Paula's emotional year - 'HOW I'M TAKING BACK CONTROL'

After losing her dear dad, the former politician has done some soul-searching

- Fleur Guthrie

Naturally bubbly and upbeat, Paula Bennett sits in the make-up chair and prefaces our Weekly interview with an apology. “I’m sorry if I end up sounding negative, but look, it’s been one of those years. The first half has been, well, quite s**t, really.”

She’s been to more funerals in five months than she’s been to in five years – including her beloved father’s, as well as friend and former colleague Chester Borrows – and don’t get her started on menopause and the ensuing weight gain. (Too late, we already do… but more on that later.)

The 54-year-old former deputy prime minister is quick, however, to counteract getting through those hard times with the “blessings” that can be taken from them too. She’s merely trying to figure out how grief and joy can hold hands.

Only three days into the New Year, Paula was holidaying up North when she got the call that her dad, Bob, was now in palliative care in hospital. He died four days later, aged 87, with Paula and her mum Lee by his side.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019, Bob had been doing okay for the first 18 months before rapidly deteriorating.

At the time of the diagnosis, Paula and her husband Alan Philps had seen signs of his cognitive decline and were considering selling their West Auckland home to find somewhere suitable to share with her parents.

“They ended up moving to their own place in a retirement village, which turned out to be the best thing,” she tells. “I spent lots of time with him and Mum in those last few months. I felt like it was my job to look after her while she cared for him.