Photography: Eva Bradley.
After seven hard months building a cottage on the farm she grew up on in Central Hawke’s Bay, RNZ reporter Alexa Cook has landed in a life she once thought might always stay just out of reach – a shift back to her rural roots, a home in the country and now the biggest milestone of all, expecting her first child.
“It feels like everything has finally come together,” explains Alexa, 34, as she relaxes on the almost-finished deck of her new home beneath the Ruahine Range, her beloved horses grazing nearby.
“Pregnancy has been more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It’s incredible what your body can do. From about week 14, I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Due in the first week of the new year, Alexa and her husband Jason Blanchard, 35, have chosen to keep the baby’s sex a surprise, but he or she has already brought a sense of joy and anticipation that’s woven itself through everything else happening in their lives this year.
“Jase really wanted a surprise,” she laughs.
“I thought that would be cool because there aren’t many of those left in life any more.”
From redundancy to recognition
It’s been almost 18 months of total transformation for the hard-working couple. In July last year, Alexa was working for Newshub in Wellington, having just won News Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards. The shock closure of the newsroom and redundancy left her devastated.
But she was soon snapped up by RNZ, where her work has again seen her scoop top industry recognition, including Best Journalist at the 2025 NZ Radio and Podcast Awards, and filling in as Morning Report presenter on the station.
Homecoming to Hawke’s Bay
The role also facilitated a move back to Hawke’s Bay and the decision to build a home on the family farm in Ashley Clinton, an hour southwest of Napier. In the middle of that whirlwind, she and Jason discovered they were going to have a baby – welcome news, but not something they’d thought would happen so easily.
“I’ve always been really focused on my career and we thought children would come a little later,” admits Alexa.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to have a career and a family at the same time in this kind of job, but RNZ’s flexibility has been incredible.”
When the baby arrives, they will both take two months off to parent together, then Jason will continue as primary caregiver until the baby is six months old. The couple is deeply aware of how fortunate they are to both have supportive workplaces. Jason, a civil engineer at Fletcher Construction, can take half a year off on full pay as a stay-at-home dad.
Six months together
“A lot of our male friends only get a couple of weeks off,” Alexa says.
“It’s such a luxury having Jase able to be with the baby for six months.”
For Jason, it’s an opportunity which he doesn’t take lightly.
“We’ve worked hard to be in the position we’re in now,” he reveals.
Savoring the early days
“To think we can actually enjoy the really early times of having our first baby together is pretty special.”
He says he’s also realistic – and prepared.
“Even if the baby is a bad sleeper, at least you’re not trying to function at work the next day,” muses Jason.
“It takes so much pressure off.”
A confident partnership
Despite neither of them having baby experience, Alexa has full confidence in Jason’s impending new role.
“He didn’t know anything about building at the start of the year and now he’s really skilled,” she shares.
“He’s embraced everything – the house, the baby, all of it. He’s going to be such a wonderful dad.”
Family just across the paddock
Another part of the equation is just across the paddock – grandparents. Alexa can look across the hills from her new home to her childhood one where her parents still live, just a few hundred metres away. Jason’s parents also plan to regularly travel up from the Marlborough Sounds to help.
The house itself is a family achievement. Alexa’s dad, a skilled builder, worked alongside Jason every spare hour they had, with Alexa and her mum joining in with a paintbrush and hammer whenever
the demands of work and growing a baby allowed.
A community that lends a hand
A true reflection of the benefits of rural living, friends from the tight- knit country community were always on hand for the heavy lifting.
“It’s been a really special project,” declares Alexa.
“We couldn’t have done it without all the incredible help.”
Soon, this same network will help them raise a baby.
It takes a village
“I’m a big believer that it takes a village to raise a child,” smiles Alexa.
“Having grandparents so close is such a treat. A lot of people don’t have that any more and they will play a big part when we both go back to work full- time from six months.”
For Alexa, the return to her roots and raising a child in Hawke’s Bay is more than a lifestyle change. It’s a legacy.
Dreaming of a country childhood
“When I thought about having a family, I always wanted to do it in the country,” she tells.
“Raising a child on the same land I grew up on and sending them to the same primary school across the river feels really special.”
She lights up when she talks about the freedom she had when she was young – animals, playing in creeks and space to be wild. The couple want that same upbringing for their own children.
Planning for a growing family
“We’d love to have two kids,” Alexa confesses, already thinking ahead.
The house, currently small with a bedroom and study, has been designed with an extension in mind to accommodate a larger family one day. But between now and then, they have a lot of learning to do.
“Neither of us has ever changed a nappy!” she laughs.
First experiences and realities
However, Jason recently bathed a baby, his godchild, for the first time and knows all too well that babies don’t follow schedules or plans. Both say they feel relaxed and ready.
“We’re always up for a challenge,” states Alexa.
“We’re both good problem-solvers. We’ll figure it out.”
A summer of settling in
For now, they’re looking forward to a summer of slowing down, settling in and becoming a family of three. After a year and a half of upheaval, their lives finally feel aligned – home, career, community and parenthood, all weaving together into something solid and hopeful.
“It’s been work, work, work to get here,” reflects Alexa.
“Now we get to actually enjoy it with a new house and new baby. It feels like the start of a really exciting new chapter.”
