Photography: Babiche Martens.
If you’d told rowing legend Eric Murray five years ago that turning up late to a mutual friend’s tweed-themed party would lead him straight to the love of his life, the double Olympic champion wouldn’t have believed you. But when he spotted a smiling Thea Lyle dressed as a farmer in a tweed cap and gumboots, something instantly clicked.
“I’d been speaking at a Chiefs rugby event, so I arrived at the party fashionably late,” remembers Eric, 43.
“I was yarning away to a few cyclists and rowers, but was trying to escape so that I could talk to this lovely British woman in the corner.”
The pair was soon chatting and laughing, when the former Dancing With The Stars and Celebrity Treasure Island favourite realised something unexpected.
“Thea asked me what I did and why all these people were talking to me,” he smiles.
“I said, ‘I do a bit of this and that.’ She had no idea who I was!”
Thea, 41, thought there was something familiar about the “handsome blond apparition” in front of her, but she couldn’t quite place the sporting icon. Then the former flight attendant, who’s lived in New Zealand since 2007, recalled a massive Air NZ billboard at Auckland International Airport, which she was sure had Eric’s face on it.
When the penny dropped
“I asked him if he was on an advert and he said he was,” she says.
“It wasn’t until a bit later that the penny dropped, after I told my friends who I’d been talking to and they just lost the plot. Then I googled Eric and was like, ‘Oh, OK!’”
The smitten couple’s first meeting in Cambridge in August 2020 coincided with the period of relative normality in New Zealand following the first COVID lockdown. But after Thea returned to Auckland, plans to reconnect were quickly scuppered when the City of Sails was locked down for a further two months.
“We couldn’t see each other, but Eric started sending me all these lovely flowers and gifts instead,” shares Thea.
Making it official
Once lockdown ended, she popped down to Cambridge regularly to spend time with Eric.
“Next minute, she didn’t leave,” he grins.
“At the end of 2020, Thea said, ‘Can I come and hang out?’ I replied, ‘Sure you can!’”
Building a home together
When Thea moved in, Eric was in the middle of renovating his Waikato home, a pastime that has become his passion.
“When COVID hit, I drove straight past the people lining up at the supermarkets and maxed out my credit card at Mitre 10 instead,” tells Eric.
“So I ended up with a houseful of building products and started renovating when the country was in lockdown.”
From Reno to the next
After Thea moved in and the project was finished, Eric got “itchy feet” and surprised her one day with the news he was selling the house and buying a once-grand 1912 villa nearby. The home needed a full makeover, which meant the couple spent the next two and a half years living on a building site.
Eric admits there were challenging times when the house was only semi-liveable, but they got through with their relationship intact, thanks to their shared sense of humour.
“We enjoy a good laugh,” he says.
Laughter over linings
“If you’re not laughing, then you’re crying!”
Thea – who retrained as a teacher in 2021, and now works full-time as a PE and art teacher at a private school in Cambridge – adds, “We constantly take the mickey out of each other. Eric dishes it out, but I’m better at it because I’m British. I can be brutal!”
The villa makeover was a passion project with a “glorious” outcome, but it didn’t quite meet their needs, so they sold it and now they’re just finishing up with another project – the revamp of a 1960s house they expect to be their family home for the next few years.
Putting family first
“Before we even started work on the house, we put in a pool because my autistic son Zac loves water,” shares Eric, who co-parents the 14-year-old boy.
“He spent the whole of last summer in it! Zac is nonverbal, so we put a lot of thought into things that would make him happy and satisfy his needs when designing the house.”
Completing their family is the couple’s “joint child”, an American Staffy cross rescue dog named Badger. Eric – whose day job is working as a consultant and indoor rowing coach for clients all over the world – agrees he puts some of the same grit and determination into his DIY projects as he and his rowing partner, Hamish Bond, put in to win two Olympic gold medals, eight successive World Championship titles and an incredible 71 unbeaten races.
The dynamic duo was named “Decade Champions” at the Halberg Awards in 2021 and their sporting records are unlikely to ever be beaten.
A new direction
“It was an amazing career, but I don’t regret giving it up in 2017 to focus on Zac,” insists Eric.
“Life has taken a new direction and while I haven’t had any formal building training, I love the renovation projects. I’ve picked up most things as I’ve gone along.”
It might be a while since Eric has competed on the world stage, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his competitive edge, smiles Thea, who films many of the fun videos on the couple’s Instagram account @cambridgerenovationsnz, where thousands enjoy updates on Eric’s DIY adventures.
Board games and banter
“He beats me at every single board game,” she laughs.
“It’s so annoying!”
As they look back over the past five years, Eric says the best part of the lovebirds’ relationship is how it’s grown so naturally since their chance meeting, but he adds it hasn’t been without its challenges.
Love that endures
“We’ve been through a lot together, especially losing my close friend, cyclist Olivia Podmore, in 2021 and Thea’s dad passing away in 2023,” says Eric.
“The strength of our relationship has definitely got us through the tough times.”
There have been lots of fun times too, with the couple’s love of a good dress-up no secret. For Thea’s 40th birthday last year, they had a “full-circle moment” with a themed ’90s and 2000s party held in the friend’s garage where they first met. Thea went as Ginger Spice, while Eric was Hulk Hogan.
He laughs, “I had the spray tan, wig and bandana. I grew a handlebar moustache, which lasted for a month!”
Support in every way
Vegetarian Thea admits she doesn’t like cooking, but Eric more than makes up for it with his amazing chef skills, making her breakfast every morning before she leaves for school. He also helped her train for her first Ironman and even commentates the Olympics for her.
“I didn’t used to watch the Games, but I love it now,” she smiles.
“Eric narrates every single sport. He’s the kindest, most thoughtful and supportive human ever. I didn’t think he’d be like this, but he is!”
With their house renovation almost complete, the couple is looking forward to spending more quality time together. Both love getting into the outdoors and working out together. A perfect date night
is often “something involving a margarita”, grins Eric.
Supporting each other always
“Seriously, though, we just love to spend time together with no phones and having great conversations. We make sure we prioritise our time together, but also support each other’s independence too.”
Eric often thinks about how different life might be had it not been for a chance meeting at a party he almost didn’t go to.
“Thea’s the most loving and understanding person I know,” he enthuses.
“She’s always there to support me. I’ve never once walked into a room and not seen a smile on her face. I couldn’t have done what I’ve done over the past five years without her by my side.”
