Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 46, 2025 i Woman's Day Magazine NZ

Could Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani be the next couple to be struck by the country music divorce curse? The first hint at trouble came in March, when Blake, 49, released a tune called Hangin’ On, in which he sang about “breaking up but still trying to stay together”. It came amid reports that the couple, worth an estimated $400 million, hadn’t been seen together publicly for months. Blake then raised eyebrows when he said he “hoped” the song wasn’t a reflection of where he and Gwen, 56, were at in their four-year union. “Gwen and Blake are just two radically different people,” a source tells. “Everyone’s hoping they’ll revive things over the holidays, but they’re living separate lives. It’s ridiculous to pretend it’s not over when it has been…

No one can work – or flirt – their way around a room like Eva Longoria, 50, who was hosting a party in Madrid when she made a beeline for Kylie Minogue’s ex Andrés Velencoso, 47. “Eva was in fine form, but the moment she saw Andrés, her face lit up,” a close source spills. “They’ve been friends for years and he’s done runways for her charity shows, but she was flirting up a storm – even Andrés looked a little awkward. “Eva’s hubby José [Bastón] was supposed to be there, but they had a fight. It would explain why she was cosying up to Andrés, the only man who makes José jealous. They go through these big blow-ups and even bigger make-ups, so this is nothing unusual.”…

It could be a case of drowning his sorrows, but the King and his heir William are said to be furious about headlines suggesting a case of Champagne had been delivered to Andrew’s home recently. “William and Charles are aghast,” a place insider reports. “William’s staggered at the indecency of his uncle and his inability to show any kind of remorse. Is he planning a party? For whom? Meanwhile, Sarah’s holed up at the other end of the lodge in her own makeshift pub. It’s such a bad look!” The delivery comes as Andrew’s list of demands ahead of his move to Sandringham has been leaked. “He wants full domestic staff, including a butler, chef, housekeeper and gardeners, plus security, as well as Ascot badges and various memberships,” says the…

Adelaide cooks Maria Zisi and Bailey Edmondson Williams have been at the centre of a strategic-scoring storm on MKR Australia. Now, as they battle it out to make it to the grand final, Bailey insists that other teams have also been quite cunning. The business owner, 28, says Brisbane contestants Lauren “Lol” Argyle, 26, and Lilly “Lil” McKay, 25, have been “absolutely strategic” in their food critiques. “Especially Lol – it’s very evident so far that she will say whatever she wants to try to influence the outcome of anything,” he explains. “You just take it on the chin when those girls are trying to give any sort of criticism because they’re just trying to influence the best way they can – and as they should. “Everyone in the competition…

One of this year’s The Block Australia contestants already has a head-start – he’s become besties with the show’s host Scott Cam! “My favourite thing was getting to watch the rugby league with Scotty,” Taz Etto, 30, tells Woman’s Day. “We watched the State of Origin together. He’s a big Sydney Roosters fan and I’m a massive Roosters fan!” The policeman from rural Western Australia adds that he and Scott, 62, formed a bit of a “bromance” away from The Block, explaining, “He invited me over to the farm. I’m not sure if it was the beers talking or not, but we had a really good time watching the Origin. I got to go away with him a bit and chat.” ‘I’m not sure if it was the beers talking,…

When someone says “rave”, it’s not likely you’ll conjure up a bunch of tired mothers of small children getting down on the dancefloor. But a group of high-profile Kiwi women has decided that’s exactly what’s needed. Larissa Allen, Rachel Taane and Jo Cummins all know from experience that while motherhood’s a beautiful time in a woman’s life, for many, it can also be the most isolating. Sleepless nights and the loss of your old self can leave even the strongest women feeling like they’re floating out in space. Each has struggled through the early years of parenting, which is why all three are now joining forces to help other mums through a Tauranga-based initiative called The Village. Founded to support mothers through the crucial first 1000 days, from pregnancy to…

Q I had a termination a few years ago. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that baby and if they forgave me. Are they at peace? Heavy Hearted MITCHELL SAYS My heart and healing go out to you. There is a lovely older lady from your mother’s side watching over you. She is giving you a big hug and sending her love. She tells me you must never blame yourself. Your baby’s soul is at peace, surrounded with love and there is nothing to forgive. I sense this little one chose you as the perfect mother and from a higher perspective, they understand why everything unfolded the way it did. Please be gentle with yourself and allow the weight of guilt to lift. Your baby smiles,…

EDITOR Sebastian van der Zwan DEPUTY EDITOR Kylie Bailey CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Denise Bowden SUB-EDITOR Darren Bevan ART DIRECTOR Mirella Monteiro DESIGNERS Anna Pétursdóttir, Béla Trussell-Cullen, Hayley Pearce, Shane Kelly PICTURE EDITOR Kellie Blizard  BEAUTY EDITOR Anna Lee MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jane Huxley  GENERAL MANAGER Stuart Dick  EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sarah Henry  ADVERTISING  SALES DIRECTOR Claire Chisholm claire.chisholm@aremedia.co.nz  SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS Chloe Jordan, Amy Madden, Jacquie Fraser SENIOR COMMERCIAL BRAND MANAGER Angela Wei angela.wei@aremedia.co.nz  COMMERCIAL BRAND MANAGER Georgia van Koningsveld  DIRECTORY SALES MANAGER Kim Chapman classifieds@xtra.co.nz 021 673 133 Woman’s Day is published by Are Media Ltd, PO Box 52122, Kingsland, Auckland 1352. Printed by Webstar, 114 Swanson Road, Henderson, Auckland 0610. © 2025. All rights reserved.…

When Jay-Jay Feeney and her boyfriend Minou meet Woman’s Day for lunch, the lovebirds look as sunny as the weather, wearing matching ear-to-ear grins. “We’ve got some news!” teases the radio legend, 51, before revealing that after months of anxious waiting, her Algerian-born partner has been granted a visa that will let him stay in Aotearoa for another 12 months. “He’s allowed to get a job, so he can pay his way, pay the bills and save up to go back home to visit. He can leave New Zealand and come back in!” “I’m so happy,” smiles Minou, 33, who’s proudly wearing an All Blacks jersey. “I’m really happy. I love the culture here, the beautiful nature and the people, who are so kind.” But he can’t keep his eyes…

‘The bald head is very much part of me now. I shave it myself’ She already has Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards on her shelf at home, but if Cynthia Erivo doesn’t add an Oscar for playing Elphaba in Wicked: For Good to her collection, she won’t sweat it. “I don’t think like that,” insists the British-born star, 38, whose parents immigrated to the UK due to the Nigerian Civil War. “I don’t do what I do for awards. I do it because I love it.” Here, Cynthia talks to Woman’s Day about shaving her head, bonding with co-star Ariana Grande and what to expect from part two of their musical… How are you coping with all the buzz and expectations around the sequel? I’m excited because I know what…

Perth couple Hannah Thetford and Candice Wood say they’re often confused as “sisters” or “best friends”. Coming out as queer is something they have to do daily – and now they’re doing it in a big way on The Block Australia! “We’ve had to get used to coming out on national TV, and being loud and proud about our relationship and our love,” says marketing analyst Can, 31. “It’s been empowering,” adds geologist Han, 29. “We’re showing viewers who gay women are – just normal people who can achieve great things.” But that doesn’t mean the journey of coming out wasn’t difficult for the glamorous duo, despite both their families being very supportive when they did. “It was a scary time back in 2009,” Can recalls. “Being gay was still…

Amanda Grace Leo doesn’t do things by halves. Earlier this year at Auckland’s Cabaret Festival, the multitalented performer found herself belting out a tune just minutes after singing legend Hollie Smith had sung the exact same number. “I’d picked At Last by Etta James, but then Hollie jumped up before me and sang it!” laughs Amanda. “I had two minutes to find something else. Honestly, I should have asked her to do Bathe In The River with me. That’s my only regret!” It’s the kind of story that perfectly sums up the 33-year-old actress, MC, wedding celebrant, singer and professional tarot reader – she’s confident, funny and totally unflappable. “For a long time, I thought I had to choose between my worlds. But now I realise they were never separate…

Shout-out to everyone reading this who’s been through the Immigration process in New Zealand to be here. I know how hard it was for you. I’ve been there too after falling in love with an Algerian. My partner Minou and I have spent years trying to get him a visa to be here with me. We’ve applied, been declined, reapplied, got declined again and finally, after what feels like a lifetime of hope and heartbreak, he was granted a three-month visitor visa. We’ve enjoyed every minute of that time, but as the visa came to an end, dread and fear set in. How could I go on without him? How could he go on without me? So we applied for a partnership work visa. The application process with Immigration New…

Preparation time 20 mins Cooking time 1 hour 20 mins Serves 12 8kg whole leg ham on bone (see Cook’s Tips) 2 cups water 1 quantity ham glaze (see recipes below – we used orange ginger marmalade and rosemary glaze) Sprigs of herbs (such as rosemary and bay leaves), to decorate STEP 1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Using a sharp knife, cut through the ham rind about 10cm from shank. Starting at opposite end to shank, run your thumb under the rind to separate it from the fat. Gently peel back and remove the rind completely. Reserve rind to cover the cut surface of ham to keep it moist when storing. STEP 3 Using a large sharp knife, score across the fat at 3cm intervals, cutting just through the…

Savvy’s spirit shines on AMANDA SAYS Savvy comes through and tells me she has passed. She was misdiagnosed at first, but when she was diagnosed, she knew Brenda did all she could to help her. Savvy was independent and would only allow herself to be picked up on her terms. Savvy shows me she loved to go for walks with Brenda. She knew exactly when Brenda was due home and would wait at a pole down the road, then the two would walk home together. Savvy loved her human daddy and sister, and sometimes her fur sister Yodi. These two had a bit of a love-hate relationship, but Yodi misses Savvy. Yodi tells me she is an only cat now and it needs to stay that way. Another cat called…

Just days after it was reported Millie Bobby Brown had filed a harassment and bullying claim against her Stranger Things co-star David Harbour before the final series started filming in January, the pair reunited at the show’s Hollywood premiere, putting on a friendly display! Now insiders are telling Woman’s Day that 50-year-old David’s ex-wife Lily Allen, 40, was behind the stars’ reputation-saving reunion. “It would be just like Lily to call Netflix bosses and dangle some carrot in return for David to be welcomed back by the open arms of Millie herself,” a source spills. “Lily feels bad that David has almost been cancelled. As she says, she feels differently to when she first wrote her album.” Millie, 21, who recently adopted a baby girl, even spoke about her co-star…

As I write this, I’m still recovering from celebrating some very good news – our columnist Jay-Jay Feeney’s Algerian boyfriend Minou has been granted a visa to stay in New Zealand for another year! To mark this happy chapter in their unlikely love story, the couple hosted drinks at an Auckland pub for those who helped them with the process, then we all rolled down the hill for a delicious Indian dinner (and a few too many wines) with her ex-husband Dom. Making the occasion even more merry was the fact it was Minou’s 33rd birthday. “He’s one year closer to me – hooray!” quipped Jay-Jay, who’d bought him a onesie with her face printed all over it. Minou adores it, but he wasn’t so keen on her sharing pictures…

She’s a self-confessed workaholic, but now friends are worried Reese Witherspoon’s career has come between her and her boyfriend, businessman Oliver Haarmann, with the couple not being seen together since September. “Both Oliver and Reese are nonstop career cyclones, which leaves very little time for romance,” an insider spills, explaining Oliver, 58, juggles board meetings with university speaking engagements, ents, while Reese, 49, has 35 film and TV projects in development. “The sad thing is, neither of them seem interested in making time for their relationship.”…

It was an emotional reunion for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie when they broke cover for the first time since scandal engulfed their parents, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson. On the day their disgraced father was ordered to appear before US Congress to explain his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the sisters shared a close embrace in the posh London suburb of Mayfair. Walking side by side, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, appeared to be locked in an intense conversation, just days after the King formally stripped their father of his royal titles and he agreed to leave Royal Lodge, where he’d been living with their mum. According to royal insiders, Sarah and Andrew’s daughters were holding “crisis talks” as reports emerged that Fergie, 66, had hired a…

It was love at first sight when Sarah Gandy walked into the backyard oasis of her New Lynn home 17 years ago. With native trees, chirping birds and sprawling lush greenery, the More FM radio host and her now-husband Luke Haigh snapped up the Auckland house and turned its “secret garden” into a fun-filled space for New Year’s Eve parties and starlit spas. It also became the sanctuary that helped heal Sarah, 42, as she fought breast cancer. She explains, “The day after chemo, I would go for a walk and feel like I’d been hit by a bus, so then I’d just sit on the patio watching the birds, hearing the insects and admiring the greenery. It was an amazing place to recover.” With so many ups and downs…

Barry “Bear” Myrden is setting screens alight with his search for romance on new reality show The Golden Bachelor, but this isn’t his first time on telly. Fourteen years ago, his heartbreaking original love story was revealed in a two-part TV series. Looking very different, with jet-black hair and no moustache, Barry, now 61, and his late wife Audrey, who was then fighting a terminal brain tumour, opened their lives up to Aussie news show A Current Affair. Audrey’s last wish was to provide the comfort and security of a home to the three precious little boys she and Barry shared – and with the help of the show and hundreds of Sydney tradies, she was granted her wish. The brave mum said the love exhibited by everyone who helped…

Every 24 hours, the planet rotates through regular patterns of light and darkness, and every living organism, including us, has evolved to keep in step with this day-night cycle. The way our bodies do this is by relying on a master clock, known as the circadian timekeeping system. “This is the biological mechanism within our body that allows us to stay tightly in connection with this cycle,” explains sleep scientist Dr Leigh Signal of the Sleep/Wake Research Centre at Massey University. Located deep within our brains, this master clock receives light signals directly from cells in our eyes, with Leigh describing it as “the conductor of an orchestra” to help us keep time with day and night. Whenever we expose our eyes to daylight, especially in the morning, it helps…

Christmas crack is one of the tastiest – and easiest – treats you can gift. Make it your way with one base recipe and many twists. You can make many variations of this recipe using white chocolate, chopped candy canes, nuts, dried fruit, mini marshmallows, potato chips or pretzels – see the BHG Christmas special for details or choose your favourite ingredients and experiment! PECANCOCONUT CRACK Preparation time 20mins plus 30 mins cooling and 2 hours chilling Cookingtime15mins Makes24 pieces 6 Arnott’s Salada biscuits 125g butter, chopped ⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar ¼ teaspoon sea-salt flakes, crushed 2 x 200g packets milk choc bits ½ cup pecans, toasted, chopped ½ cup pecans, toasted, chopped ¼ cup toasted shredded coconut STEP 1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 20cm…

MY FAVE KIWI SHOW I grew up watching Sensing Murder, which was definitely my gateway into loving true crime, horror and thriller films. MY FAVE LOCAL STAR I have lucky-girl syndrome, so it’s hard because I get to work with two of the funniest, hardest-working wāhine, Hayley Sproull from ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley and Bree Tomasel from ZM’s Bree & Clint. I’d also give honourable mentions to Kate Sheppard, Dai Henwood and Dame Lisa Carrington. MY BEST BINGE WATCH Fleabag! I wish I could watch it again for the first time. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a genius and the Hot Priest doesn’t hurt. I also love to rewatch Sex And The City and true-crime shows like Catching Killers. THE LAST BOOK I LOVED My best friend gave me Women Don’t…