What do you get if you put two radio hosts and seven over-excited children together in a room with a photographer? A whole lot of fun, of course – and plenty of chaos!
But this hectic scene still isn’t enough to faze The Hits’ drive-time radio hosts Stacey Morrison and Paul “Flynny” Flynn, who say they are used to juggling the demands of family life with full-time jobs.
“Our work mantra has always been ‘family comes first’,” says Flynny, who is dad to Jack, 11, Leo, nine, Michaela, five, and 20-month-old Alexander. “We both rush off home at the end of the show to get to our families.”
Stacey, who’s been married for 10 years to Marae presenter Scotty Morrison, is mum to Hawaiki, nine, Kurawaka, seven, and three-year-old Maiana. She agrees her job only works thanks to the fact her co-host is in the same parenting boat.
“I will often be texting through the show going, ‘Is so-and-so where they need to be?’ and checking in with everyone. Me and Flynny only work because we know if either of us have to make a call during the show, we can just do it. But that doesn’t stop the mama guilt creeping in.
“I think the fact that we try for a work-life balance is a win in itself. I know that when we are with our kids, we are really focused on them.”
Something else the duo agree on is the importance of being active parents. Stacey, 43, loves yoga and gym sessions, while former party boy Flynny relishes his early morning runs.
“I used to scoff at people who did exercise! How did we become like this?” laughs the 36-year-old. Stacey retorts, “Well, you had to because you were going to die!”
The playful jibe refers to Flynny’s difficult 2012, when the DJ weighed 30kg more than he does today and experienced a family health scare that forced him to look at his own lifestyle. He tells, “My dad had a bunch of heart problems and it wasn’t looking too good for him – he is OK-ish now – so I got myself checked out. It turns out I had the same dodgy artery as Dad.”
The discovery of the speck – an early sign of mild coronary artery disease – was the wake-up call Flynny needed to get his health back on track.
“I used to eat junk food all the time and party four nights a week,” he tells. “I never exercised. But I got such a fright realising I was way worse than Dad was at my age, so I started running.” He admits that having a big brood wasn’t on the cards for him and wife Nat.
They’d planned to stop after having Jack and Leo, but were later surprised by wee Michaela. “Then we watched quite a sexy episode of Game of Thrones and after that, Alexander came along!”
Like Flynny, Stacey is happy to have a “community” all of her own and takes a “never say never” approach to adding to her whanau some day. She laughs, “I often think it would be nice to have more, but God, I’d have to hurry up!”
What do you get if you put two radio hosts and seven over-excited children together in a room with a photographer? A whole lot of fun, of course – and plenty of chaos!
Stacey Morrison, who’s been married for 10 years to Marae presenter Scotty Morrison, is mum to Hawaiki, nine, Kurawaka, seven, and three-year-old Maiana.
Quick fire with Stace and Flynny from The Hits
“I will often be texting through the show going, ‘Is so-and-so where they need to be?’ and checking in with everyone,” Stacey says of juggling work and family life.
“Me and Flynny only work because we know if either of us have to make a call during the show, we can just do it. But that doesn’t stop the mama guilt creeping in.”
“Our work mantra has always been ‘family comes first’,” says Flynny, who is dad to Jack, 11, Leo, nine, Michaela, five, and 20-month-old Alexander.
“I think the fact that we try for a work-life balance is a win in itself. I know that when we are with our kids, we are really focused on them,” chimes in Stacey.
Flynny admits that having a big brood wasn’t on the cards for him and wife Nat. They’d planned to stop after having Jack and Leo, but were later surprised by wee Michaela.
“Then we watched quite a sexy episode of Game of Thrones and after that, Alexander came along!” he jokes.
