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MKR’s Aaron & Heather: ‘Our sad struggle’

The MKR NZ favourites tell why they spent nearly a year apart.
MKR Aaron and Heather

Success has never come easy for My Kitchen Rules New Zealand favourites and runners-up Aaron and Heather Freeman.

They are the proud parents of two beautiful girls – Halle (4), and Sanaa-June, two – have enjoyed a blissful three years of marriage, and are the dark horses of the hugely successful reality cooking competition.

But the Palmerston North couple had to battle through personal tragedies, individual insecurities and being separated from their gorgeous daughters to take part in the Kiwi version of MKR.

No matter the sacrifices they’ve made, this down-to-earth couple insists these challenges have only strengthened their incredible bond, one that began in a Studylink office 10 years ago.

“We never take the normal or easy route,” laughs stay-at-home dad Aaron (36). “And we have had a lot of hard stuff thrown at us, especially early on in the relationship.”

It was when the pair experienced an eight-month separation in 2008 that their union was tested the most. They were living in London after eight months travelling around South America, when Heather (31), a student of homeo-botanicals, received the devastating news that her precious sister, Rochelle, had been involved in a serious car accident.

“It was a 50/50 chance as to whether or not she’d pull through,” Heather remembers.

Their warm, down-to-earth style won the team a horde of fans.

“So I had to come home, while Aaron stayed in London. We resigned ourselves to the fact that it was the smartest option, given that Aaron was earning good money in the UK. But it was tough to be apart for so long. I wasn’t myself that year – I can barely remember it, actually.”

While Rochelle pulled through, the loss of Aaron’s father, Lloyd, shortly afterwards compounded what was already a trying time for the couple.

“That woke me up,” Aaron says. “It made me realise my responsibilities and that I was the head of my own family. It made me grow up a little faster.

“Dad was a great guy. He taught me how to be a man. But I did tend to avoid his cooking, apart from his corned silverside. He was a bit of a one-dish wonder.”

For the husband and wife, the show was as much a partnership as everything else in their life.

Having survived a hideous few years, with their relationship – as well as their senses of humour – firmly intact, both Aaron and Heather figured if they could get through that, they could get through anything, including MKR.

“It’s never ideal to be thrown so many things that test you,” Heather says. “But it gives you a lot of confidence in what you’re capable of as a couple.”

“If I’ve learnt anything in the last 10 years with Heather,” says Aaron, “it’s that there’s no-one else I’d want to go down a dark alley and get into a fight with.”

As they knocked off challenge after challenge in Kitchen HQ, they each figured that no feat would be too great – although it took Aaron a few weeks to convince Heather just how good a cook she actually is.

The pair receive a few pointers from judge Ben.

“I only entered the show for Aaron,” she explains. “We never intended to do it together, because it meant we’d both be away from the kids. So I was happy to just trust him and support him. I didn’t mean to underestimate myself.”

Adds Aaron, “So when she did become my partner, we decided then and there that we were in it to win it. If we have to be away from the kids, then we’re going to do the best job we can – and that means being as nice and as genuine as possible, as well as doing a bloody good job with the cooking.”

Appearing on such a high-profile show has in itself offered up some unique situations – the pair still can’t get used to seeing themselves on television or on magazine covers – and they’re trying to come to terms with the fact they’ll never be able to turn up empty-handed to a family barbecue again.

“One of my favourite things is going somewhere where someone else has cooked,” Aaron says. “Hopefully, we can still go to the old pot luck and get fed. But apparently everyone’s expecting Heather’s famous Boca Loca dessert now.”

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