Soul Connection - I'm Having A Baby With My Childhood Sweetheart

It’s a Winter of content for the foodie and her winemaker beau as they await their sweet arrival

- Sophie Neville

When Kiwi cooking star Chelsea Winter followed her heart all the way to France to be with a childhood sweetheart, she knew their romance was the start of something special. But nothing could have prepared her for the overwhelming joy of returning home with both a new love and a new life on the way too!

“It’s feels absolutely magical to be having a baby,” she gushes. “I am loving every single minute of pregnancy – it’s almost like a dream.”

The best-selling cookbook author is a picture of contentment as she welcomes Woman’s Day into her dad’s stunning beachfront Mount Maunganui home, where she’s staying until she and her partner Douglas Renall’s new home is ready later this month. Wearing yoga pants and a comfy T-shirt that hugs her blossoming baby bump, Chelsea busies herself in the sun-drenched kitchen – her happy place – making hot cross buns and cups of tea.

It’s more than a year since she made the big decision to switch inner-city Auckland for the peace and quiet of the provinces, and she has absolutely no regrets. On the day of our interview, she’s already walked the length of the beach, practised her 30 minutes of daily meditation – “the key to life” – and she’s feeling great.

“I thought I’d go back up to Auckland all the time, but I haven’t!” she tells. “I just don’t miss it. I love the beach, the fresh air and the slow pace. It’s exactly what I needed. I’ve learned to say no, to stop over-committing myself and I have a much more peaceful existence now.”