Francis & Kaiora's secret pain 'WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED GRIEF LIKE IT'

The stars of The Casketeers are supporting each other through a harrowing time

- Wendyl Nissen

For five years, Francis and Kaiora Tipene have been on our screens sharing their lives as funeral directors. Their hit show The Casketeers has not only captured the hearts of Kiwi viewers, but also taught us a lot about handling grief and tikanga - Māori customs and rituals.

But dealing with grief and sadness every day does not make it any easier for the couple when it involves someone close to them.

When Francis and Kaiora talk to the Weekly, it is obvious they are grieving and experiencing a great deal of emotion as they talk about the loss of Stanley Neho – their longest-serving employee and founding member of Tipene Funerals.

The show must go on for the Tipenes - with a little comfort eating!

"He died suddenly in his sleep two weeks ago," says Francis. "He is like the dad that you relied on. He was the feet, the foundation of us, and he would say to us when we were on television and everything was going great, 'Hey, hey, slow down. Think about the people. Are the people okay?'

“There was one point at our Henderson chapel where they had no air conditioning and he said, 'You're going off and buying cars but what about the air conditioning for your people in the chapel?' He was a wise man."

Kaiora says he was also the moderator between her and Francis when things would get tense after one of her husband's random and often expensive purchases. He would tell Francis that he really should listen to his wife and pay attention.

Both agree that the grief is hard because they spent so much time with Stan.

“We've never experienced the kind of grief that we're going through. It's a great loss for us,” says Francis.