Happy after heartbreak
Hayley Westenra’s new love
She’s on first-name terms with Prince William and has sung for the Queen, but Kiwi songbird Hayley Westenra is just as comfortable hanging out on Auckland’s colourful Karangahape Road.
The classically trained singer lovingly linked arms with her handsome new beau last week as the pair strolled among other shoppers and cuddled in a bus stop.
Christchurch-born Hayley has never publicly revealed her split from French sound engineer Arnaud Sabard, who she married at the end of 2013, but it appears she has found happiness again with another musician. An insider reveals to
that Hayley’s new companion is a pianist called Chris and the couple have spent an idyllic summer in New Zealand writing material for a new album.
The inseparable duo celebrated Hayley’s 32nd birthday on April 10 with a sunset picnic on Mt Eden
and we’re told they’ve been shacked up on Auckland’s west coast, preparing new music to record at Neil Finn’s legendary Roundhead Studios.
Ethereal-voiced Hayley shot to fame at the age of 16 with her album which sold 2.8 million copies worldwide and became the fastest-selling classical debut of all time – even ahead of the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli.
More success followed, but her world was rocked when the pressures of stardom almost forced her to quit. “I thought if I said no to anything, it would all be over – I just wanted to run away,” Hayley shared after suffering a devastating breakdown in which she alternately gorged on fast food and starved herself.
“It felt like my life was out of control, so I went on a mission to self-destruct. I became so obsessed with food that controlling my diet took over whole days. The more weight I lost, the more I wanted to lose. I was in a frighteningly dark space and nothing could drag me out of it.”
Although her marriage to Arnaud didn’t work out, it seems Hayley, who moved to Los Angeles last year, has landed on her feet.
“She and Chris look so cosy,” says our insider. “I’m sure she’s been through a lot of heartache with the split, but it looks like she and Chris share a passion for music, which is a great foundation for love.”