Jason Reeves
Though Jason Reeves is a big believer in making his wife Louise feel special every single day, he admits he can’t help but feel extra-sentimental on the calendar’s official day of love.
“I’m a bit of a soppy romantic, so I like making an extra effort on Valentine’s Day!” tells the Coast Breakfast host.
With two young boys, Max, 10, and Olly, seven, it can be harder for Jason, 46, and Louise, 44, to find time by themselves for a romantic getaway. But as Jason says, all you need to make Valentine’s Day special is quality time with the one you love.
Jason “melts” at the connection between Louise and sons Max (left) and Olly.
“For Valentine’s this year, because I’ll be at work when Louise wakes up, I’ll leave a card for her to find. I’ll spend some time reflecting on our years together so far, and celebrating the challenges we’ve overcome and reminding her of the things I love about her. Then we’ll have a late lunch – just the two of us – before the kids come home and the after-school chaos happens.”
Jason and Louise have been together for 15 years and married for almost 12, and it’s clear to see they’re still as strong as the day they met. Jason’s face lights up as he describes all the things he loves about his beloved.
“I love her smile,” he shares. “It’s what I remember most about the moment we met. I love how she walks up to me and stops to hug and kiss me for no reason. But I also love how amazing she is as a mum. The way our boys absolutely adore their mum makes me melt.”
Leah Panapa
Though she will spend her Valentine’s Day as she always does, enjoying a nice bottle of wine with her husband Mike Nesbitt in their spa, if Leah Panapa could plan her dream day, she would love to be the type of person who goes all out.
“In my fantasy, we’d helicopter to our favourite vineyard on Waiheke Island for a degustation and fine wine, and maybe sail back on a luxury boat,” tells the Today FM host. “I would also like to do it with my friends and make it a Valentine’s group!”
Between the many happy times in their 21 years together, Leah, 53, and Mike, 54, have also been dealt some tough challenges. In the past few years alone, Mike has undergone heart surgery twice and has battled prostate cancer, and Leah’s mother sadly passed away after her own battle with cancer.
Leah knows Mike will be by her side, no matter what.
But no matter what life throws at them, Leah says there is no one else she would rather have by her side.
“At the end of the day, he is my best friend. We have been through a lot together, but we make each other laugh and never run out of things to say to each other.”
Leah’s secret to a long-lasting relationship is to never forget that the smallest gestures can make someone feel loved.
“It’s the little things,” explains Leah. “I may have overindulged at a Christmas get-together and the next day I was feeling very sorry for myself. Hubby looked after me, walked our dogs, got me some hangover food and let me rest. That’s love.”
Melissa Chan-Green
After welcoming their son Busby in 2019, and now with another baby arriving in May, Melissa Chan-Green and her husband Caspar’s Valentine’s Day celebrations have scaled back since the early days of their romance.
But as long as they get a quiet moment with each other, she is happy.
“Mostly it’s about trying to spend some quality time together,” tells the AM co-host. “One year, Busby had his lunch nap at my sister’s so we could pop down the road and get an ice cream. Something as small as that can mean a lot.”
With a little one on the way, the couple couldn’t be happier for son Busby.
Melissa, 39, and Caspar, 42, met near the end of her time in London while she was serving as Three’s European correspondent. A few months later, she returned to New Zealand but they were determined
to make their relationship work. They spent the next two-and-a-bit years doing long-distance, but even though Caspar was halfway across the world, he still found ways to make Melissa feel special.
“On one of the Valentine’s we were apart, he sent an enormous bunch of 50 roses to the newsroom,” she tells with a smile. “It was pretty special, although a little embarrassing too!”
Now that they’ve settled down together, those thoughtful gestures haven’t stopped.
“Just last week, we were at a department store and he snuck off to buy me a candle that he thought might help me sleep better,” she shares. “But he does thoughtful things every day – like making sure I have breakfast in a container to take to work with me in the morning.”
Joe Cotton
Thinking back on all the Valentine’s celebrations from across her life, it’s not hard for Joe Cotton to pick the most
special one.
“I got married on Valentine’s Day, so that is probably my favourite day of all time.”
Joe’s hit the jackpot with husband Daniel.
After tying the knot with her hospitality hubby Daniel Shields in a fairy-tale wedding in Auckland in 2009, it’s no surprise that Joe, who is currently competing in TVNZ 2’s Treasure Island: Fans v Faves, is a big believer in the day of romance.
“I love it,” she enthuses. “It’s a day to celebrate romance and love and crushes, and even showing your besties that you love them too.”
In recent years, Joe, 44, and Daniel, 46, have started a new tradition of tackling an adventurous challenge to mark the occasion. And after moving to Invercargill last year, they are even closer to some of the country’s best adrenaline thrills.
“We’ve been trying to mix it up the last few years,” tells the More FM Southland Breakfast host. “We’ve been zip lining, we did an escape room another year, and I’d love to take Dan jet boating
in Te Anau this year.”
This will be the 19th Valentine’s that the pair have spent together – and there are two reasons why their love has stayed so strong.
“He has an incredibly good heart. And he knows how to make an awesome Mai Tai!” she laughs.
Lana Cochrane-Searle
More FM host Lana Cochrane-Searle is the first to admit that she used to be a Valentine’s Day scrooge, but after meeting her now-wife Katie five years ago, she has learned to embrace her romantic side.
“I pretended not to care about it, but after meeting someone I love so much, I really soak it up now.”
The pair tied the knot in November last year in a romantic ceremony in the Bay of Islands at the picturesque Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell. After having to delay their wedding due to Covid, Lana is delighted she finally gets to call Katie, 40, her wife.
Katie (left) brings out Lana’s romantic side.
While she was hoping to do something special for their first Valentine’s Day after tying the knot, Lana’s plans have sadly been scuppered by flight attendant Katie’s schedule.
“I have just found out that my wife is working that day, so unless I surprise her at work, I will probably spend it with the cats,” Lana jokes. “I love when it falls on a weekend, and Katie and I have the entire day to spend time together, and I can beat her in mini golf!”
The couple were friends for years before romance blossomed between them and Lana says she falls more in love with Katie every day.
“I love how compassionate she is, how driven she is and how much she loves our son,” tells the 35-year-old, who is back for the new season of Treasure Island. She adds with a laugh, “She also fake-tanned me when I stuffed up a booking for a spray tan. There was a lot of pressure, but she pulled it off with no streaks.”
Jesse Mulligan
While Jesse Mulligan’s a great believer in Valentine’s Day, he admits he feels it’s mostly for single people to finally tell their crush they fancy them, not for “old, wizened couples like us”. But that doesn’t mean he and his wife Victoria skip the festivities entirely.
“It’s complicated,” Three’s The Project host says with a smile. “My wife and I tell each other we don’t want anything, then go out and buy something just in case. But we won’t be going out to dinner – it’ll probably be seafood and bubbles at home.”
Even after nine years of marriage – though they’ve been together so long “we’ve stopped counting” – and raising their four children, Hazel 12, Daisy, nine, Felix, seven, and Scout, three, Jesse, 47, and Victoria, 42, are still as smitten as ever. Jesse’s secret to maintaining a happy relationship while balancing the demands of parenthood and work is to make sure they both have time to indulge in something that makes them happy.
Jesse with kids (clockwise from top left) Hazel, Daisy, Felix and youngest Scout.
“These days, it’s not the big things but the small ones,” tells Jesse. “I’m learning to fish and loving it. It’s sometimes a few hours at a time, but not once over summer did Victoria ever say, ‘You know, maybe you could give it a miss tomorrow.’ As a busy dad, it’s a really special thing to have a hobby and not feel guilty about it. I try to pay her back by being the same way when she goes surfing.”
