BAKE OFF WINNER ALBY 'FROM BURNOUT TO LIVING MY BEST LIFE'

The reality TV champion reveals how a breakdown changed everything for the better

- Leena Tailor

Some might consider burnout more of a burden than a blessing, but that's not the case for Alby Hailes. 

After winning The Great Kiwi Bake Offin 2021, the 28-year-old doctor got caught up writing his new cookbook Good Vibes while still working full-time and continuing his psychiatry training, inevitably leading to him suffering from exhaustion and needing to take time off.

But the silver lining was that the break ultimately sparked a reset, which saw Alby and his partner Alex quit their jobs, sell their Whangarei home and embark on a rejuvenating four-month adventure abroad.

"I came back with a new-found perspective, Alby tells Woman's Day from Dunedin, where he and Alex have started a new life with their greyhound Beau. "If it wasn't for having been forced to sit back and reflect, we might not have sold the house or gone travelling. There have been dramatic changes in our lives over the last year, but for the better."

Part of Alby's life shake-up has been prioritising his passion for food, something he was reminded of during GKBO. "It was like an alternate reality where you're removed from the world and intensely focused on the kitchen environment - I loved and thrived off it," says Alby, who learned to cook from his mum Sarah. "When I returned to reality, I realised how much I missed being around food."