Pictures: Babiche Martens.
This is the house that Shortland Street built,” says Happiness actor Harry McNaughton as he and his husband Koro Dickinson sit down for a chat with Woman’s Day in their 1940s brick-and-tile Auckland home.
Koro moved into the house with Harry 11 years ago, only three weeks after meeting the former Shorty star, who rose to fame playing asexual receptionist Gerald Tippet on the soap from 2007 to 2012.
He explains, “It felt like we were connected by love and also wanting to share a life.”
The pair met in Auckland in May 2014, when Koro was on a whirlwind 24-hour visit from Wellington.
By the time Koro’s plane hit the tarmac back in the capital, Harry had already booked a flight down to visit, arriving a week later with a Tupperware container of feijoa cake “because I’m a 70-year-old woman”, laughs the actor.
The couple was sitting on the Wellington waterfront talking when Koro picked up some rubbish and tossed it in the bin.
Harry recalls, “I was like, ‘Oh, no, he’s f**king perfect!’”
Well, except for the fact that Koro – who is of Ngāti Kahungunu and Kāi Tahu descent – was set to fly to Brazil to become New Zealand’s deputy ambassador. Fortunately, he was able to delay the move several times, before eventually quitting his job.
Explains Harry, “As queer people, we feel used to short-term engagements and dating. When something comes along that feels like it should be, could be, might be more than that, you seize it because it feels so different by contrast.
“Giving back has always been a core part of who Koro is – from serving his country, to now supporting his community and culture in his current CEO and governance roles… We quickly became one unit.”
So much so that their friends started referring to them as “Koha”, an adorable blend of both their names!
Over the past decade, the pair has been on exciting overseas adventures and lovingly renovated their home. Harry says, “We’re big dreamers.”
Koro continues, “Every Matariki, we share our goals as individuals and as a couple. Then, we hold each other to account. I want Harry to be the best version of himself every day and I know he wants the same for me.”
Although a rivalry can come out, especially when they’re working out.
Laughing, Harry says, “We realised early on that there’s a competitive spirit in a relationship that actually can be healthy. For an hour or so [while exercising], we kind of hate each other. It’s really competitive and not romantic at all, but it’s delightful.”
Koro adds, “Maybe it’s tough love.”
The couple confesses that expanding their whānau is on the horizon.
“We’ve been talking about kids ever since we got together and it will happen, for sure, but as we’re prepping for that, we’re keeping our cards close to our chest,” tells Harry.
Koro adds, “Family is important to us, and we’re getting really good practice with our nieces, nephews and godchildren.”
Starting a family is a major reason why the pair never made the big leap to the US. They’d considered making the move five years ago.
“Career is amazing, but it’s not everything,” insists the actor. “It’s not about what I’m giving up overseas . It’s about the opportunities I get here that I wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world.”
One of those gifts has been Three’s new musical comedy Happiness, in which Harry plays the lead role of Charlie, a Broadway musical theatre director forced to leave New York and return to his hometown of Tauranga, where he reluctantly gets involved with an amateur drama group.
Incredibly, Harry declined to audition three times.
He explains, “I found myself thinking it was selfish to be doing something just because it seems fun and cool.” Luckily, Koro told him, “Pull your head in – you’re being a dick!”
And Harry’s so glad he changed his mind. One of the greatest joys of Happiness has been working with Under The Vines star Rebecca Gibney. She plays his mother Gaye and has become a very good friend of the couple.
“Part of being human is going through life, collecting wonderful experiences and amazing people,” says Koro, gushing about Rebecca’s integrity and kindness. “I aspire to be like her. How she moves through life with grace is incredible.”
Harry adds, “Bec is able to talk about what she’s done in a way that is not boasting at all. She’s proud of her achievements in a way that has no ego attached to it. I mean, she could not be less of a diva. If we find someone amazing, we don’t let them go. She’s part of our whānau now.”
Happiness screens 8.30pm Thursdays on Three and streams on ThreeNow.
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