Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 38, 2023 i New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Who caught our eye this week Kate Beckinsale brought drama, glitz and glamour to the 80th Venice Film Festival amfAR Gala. The Underworld actor, 50, showcased her love of sky-high footwear, rocking a pair of metallic gold platforms to match her sheer black cape-style dress, fringed with a cascade of glittering gold. The neckline was coated in gold sequins, as was the matching bodysuit. Kate was joined on the red carpet by singer Rita Ora, 32, who wore a white pearl version of Kate’s high neckline with a white cut-out gown during her performance at the event. Rita’s husband, Kiwi director Taika Waititi, 48, went a little more casual in a burgundy and grey jacket, but accessorised with a double pearl necklace. Amal Clooney, 45, made the sheer look a…

Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner has moved into a $65,000-a-month rental home with the kids. The handbag designer, 49, filed for divorce from Yellowstone star Kevin, 68, in May this year. The pair share three children – Cayden, 15, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13 – and Christine recently argued in court she needed her temporary child support allowance of $215,000 a month increased to $270,000 to keep her kids in the same level of luxury they had when they lived full-time with A-lister Kevin. The judge, however, disagreed and instead reduced the amount of money the Dances with Wolves actor had to stump up every month to $105,000. Before the judge’s decision, Christine had told the court the home she now rents in upmarket Montecito – with neighbours like…

Not many people would turn down the chance to have tea with a princess. But Dolly Parton has revealed she did just that when she was invited to have a cuppa with Catherine, Princess of Wales. The country music legend told a radio interviewer that Kensington Palace had arranged the get-together for when she was in London promoting her latest album Rockstar, but her schedule was so busy, she had to pull the plug. “I felt so bad I couldn’t go,” says Dolly, 77. “They had all this stuff set up.” The Jolene singer thought it was very “sweet and nice” of Kate, 41, to invite her to tea, and she hoped they could reschedule. “One of these days, I’m going to get to do that – that would…

I’m becoming unnerved by pop singers. Not their music, nor how they look, nor the themes they raise. Oh, no. It’s that I’ve never heard of them. I’ve always been right into pop culture. That includes knowing what bands and singers are in the charts, and listening to their music. I’ve loved going to pop/rock concerts, especially to see new talent. I’m a bit disdainful of those my age whose music tastes remain bogged in the 1960s and ’70s. But lately I’ve been reading rave reviews of singers touring New Zealand – and, horror of horrors, I’ve never heard of them. I’m not talking up and comers playing the pubs and smaller venues. I wouldn’t expect to know them. No, I’m talking musicians who’ve arrived after filling the Rod Laver…

Letters to the Editor FINDING HAPPINESS ● Winning letters A nice spring-coloured cover this week (NZWW, September 11) and offering some interesting reading. My favourite is “How to be a happier person: 27 bite-sized ways.” Isn’t that just what we all want? Regardless of what our circumstances are, happiness is truly “an inside job”. There were some really good suggestions – my favourites being, “Use your senses, taking time to enjoy every little or big pleasure” and, “Have a bad day back-up plan”. This is something I’d never thought of doing. I’m now going to make sure I’ve got a few treats and “happifying projects” for those days when plans have gone wrong or nothing seems quite right. But “Count your blessings”, is a real gem. It’s not a new…

I lost my voice last week – it vanished completely. I was unable to produce a murmur, nor a whisper, nor a squeak. It was most inconvenient – and alarming too. I know there are a lot of spring lurgies doing the rounds, but because laryngitis happens so suddenly and completely, and there are no pills to fix it quickly, you can be left wondering if it will ever come back. It did. After three days off the radio, it came back just in time for me to emcee a big conference that had been months in the planning. I was to emcee an awards evening on Saturday night as well and the organisers of both events were getting a bit nervous as I hadn’t been on the radio. And…

Welcome to our special gardening issue! If you’re a regular reader of these columns, then you’ll already know my passion for books – but another is growing plants from cuttings. There’s something so grounding about spending time in the dirt and it’s such a tangible way of seeing the fruits (sometimes literally!) of your labour. Our article from page 50 explains how and why getting your hands dirty is good for both your mind and body. It also has advice about which plants are traditionally associated with positivity. I already have most of them, but I think I’ll plant some sunflower seeds this year – I love watching them grow and they are such happy flowers. And if you have a garden you love, why not capture it on camera?…

Dame Judi Dench’s partner of 10 years has shone a light on their special bond. Oscar-winner Judi, 88, was heartbroken when her husband of 30 years, actor Michael Williams, died of lung cancer in 2001. But in 2013, the Belfast actress met David Mills, 77, and the wildlife conservationist recently gave a rare insight into their decade-long relationship. During a TV appearance, David recalled meeting the actress when she visited his wildlife centre in the UK. “I saw her coming in with her family, so I rushed out and made myself known,” he laughed. “She asked, ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ and I said, ‘Yes’. I was building a red squirrel enclosure and asked, ‘Will you please come and open it?’” He joked, “She fell in love…

Sarah, Duchess of York has revealed that her mastectomy has helped her to get over years of self-hatred that resulted from being compared to her sister-in-law Princess Diana. Fergie, who is recovering from the surgery carried out following a diagnosis of breast cancer earlier this year, explained during her podcast Tea Talks that she didn’t like the way she looked when she was younger. “That was because I think I was always compared to Diana and I think that at the end, I sort of believed my own press, which is, you know, not too good,” the duchess said. However, the operation had changed her perception of herself, she added. She questioned whether having a “body part cut off” was something she needed “in order to wake up”. “Not because…

It was a freezing, wet and windy evening when Gisborne football coach Mandy Owen showed up to training on August 2. So much so, she almost called the session off. But with a year of extreme and unpredictable weather, her team’s training and playing opportunities have been significantly restricted, and a teammate had organised a physiotherapy talk first, so the busy Kaiti Primary School deputy principal persevered. Unbeknown to Mandy and the rest of the Thistles’ senior women’s football team, a huge surprise was waiting for them. “I had been rushing and had already messaged to say I was running late,” recalls Mandy, 52. “When I arrived, the girls were there when a woman came in and said, ‘Hi, I’m Pip and I’m not actually a physio. Come on, get…

Gardening is a great hobby that comes with a wealth of benefits, but it can also be hard work that leaves your muscles sore and skin feeling less than its best. From bug bites and cracked skin to sunburn and more, a gardener’s skin is exposed to a lot. Because of this, it’s important for you to make a conscious effort to take care of it and develop a proper routine that can help keep your skin as healthy as possible well into old age. ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN As a gardener, or anyone who spends hours outside, you should always wear sunscreen. Even when it’s cloudy, your skin can still be damaged by the sun’s harmful rays. Not only is sunburn not fun to deal with, but sun damage can…

Last week, I talked about my small-town childhood terror of turning up to an A&P show overdressed – that whole “Who do you think you are?” jab from the local cool girls. But as a mature adult, the greater fear is the opposite – turning up underdressed. As much as I try (I own several tiaras), I still get it wrong and look like I’ve stumbled into the ballroom on my way to a picnic. This wound is fresh. “Business Casual” the invitation said for an outdoor gathering in winter. That dress code confuses me – “business” makes me think “buttoned-up”, while casual has me picturing “unbuttoned”. Of course, what it really means is “chill but expensive”, the stuff we imagine we’d wear round the yacht if we were rich.…

EDITOR Marilynn McLachlan LIFESTYLE EDITOR Anna Lee CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Denise Bowden SUB-EDITOR Katie Shepherd ART DIRECTOR Mirella Monteiro DESIGNERS Anna Petursdottir, Béla Trussell-Cullen, Debby Wei, Hayley Pearce PHOTO & EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Kellie Blizard CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Milford, Donna Fleming, Fleur Guthrie, Hélène Ravlich, Kasia Jillings, Leigh Matheson, Megan McChesney, Nicky Pellegrino ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Claire Chisholm claire.chisholm@aremedia.co.nz SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Jacquie Fraser jacquie.fraser@aremedia.co.nz COMMERCIAL BRAND MANAGER Bridget Hewitt 021 1591265 bridget.hewitt@aremedia.co.nz SALES MANAGER Chloe Jordan chloe.jordan@aremedia.co.nz DIRECTORY SALES MANAGER Kim Chapman 021 673133 classifieds@xtra.co.nz ARE MEDIA GROUP MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jane Huxley GENERAL MANAGER Stuart Dick EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sarah Henry PRIVACY NOTICE This issue of New Zealand Woman’s Weekly is published by Are Media Limited (Are Media). Are Media may use and disclose your information in accordance with our Privacy…

Lady Gaga returned to her Las Vegas residency in true diva style, with a fiesta of fabulous frocks and a show packed with some of her most beloved songs. The 37-year-old singer showcased a gorgeous array of outfits at her Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano show, including a sequin and feathered showgirl outfit, a mauve Marilyn Monroe throwback, a burgundy oneshoulder gown and a 1920s flapper dress. She made a moving tribute to her late friend and mentor, jazz legend and fellow Vegas performer Tony Bennett, who died earlier this year aged 96, and dedicated her iconic song Born This Way to the trans community, saying, “You got something to say, you gotta speak up, right?” to cheers from the crowd.…

The human locator beacon that is Kiwi investigative journalist David Lomas regularly travels the globe in search of answers to unsolved family mysteries. But off screen, it’s not widely known there’s one country that’s significant in David’s life for his own family reasons – Fiji. It was where he called home for eight of his first 16 years, when David’s father worked as an air traffic controller at Nadi Airport. And it’s where his older brother and mentor, Peter, is buried after sadly dying from Covid complications, aged 74, last year. Peter, also a veteran journalist, was the publisher and editor of the Fiji Sun, ensuring the paper was relevant to all Fijians rather than just the educated and the expatriates. Along with his late wife Venina, he was a…

Va-va-voom! Frida star Salma Hayek celebrated her 57th birthday recently by frolicking on the beach in a sizzling red bikini. “I’m so happy to be alive and so profoundly grateful for all the blessings,” the mumof-one told fans at the same time as sharing photos of her big day. The star says she’s never had Botox and is “too lazy” to dye her hair – instead, confiding she covers her grey strands with mascara. Ageing, she said recently, was not what she had imagined. “I thought getting older meant I wasn’t going to work. I’m working. I thought getting older maybe meant that you’re not in love any more. I’m in love,” she enthused, referring to her husband of 14 years, French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, 61. “I do have to…

For years, billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed blamed the royal family for the death of his beloved son Dodi after he was killed in the car crash that also claimed the life of Princess Diana. The former owner of famous London department store Harrods, who died late last month aged 94, alleged in interviews and documentaries that the pair were actually murdered and that the royals were behind their 1997 deaths. At a 2008 inquest, he sensationally claimed Diana’s ex-husband Prince Charles, now the King, and former father-in-law Prince Philip conspired with British security services to have her killed. The inquest found the couple died as a result of gross negligence by their driver, Henri Paul, who also lost his life in the Paris crash, and the coroner ruled that the…

He may be one of the more senior competitors in this season of Celebrity Treasure Island, but Tāme Iti’s not fazed by the fact that he’s got a few years on most of the others. The 71-year-old artist and activist admits he did wonder if his age would be an issue when it comes to some of the more physical challenges in the show, but came to the conclusion that he’d be okay. “I thought, ‘Can I handle that?’ I’m reasonably fit for my age, but it’s more of a mental game. What I like about it is that you’re not working by yourself – you’re working with a team of different people. “We’ve got to suss out our team, and go through all the things we are capable of…

Scotty Morrison, 52, is widely regarded as one of the leading advocates of te reo Māori in Aotearoa, presenting the news for Radio Waatea, Te Karere and Marae in our native language and, alongside his wife Stacey, 50, authoring a raft of popular Māori books. But while recently filming the second season of Origins, the media stalwart reveals he was astounded to discover new knowledge about his ancestors he’d never before considered. Sitting down with the Weekly, Scotty talks about the highly emotional series, his own learning pathway and his passion for sharing the language with his children, wife and the rest of the country. Tell us about filming the second series of Origins. We’re tracking the kūmara and how it came to be a staple crop in Aotearoa and…

Hannah Aitken is a force to be reckoned with. She runs a successful corporate branding business, is a single mum to Billyrose, 13, and in April she took home gold in an Auckland bodybuilding competition. She also has relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). “I’ve always been very stubborn,” says Hannah, 40, who was bedridden with pneumonia 48 hours before the Weekly visited her at her South Auckland home. “I’ve never let having MS stop me doing anything. A couple of days ago, I had blood pouring out of my nose. But I was determined to be ready for this interview – and I am.” It’s a typical response from Hannah, who first showed signs of the chronic central nervous system disease aged 17. “I was so tired, I couldn’t get…

No one can argue against the fact that being outside is good for the soul. A bracing walk, a lie in the sun or a dance in the rain helps us shake off the cobwebs and recharge from the inside out. Multiple studies have shown the positive impact nature has on us. Simply being outside and breathing in the air can bring an enormous sense of wellbeing. Getting our hands dirty supercharges this even more. For example, one study found that gardening boosts mental, physical and social wellbeing, as well as cognitive function, with evidence showing it could reduce the risk of dementia. “Gardening gives us an excuse to get outside away from computer screens and enclosed office spaces, and immerse ourselves in nature,” says horticulturist Toni Salter. “Gardening is…

Why is it so important for women, in particular, to invest? The latest data from the Retirement Commission shows that women’s KiwiSaver balances (by age 40) are on average 30% less than men’s, so this should be motivation for younger women to take control of their financial futures. Why? For starters, women are more likely to live longer than men and those extra years of life need to be financed. NZ’s gender pay gap shows women are still paid less than men, even for the same job. Women also occupy more part-time and lower-paid jobs than men, and commonly take time out of the work-force to raise a family. If all that wasn’t enough to plan for financial independence, 50% of marriages end in separation or divorce. These are all…

LIBRA Sep 24 – Oct 23 A trip down memory lane seems to be the energy for this week. You might drive past a house you used to live in or through a town. Visit a restaurant that has memories of romance and celebrations. It’s wonderful to indulge in nostalgia. Look back and enjoy. SCORPIO Oct 24 – Nov 22 Whatever your ambitions are, it is time to ramp up the energy. This is one of those weeks where you will meet the right person or be in the right place at the right time. Practice your pitch – make it clear and concise – you get one shot at this. This is the opportunity you have been waiting for. SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 – Dec 22 Someone is trying to…

I’m not quite used to having two extra bodies about the house, but I’m getting there. Which is a pity because, by the time you read this, those bodies will be off and away at the other end of the world, and I will doubtless be a bit of a sad old dad. The youngest daughter came home to stay with us to save on the rent money before she and the boyfriend flew off for their OE, planning to live, work and stay for who knows how long in Britain. They sometimes seemed so excited by the prospect of such a bold adventure that, when they spoke about it, they became short of breath and stopped making sense. But, getting back to the emotional heart of this tale, it’s…