and musicians call it the post-show blues.”

Six months on, though, it’s clear her blues have more than lifted. She’s still buzzing from her epic mountain climbing adventure in January, when she spent two weeks in the Andes to take on the formidable Mount Aconcagua.

With minus 35-degree temperatures, furious blizzards and frightening altitude sickness, it was an experience like no other. And while Sam was forced to turn back on the final day of the ascent, she says she still can’t believe she came so close.

Summit’s up!