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Laura McGoldrick on dealing with mum guilt

She’s off on a big adventure with a suitcase full of mother’s guilt!
Photos: Babiche Martens

It’s the age-old battle any working mum feels: the constant struggle of trying to show your children, especially your daughters, that women can have it all, while also actually being there for your kids.

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It’s a situation that Sky Sport’s Laura McGoldrick, 34, knows all too well and one that’s currently hitting a little too close to home as she prepares to leave her family for almost a month for T20 Cricket World Cup duties in the US.

“The mum guilt is so hard,” she tells the Weekly as we catch up for a coffee, and she proudly shows off adorable pictures of daughter Harley, six, and son Teddy, three, as well as former Black Cap Martin Guptill, 37, whom Laura fondly calls Guppy.

“I was away for about the same time last year for work and it was tough,” she admits. “And this time Guppy will also be away. He’s doing some telly work in Pakistan.

“It’s hard when you get the phone calls from the kids, saying, ‘I cried because I missed you today,’ and all you want to say is, ‘Okay, I’m on the next plane – see you in 26 hours!’

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Laura McGoldrick with husband Martin Guptill
Laura and husband Martin are a team, juggling their busy schedules and kids.

“But then you remember that you can have a career and be a great mum and a good wife. Yeah, it’s really hard and I miss them, but you have to take the opportunities and you have to make the best of it that you can.

“Women, boy, we’re so, so rough on ourselves. I really want to show, particularly my daughter, that you can do all these things. Plus, I have an absolutely incredible mother who is able to step in and help.”

A career in sports

Life in the McGoldrick-Guptill house has been a little different over the past few months. Martin is adjusting to life after international cricket following his retirement at the end of last year, and Laura, for the first time in more than a decade, is free from radio commitments.

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It’s actually meant a bit of a flip in roles for talented broadcaster Laura and cricket legend Martin, with the sports star now spending more time at home with his young family, while Laura’s taken up opportunities with Sky, which now includes international gigs.

“It’s weird to be the one who goes away now!” laughs Laura. “I love my job so, so much. I’m lucky.

“It looks like a glamorous gig,” says Laura, who has interviewed David Beckham.

“I’m nervous about going, but it’s going to be great,” she says of her upcoming Cricket World Cup and Olympic presenting roles for Sky Sport.

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“It looks like a glamorous gig and yes, sure, sometimes it is, but it doesn’t feel like it when you’re waking up in the hotel room with an eyelash hanging off your cheek!

“It’s a massive year in sport and I’m so excited for it. I’ll be over in the US covering the T20 Cricket World Cup and then I’ll be presenting our Olympics coverage from the studio here. You’ll finish The Crowd Goes Wild and then see me and I’ll be updating you with everything that’s going on in Paris.”

Motherhood

While she’ll be missing out on fresh pastries and camembert in France, Laura’s not bothered at being based in New Zealand for the Olympic period – it means, after all, more time with the whānau at home. She is, she says happily, firmly in her “mum era”.

“This mum life is wild,” she enthuses. “I’m in a mothers’ WhatsApp chat and the other day I thought, ‘When did this happen?!’ There was a 30-minute dialogue about what the kids were wearing to Pink Shirt Day and I absolutely loved it. While reading it, I was laughing to myself and thinking, ‘Wow, this is surreal.’ I am that mum – I’m even on the PTA! I emcee the school fundraisers. You name it, I’ll do it. And I love it.”

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Nights at home are her absolute happy place, with all its dinner, bedtime and wind-down chaos, as well as on the sideline of whatever sport her kids are into. While Teddy’s a little young yet, Harley’s keen to try her hand at everything – although she’s also showing a massive interest in musical theatre, much to her mother’s delight.

“It makes me so happy that we’re singing songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Matilda in the car!

“Between my family and work, my cup is so full right now. That’s my balance and it’s brilliant.”

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There’s just one thing the proud Cantabrian would like to change in her household – Martin’s continued and determined mission to raise his children as Blues supporters!

“It’s not the best year to be trying to convert them to the Crusaders,” Laura laughs, “but I’ll never give up!”

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