Shavaughn's new chapter 'I FEEL VERY BLESSED'

The talented actress is ready to take on new roles

- Sophie Neville, Amy Prebble

After a stint of living in Los Angeles for work, former Shortland Street star Shavaughn Ruakere couldn't be happier to now be settled in Auckland with her partner Trevor Rooderkerk.

"We've been together a few years now and he's definitely a keeper," she says with a broad smile. "I'm pretty happy" Trevor has three children, who a besotted Shavaughn calls her "instant whānau".

"I've always felt a strong affinity for kids," she tells. "Maybe because I'm still kind of a big one at heart. I'm the youngest in my family. All of my siblings have kids. In my whānau, I used to always be the crazy aunty figure.

"I suppose I've always been a bit unconventional. I never made a big choice either way about wanting kids of my own or not. It's just the way life has gone. It's probably taken me quite a long time to understand that I'm part of my own family now, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel very blessed."

Now that's she's home for good, Shavaughn - who is of Taranaki and Te Ati Awa decent - has been learning te reo Maori, something her beloved dad took up too before he passed away a few years ago. "It has felt really good to do this. But also really hard work!"

She's been taking every opportunity to incorporate te reo into her life.

"There's so many little ways we can help keep the language alive," she tells. "We have a Maori word game called Takaro we play with the kids. They love it! Sometimes I'll just randomly yell out something like, 'What's the Māori word for tooth?' and they'll yell, 'Niho!' It's pretty cute!"

She confesses that her journey with the language has been emotional. "One day over a Skype lesson, I had to leave and go have a big cry in the laundry because it brought up a whole lot of stuff about my Dad. It was a good cry. Dad would like seeing his kids giving te reo a crack."