Photography: Emily Chalk
For as long as broadcasting star Samantha Hayes can remember, she has tended to live her life at pace. Busy at work and busy at home, with not much space in between for contemplation or reflection.
But after coming through the most challenging 18 months of her life, with the heartbreaking separation from the father of her children, followed by the loss of her job amid the shock closure of Newshub, this Christmas will finally give her a chance to pause, take a breath and try to make sense of all that has happened.
Slowing down and switching off has never come easily for the self-confessed perfectionist, but this summer, she’s welcoming the break with open arms.
“I’m very aware that some time to reset and contemplate everything that’s happened is overdue,” Sam says with characteristic restraint.
She’s been through the most challenging of times, yet she’s a picture of calm as she chats to The Weekly over croissants and coffee at the home she shares with her children, Marlow, five, and Amaya, three, on Auckland’s city fringe.
The veteran newsreader never could have foreseen the changes her life has taken. She admits her resilience has been pushed to its limits, but she’s out the other side and still in one piece. Happy? Yes. Ready for a holiday? You bet.
“I still can’t believe how much my life has changed and, seriously, this has been an enormous year,” says Sam. She moved into her new role as ThreeNews presenter in July, the day after hosting Newshub’s final show.
“This Christmas will be particularly sweet. I’m looking forward to reading a stack of books, getting in some beach swims and trail runs, and doing a whole lot of basically nothing. A smidge more sleep might be nice too.”
December 25 is still a month away when we visit Sam and her adorable children on a sunny Saturday afternoon, yet the festive spirit is in full swing. Decorations have been dragged out of the garage, carols are blaring, and Marlow and Amaya are fizzing with excitement. Sam would prefer some tasteful Michael Bublé, but her energetic pair have other ideas.
“I think they’d be happy with Jingle Bells on repeat,” says Sam, surveying the chaos as the team tries to corral Marlow and Amaya into the shot. “They’re so excited about Christmas, I don’t know how they’re going to last another month till the big day!”
And it’s not just Santa they’re looking forward to – the countdown to the summer holidays is on too. The trio are packing up and heading south to Sam’s “happy place”, her childhood home in Milton and her aunt’s farm 20 minutes down the road in South Otago.
There, “Sam the TV presenter” will become “Sam the farm girl”. She’ll happily ditch the make-up and high heels for jeans and gumboots. The polished broadcaster may look every bit the city slicker on screens, but it’s the big skies, green paddocks and clean air of her deep-south upbringing that ground her.
“Arriving home feels like taking a big, deep breath and falling into the most comfortable sofa you own,” smiles Sam. “Everything feels, smells and tastes like home. There really is nothing better.”
She might have left as a 17-year-old budding journalist, but the pull of Milton is never far away and Sam quickly reverts to “farm mode”.
She continues, “I just love it down there. We sit at the kitchen table for hours and have the best conversations. We talk about things that would probably bore other people to tears. Like the weather, of course, how much rain there’s been, how the grass is growing… Are the fish biting? The chickens laying? How’s the price of wool? The price of lamb? How’d you get on with that big spring storm? All that stuff.”
And introducing this rural idyll to Marlow and Amaya is a chance for Sam to experience it with fresh eyes. Feeding the chooks, pony rides and driving the tractor are all part of the fun.
Christmas will be particularly special as Sam’s brother Clinton and his nine-year-old twins, Jacob and Ashleigh, will also be there, along with Sam’s parents Sheena and Paul, and her adored Aunt Sonia. Sadly, Sam’s sister Katie and her family are travelling overseas, so won’t make the whānau reunion.
Celebrations will kick off on Christmas Eve, as is the Hayes’ tradition, with personalised crackers pulled and toasts made. Sam and the children will make reindeer food (“a weird mix of oats and glitter”) to scatter on the lawn, a beer will be poured for Santa and the stockings will be hung.
The big day will be marked with a traditional Christmas lunch – including a “furkey” (fake turkey) for vegetarian Sam – and is likely to end with a swim in the river if the weather plays ball.
“Christmas has always been a magical time of the year, but it’s just so important for kids,” says Sam. “I love seeing their excitement. Marlow and Amaya feel so relaxed on the farm, and that means I can relax too. But also a big part of being able to relax there is that everyone has known me since I was a kid.
“I’m just me – the kid who played knucklebones obsessively and rode ponies all over the farm from dawn to dusk. The kid who played in the hay barn long into the warm summer nights. If I can recreate any of that magic for my kids, I know it’s better than any present money can buy.”
From bad to worse
When The Weekly last caught up with Sam in late 2023, she had recently separated from her fiancé and father of her children. Her heartbreak was raw and she spoke candidly about coming to terms with her new reality of co-parenting. It was a devastating time, but Sam was optimistic that 2024 would be brighter and more settled for her and the children. As most people will know, however, this year turned out to be anything but settled after Warner Bros Discovery, the business that owns Three, announced they were shutting its entire Newshub news operation.
“The one settled thing in my life was work and then suddenly it was all over,” she laments.
It was an incomprehensible blow for Sam, who built her stellar career at the network. In fact, she filed her first story for Three at the tender age of 17 during a month’s work experience.
Several years and a journalism degree later, Sam returned after landing the Nightline presenting job. From there, she held many different roles, including a stint across the ditch as Australian correspondent, before joining Mike McRoberts on the 6pm news eight years ago. The end of Newshub felt almost as devastating as the end of her marriage.
“It was completely heartbreaking and even now I struggle to get my head around it,” says Sam. She was later named as senior correspondent and presenter on Stuff’s ambitious new venture, ThreeNews. As a newly single mother, the prospect of losing her income was particularly frightening.
“I know people might think I went straight into my new role, but there was a long period when I really had no idea what was going to happen. Everyone was facing the same thing. We were being made redundant, we were losing our jobs and we didn’t have a plan B.
“I remember a manager at work saying to me, ‘This is going to be the end of some people’s careers in media. They won’t work in journalism or television again.’ And I was so frightened that was going to be me.”
This uncertainty, however, forced Sam to ask “the big life questions” as she figured out where to next. “It made me stop and ask myself, ‘Who am I? What do I actually want to do and what is most important to me?’”
And while she toyed with fanciful dreams like opening a bookstore or becoming a florist, ultimately, she knew what the answer was.
“Everyone who knows me knows how much I love my job. I just wanted to keep doing the news. I love being part of the news cycle and telling people’s stories. It’s a huge part of who I am. The idea of doing anything else was terrifying, but part of the sadness was that my children were still so little and hadn’t really got to see me doing the job I love.”
Going through the closure with her workmates, whom she describes as family, was as beautiful as it was devastating. Sam compares the fall-out to grief and some weeks were harder than others.
“We did a really good job of looking after each other, checking in and doing what we could to help each other during those moments. It might sound like a strange thing to say, but it was a really beautiful thing to be a part of. I wish we didn’t have to go through it, but that was the reality. I almost feel lucky that I got to do it with that group of people.”
Sam is also highly aware that their situation was no different to that of the many others who face redundancy or job uncertainty. On the night she and her friend Mike presented the news about their own company’s demise, she turned her mind to the plights of others to get her through.
“First off, we were given life-changing news, which became national news and then having to present that news… It was very odd and incredibly challenging. But I said to myself, ‘If I’m going to cry in this bulletin, it’s not going to be about what’s happening to us.’
“I knew that if there was anything I should cry about, it was [reporter] Lisette Raymer’s story about the children of Ukraine. That gave me a really useful perspective. I held it together till the very end, when the tears flowed and didn’t stop all night.”
Sam turned 40 in amongst all the drama too. Unsurprisingly, celebrations were muted and Sam is sanguine about reaching the next decade. She laughs, however, that she has recently sprouted her first grey hair.
“Yes, I’m getting older, but I actually feel grateful for being able to turn 40. Not everyone gets that chance. There are wrinkles where there didn’t used to be, but I’m okay with it. It’s humbling and it makes you realise what’s really important in life.”
Time to surrender
Before all this, Sam never allowed herself much space to indulge in her own feelings. Her default setting in tough times was to simply continue on. But the end of her relationship and the Newshub closure left her with no choice but to surrender.
There was no running from the emotional turmoil. While time and regular therapy have helped her accept her new normal as a single mum to Marlow and Amaya, she admits she turned to television to take her mind off things too.
“I watched all six seasons of Peaky Blinders back to back. It was exactly what I needed!” she says with a laugh. “Putting together the 6pm bulletin night after night when we knew Newshub was ending was hard and it was hard to switch off when I came home at night.
“So I just allowed myself to do what I needed during that time. If chocolate, a glass of pinot and [Irish actor] Cillian Murphy on the couch made me happy, then that’s what I had to do.”
Exercise has also been a vital lifeline. Sam has been hitting the bush trails several times a week, jumping on her stationary bike in the garage for RPM sessions and doing regular yoga, often with the kids joining in.
Home life, says Sam, has settled down nicely. While she thought long and hard about moving house after the separation, in the end, it became clear she’s right where she needs to be – surrounded by nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
“I came pretty close to selling because I thought I should draw a line in the sand and make a totally fresh start,” she admits. “I went to a lot of open homes in pretty much every suburb of Auckland. But every time I came back out here, I felt so much more relaxed and calm. Then I realised through that process that this was actually my sanctuary.
“Yes, it’s a bit of a drive from town, but it reminds me of the rural setting that I grew up in. Forcing myself to think about where I really want to be and what’s best for the kids was important. It grounded me. In a year of turmoil, it was a really clear message. It was a moment of clarity that, yes, we’re going to stay out here and I’m so pleased we did.”
She still misses Marlow and Amaya when they’re at their dad’s house. But seeing how well they’ve adjusted to having two homes has put her mind at ease. In October, little Marlow started at the local school. Sam says the milestone was more emotional for her than her little boy.
“He was so ready for school,” tells a proud Sam, who pulls out her phone to show photos of the first day. “I was expecting to spend a bit of time with him, settling him in, but he was absolutely fine. We put his bag up and his lunch in the right place, and he just looked at me and said, ‘It’s okay. You can leave now.’ I was thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh, he’s so grown up!’”
Sam reveals Marlow has a thirst for knowledge, and he’s relishing learning his letters and numbers. “Sometimes in the morning, we’re having breakfast and he’ll say, ‘Mum, I’m just going to go practise drawing my eights.’ He’ll go sit at the wee desk that I’ve got for them and he’ll be showing me, like, ‘Here’s a big one and here’s a small one.’”
Amaya, she adds, is a girl who knows her own mind and adores her brother.
“They’re so delightful together,” says Sam. “They are the cutest little buddies. Both of them have their moments, of course, when things get a bit crazy. But for the most part, they just really love each other and look out for each other. They have the most hilarious sense of humour and love doing tricks on me.”
‘The gold dust’
Life with two children is busy, but Sam is able to see “the gold dust”, even in the mundane. She loves joining her kids on the trampoline, making mud soup, searching for frogs in the garden, building forts and endless races around the property.
“We just have so much fun every day that we’re together,” says Sam. “We have the best conversations, and Marlow and Amaya make me laugh all the time.”
Workwise, she also feels fortunate to be part of Stuff’s foray into television with the newly created ThreeNews. She says it was an extraordinary feat pulling together a new show in the space of 80 days. While tinged with sadness over leaving Newshub, being involved in ThreeNews has been exciting and rewarding in equal measure. In the week we meet, the team has moved into its new purpose-built studios.
“It’s a huge space with the very latest technology,” says Sam. “It’s given us all a big boost as we head towards Christmas. I can’t believe how different news studios are today compared to when I started out nearly 20 years ago. Cameras at every angle, augmented reality and the scope to do almost anything we can dream up.”
Despite the obvious challenges facing her industry, Sam feels excited and optimistic for the future. Being part of New Zealand’s biggest media organisation, with journalists dotted all over the country, Sam says the ability to reach every corner of Aotearoa is powerful.
Her role means she’s creating her own stories, as well as presenting the 6pm bulletin, and happily, she’s recently run “boot camps” to train Stuff’s print journalists in the art of the live cross too.
“The industry is changing rapidly, and this has been a tectonic shift for those of us that have gone from Newshub to Stuff and into the ThreeNews show. But it has been a chance to examine the way that we’ve always done things.
“I’ve had the approach since day one that I’m going to give it a go. If someone has a suggestion, an idea or a different way of doing things, even if there’s a part of me in the back of my mind that thinks, ‘This isn’t how we make the six o’clock news,’ I’ve just shoved that aside and said, ‘Okay, let’s try it.’ And most of the time, it has worked.”
Presenting the news without Mike by her side has been a strange experience, she admits. But the pair are still close friends and catch up regularly. The veteran journalist is now te ao Māori editor at the National Business Review.
“I do miss him,” she says. “We caught up the other day for lunch, and talked and talked and talked. At the end of it, he said, ‘Oh, my gosh, my face hurts from smiling and laughing so much.’”
And while viewers might think there’s less risk of Sam getting a case of her famous on-air giggles without Mike by her side, she says weather presenter Heather Keats is providing plenty of opportunities for ill-timed laughing fits.
“Heather is great at winding me up. It’s happened a few times already where she’s said something funny and I can’t quite hold it together.”
While Sam wouldn’t want to repeat any of the heartbreaking events of the past couple of years, these tough times have certainly delivered fresh clarity about what’s most important in life and there’s no doubt that it’s her beautiful children, who bring her the greatest joy.
“There were moments there when I really thought I had reached my limit in terms of resilience or what I could handle,” she reflects. “But then the challenges just kept on coming. I had no choice but to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Not just for the kids, but also for myself.
“And do you know what? I’ve got through it. I’m happy. And that’s because of Marlow and Amaya. They got me through the toughest parts – they really are the centre of my world.”
0And as she looks ahead to 2025 with positivity, Sam is adamant she won’t be jumping back into the dating game any time soon.
“Life is far too busy for any of that!” she enthuses. “I am very happy as I am, focusing on the things that matter right now. Those are my kids and my new job.” Besides, she adds, she’s always got Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders!
Watch Sam shine in her new role at stuff.co.nz/threenews
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