Emerging from her bedroom in a stunning white lace outfit and towering heels, a glowing Toni Street can hardly hide her delight. “It’s so nice to be able to wear things like this again!” she says as she rallies her adorable girls into position for our photographer.
The last time she was frocking up for a Woman’s Day photo shoot, the broadcasting belle was in the grips of a life-threatening illness. With her body reeling from gruelling steroid treatment, she was bloated and sick, and her usual clothes were a no-go.
But as she welcomes us into the Auckland home she shares with husband Matt and their daughters Juliette and Mackenzie, it’s clear to see that Toni is her old self again – not only is she in amazing shape, but she has her zest for life back too.
“This time last year, I was so sick, swollen and full of steroids that sometimes I felt like I was going insane. I had a six-month-old baby to look after as well as a toddler, and I was staring down the barrel of chemotherapy and IVF. It was hideous. But how different things are now – I feel so good. I feel like I’ve totally got my spark back!”
As host of Seven Sharp alongside Mike Hosking each week night, life is certainly busy for the mum-of-two, whose new show Spellbound has also started airing on TVNZ 1. On the surface, it might look like she’s got this nailed, but she’s candid about the realities of being a working parent.
“There’s always so much going on and an awful lot of juggling to be done,” she says. “And we’re in that full-on stage with Mackenzie – she’s certainly a handful!”
Indeed, it’s hard to get a word in, with Juliette – who is known as Juju, and turns four next week – and her 18-month-old little sister commanding much of the limelight. They’ve just got new ceramic puppies from the local garden store and are taking some convincing that perhaps the dogs don’t need to be in all the photos.
When Toni, 33, was pregnant with baby number two, she’d wondered if perhaps her next child would be a quieter addition to the family than full-of-beans Juliette. But it turns out Mackenzie – who’s fondly known as Mickey, and comes complete with a black eye and carpet burn thanks to a recent tumble – is “the bruiser of the family”.
“Before Mickey came along, we thought you couldn’t get more domineering than Juju, but we were wrong!” Toni laughs. “Mickey rules the roost. She’s always trying to push her big sister around, but Juju is so patient with her. She says to me, ‘She’s just a baby, Mum.’”
Toni adds that her favourite pastime when she’s at home with the girls is to stand back and watch them interact. “Most of the time, I’m just cracking up – they’re so funny together. They really like each other and they can be quite loving, but then it can all change in a second. Suddenly, Mickey’s doing a smackdown, and Juju’s running to me saying, ‘Mickey hurt me!’”
For all her energy, though, Mickey is the cuddliest of the pair, which Toni adores. “I love it because I still think of those six weeks when she was so little and I could barely even pick her up.”
Toni is referring to the terrible time last year when she was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease Churg-Strauss syndrome soon after Mackenzie’s birth in March. With stints in hospital, her organs beginning to fail and gruelling high-dose steroid infusions, life hit rock bottom for the young family. Toni even underwent the initial stages of IVF treatment to safeguard against infertility in case she had to undergo chemotherapy.
“When I was in the middle of the whole steroid thing, I started to feel like I would never be back to normal again,” she remembers.
Fast-forward a year, however, and life has taken a turn for the better, with her final steroid treatment in April. While she still takes a concoction of drugs every day, and has weekly blood tests and regular visits to her specialists, gone are the steroid-induced mood swings, upset sleep patterns, an aching body and puffiness – much to Toni’s relief.
But her dream of having a third child is now on hold until she can wean her body off immuno-suppressant drugs. It’s a process that will be closely monitored and could take a year.
“I had thought we’d be having a baby next year, so it’s been a bit of a shock to be told that’s not a possibility. But I’m OK with it now. I am just going to put it out of my mind for a while and enjoy being healthy again. I’m only 33, so I do feel very thankful that I still have a little bit of time on my side.”
Sports-mad Toni happily admits her coping mechanism can often be to take a blasé approach – “I like to pretend things are better than they are!” – but she was brought back down to earth recently when she was considering taking part in a marathon.
“I mentioned it to the bone doctor and she almost laughed in my face! She looked at me like I was mad and just said, ‘No way.’
“I realised then that perhaps I do need to remember to slow down a bit and look after myself. The problem is, I feel so good that I’m constantly like, ‘Oooh, what can I do now?’”
But living life at a hundred miles is the way Toni likes it. She does a fitness boot camp class at least twice a week and loves heading to the beach for a run around with her adorable girls. Matt, 32, is vigilant at making sure his wife doesn’t overdo it, though.
“He is so caring – he’s constantly watching how much stress I’m under, whether it’s work or with the kids. He gives me big talkings-to all the time.”
Giggling, Toni adds, “I’m sure it’s a huge relief for my mother because she knows Matt has the worrying all under control. I’m like my dad – we’re bordering on delusional sometimes.”
She admits the past year has tested her and events manager Matt to the very limits. “I think anyone with young children knows how hard life can get, let alone with being sick as well. Your relationship definitely goes on the backburner at bit – we haven’t had the strength or capacity to give our marriage much time. But hopefully that will change next year.”
The couple have some child-free holidays lined up, including a trip to Queenstown for a friend’s birthday, as well as heading up north to the wedding of Toni’s friend and former colleague Nadine Chalmers-Ross, who recently departed Breakfast, along with Rawdon Christie. She admits it’s been a “sad and tumultuous time” seeing her friends go.
While there’s no doubt much-loved Toni’s seat is safe on the flagship show, she tells us she isn’t wasting any time worrying about her onscreen future. “Broadcasting is a changeable beast and what’s working now won’t necessarily always be successful. But the reality is that if it all toppled over tomorrow, I would be fine.
“I think it comes from looking at how much tragedy my family has been through – you get real perspective from that,” she says, referring to the sad loss of her 14-year-old brother Stephen after a farm-bike accident in 2001.
Her twin brother Lance died of leukaemia when they were 18 months old and younger sister Tracy passed away shortly after her birth in 1986.
Despite her hectic life, Toni wouldn’t change her Seven Sharp role for anything, partly because of her close friendship with co-host Mike.
“He’s someone who gives you energy because he’s always so upbeat,” she reveals. “And the nice thing about him is that he never changes. Every single afternoon, I’m in fits of laughter. He gives me so much stick that it’s sometimes bordering on inappropriate, but it never actually crosses the line. He genuinely cares, though, which is lovely. He still remembers to ask, ‘How’s the Churg?’”
Toni’s excited about the launch of Spellbound, a show that follows the New Zealand Spelling Bee. She loved getting to know the year nine and 10 students who battled it out for the title, and confesses that they put her spelling skills to shame.
“English was my best subject at school, but this was next level!” she says. “The show is about so much more than spelling, though. You get to know all these wonderful different personalities and all the kids have their little quirks. I was right in the thick of it. There were quite a few tears shed – it’s pretty emotional! I think Kiwis are really going to enjoy it.”
Although some might expect Toni’s health crisis to have changed her outlook on life, the pragmatic star tells us that she and hubby Matt are just relieved things are finally back to normal. “Right after I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘I just don’t care about the small stuff any more – I’m going to do whatever I like and whatever makes me happy.’
“But to be honest, it’s not realistic to live like that. Suddenly you find you’ve gone back to your everyday life and you realise that the small things do matter. I’m still looking after two little children and going to the park, getting coffees, going to work each day. But that’s what makes up my life and makes it rich. I am happy and so thankful for that.”
It’s clear to see that Toni Street is her old self again – not only is she in amazing shape, but she has her zest for life back too, having battled back from a health crisis after being diagnosed with the auto-immune disease Churg-Strauss syndrome in March.
Toni Street thanks everyone on TV for support
As host of Seven Sharp alongside Mike Hosking each week night, life is certainly busy for the mum-of-two, whose new show Spellbound has also started airing on TVNZ 1.
The gorgeous family of four get the giggles in front of the camera.
“There’s always so much going on and an awful lot of juggling to be done,” Toni says of her busy work and home life. “And we’re in that full-on stage with Mackenzie – she’s certainly a handful!”
Mackenzie – who’s fondly known as Mickey – is “the bruiser of the family”, according to her doting mum.
“Before Mickey came along, we thought you couldn’t get more domineering than Juju, but we were wrong!” Toni laughs. “Mickey rules the roost. She’s always trying to push her big sister around, but Juju is so patient with her. She says to me, ‘She’s just a baby, Mum.’”
Toni adds that her favourite pastime when she’s at home with the girls is to stand back and watch them interact. “Most of the time, I’m just cracking up – they’re so funny together. “
“They really like each other and they can be quite loving, but then it can all change in a second. Suddenly, Mickey’s doing a smackdown, and Juju’s running to me saying, ‘Mickey hurt me!’” Toni tells.
Although some might expect Toni’s health crisis to have changed her outlook on life, the pragmatic star tells us that she and hubby Matt are just relieved things are finally back to normal.
“Right after I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘I just don’t care about the small stuff any more – I’m going to do whatever I like and whatever makes me happy.’”
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