BROKENWOOD STAR FERN'S FIGHTING SPIRIT

The actress explains why the past couple of years have been ‘painful but incredibly healing'

- Emma Clifton

For someone who says she enjoys being comfortable, Fern Sutherland has somehow found her life split between two confronting worlds - months spent training in Muay Thai boxing in humid, tropical Phuket, before plunging back into the chilly depths of a Kiwi winter to film the annual season of The Brokenwood Mysteries.

"Living my life in extremes seems to be something I like doing," laughs the Taranakiborn actress. "It's something I've noticed about myself - I like to put myself in really uncomfortable situations and really hate it at the same time."

Fern, 36, says that pain is where personal growth comes from, which she agrees absolutely sounds like the kind of inspirational poster that would be on the side of a Muay Thai gym. "Pain is good for you! Pain is your teacher!" she jokes.

"They're platitudes, but they're clichés for a reason."

Fern threw herself into Muay Thai in 2022 after a difficult few months that saw the end of her 14-year relationship and the deaths of two friends.

Her coping mechanisms weren't so practical to begin with at first, her healing practices were more along the lines of "drinking a bottle of wine and putting my head in the sand".

But the continuity of The Brokenwood Mysteries helped. A constant presence in a sea of change, the popular show's 10th season is coming soon to TVNZ 1 and there's an 11th series already in the works too.

"It was a tricky time," reflects Fern. "I was so lucky that I had acting work and people on set who realised I was having a bit of a moment. They showed up for me in a way that was really beautiful."

She's speaking to Woman's Day from Phuket, where she's been for six months - the longest stretch she's done so far. It's finally provided her enough mental space to start unpacking all of those losses and start grieving.