Police, chocolates and a dog – Ardern spills ‘intimate’ proposal
WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joked that her partner’s marriage proposal was an intimate moment with just the two of them, a police protection officer, a couple of locals and a dog that tried to eat the chocolate her partner had brought with him.
Ardern yesterday was speaking publicly for the first time about her engagement to her longtime partner Clarke Gayford over the Easter break in the town of Mahia.
She said she was taken by surprise by Gayford’s question and the couple has yet to make any wedding plans.
Reporters last Friday noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger, a variation from the traditional ring finger, and her office later confirmed the couple was engaged.
Ardern said the ring belonged to Gayford’s grandmother.
“So I have not been trying to hide our news from anyone,” she said.
“It simply doesn’t fit on the right finger, so that’s why it’s sitting in the middle.”
Ardern and Gayford have a 10-month-old daughter, Neve. Ardern became just the second elected world leader in modern history to give birth while holding office last June.
Ardern said Gayford had proposed to her atop a hill with a “beautiful” outlook in the coastal township.
She said the proposal was so low key that the police officer from the Diplomatic Protection Service (DPS) assigned to her had no idea what was going on.
“It was Clarke, myself, a member of the DPS, so very intimate,” she joked.
“A couple of locals from Mahia, and a dog which then tried to eat the chocolate that Clarke bought me at the same time. So it was very romantic.”
Speaking at a news conference in Wellington, Ardern declined to answer some questions about the proposal or show off her ring.
“This is a very public job and I’m quite happy to put quite a bit of ourselves out there,” she said.
“But there are some things I wouldn’t mind keeping to ourselves.”