Tell us about how you met, we want to hear about how your love story started.

Zoe: Teia actually turned up on the doorstep of my mum's house for a party! My family were all overseas at the time, and I was living in mum's house with flatmates, I was 18.

It was winter, and this guy arrived with an amazing tan! He’d just flown in from Hawaii, and the second I lay eyes on him I knew he was special. I told his cousin he was hot! And I asked my friend to call him and ask him on a date as I was too shy.

Our first full date we danced all night until about 6am and walked home, we’ve been together ever since.

Teia: I tell my cousin every time I see her, thanks for letting me come to that party many years ago!

Zoe looked beautiful that evening I've never forgotten how she made all of her friends feel and myself included. So welcome and kind.

 

Can you tell us about one of your favourite memories you both share?

Zoe: Becoming parents, I can’t think of anything else that's been as significant as that!

Teia was the best dad from the second our firstborn arrived. 

Teia: We loved our place in Primrose Hill where we had so many good dinner parties and shared get-togethers our friends would all come over it seemed like a nice and relaxed meeting place for everyone at the time.

 

Which qualities do you love most about each other and why?

Zoe: Strangely enough one of his more frustrating qualities is something I also admire!
He’s really stubborn! But I just totally understand it, so it’s not a problem.

Teia is really skilled, he’s made all of the cabinetry in our home, and both of our shops in NZ, he works with wood and design objects of beauty and practicality, and he’s really casual about them! He just sees them as a function.

Teia is gentle, that's a lovely quality for a man and dad to have, he’s consistent and talented, he’s a great chef, and he gives me a lot of space. He’s not controlling, and he likes me to figure out things for myself. And as I mentioned above, he’s really stubborn!


Teia: Zoe has the ability to always say and then do that exact thing without losing focus and mainly being a real boss babe. Generally taking anything on without hesitation but doing so with abundant joy. It really doesn't phase her and we all as a family enjoy seeing her achieve.

Her qualities as a person to understand with empathy and love to make every one of her friends and family feel empowered give Zoe an exuberance which shines from her every day.

She really feels for everyone and makes an effort to include everyone, I have seen it every day for 25 years.

This year you celebrate your 20th wedding anniversary, do you have any bits of wisdom you can share with us all?

Zoe: I would say to work on yourself and give space for your partner to do the same, in their own time and in their own way.

We’ve navigated love, loss, connection, travel, children, and business, and sometimes we’re side by side and other times we’re at different stages of our own journeys but ultimately, we share similar values, we want to be here for our kids, we like to work on our home together, to make it more beautiful, we care about each other's developments. And we’re both hard workers!

It’s crazy to think how we will be in 20 years from now, hopefully relaxing and being creative with our mokopuna in a really really beautiful home.

Teia: We all want to live, laugh and love in relationships, ups and downs…for us we have worked on things together and been best friends too but also space has been important. No argument has ended badly but we made peace and moved on…pretty quickly. We do have shared values because our relationship has been solid and loving from the start.

And I'd say we have worked on things to be better people and in turn, trusted each other to give our relationship growth and the future looks bright.

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