Snow Place Like Home - Liam's Kiwi Love Affair

Rachel's boy gets back to his roots in queenstown

When Liam Stewart talks about “home”, it’s not always clear what he means. The ice-hockey star, who’s the youngest child of Rachel Hunter and Sir Rod Stewart, was born in the UK, raised in Los Angeles but says he has always felt like a Kiwi.

“I don’t really have a home base – I’m just wherever hockey takes me, wherever my family takes me,” he explains. “But I always consider England and New Zealand home.”

Liam, 24, has been based mostly in Queenstown since May this year, playing for the SkyCity Stampede ice-hockey team, which just picked up the 2019 National Ice Hockey League title last month.

On the morning of his chat with Woman’s Day, he cuts a low-key figure in a baseball hat and jeans – looking like any other 20-something Kiwi male. It’s somehow still surprising to hear an American accent come out of his mouth. It’s a slightly husky-voiced accent as well, a symptom from a late-night out with his fellow teammates.

He’s played hockey all over the world and admits there’s always a feeling of being “the new kid on the block” when he first joins a team. But the scratchy voice is proof that hasn’t lasted long.

“The team here is so welcoming – everyone always asks what the culture of a team is like and for me, that’s the biggest thing. Everyone here is like a family. It’s that New Zealand thing as well – we would just be sitting at home when three guys from the team would randomly show up at our house to hang out. You don’t get that in the States or England.”

It’s one of the longest stints he has spent in Aotearoa and Liam is hoping to last long enough to have summer here as well, as a Kiwi holiday still holds a place in his heart.