AMALIA OSBORNE
Jeanette Thomas, 52, has blitzed it for years on television and breakfast radio gigs. In her varied 29-year broadcasting career she has co-hosted shows like Good Morning, Crime Scene and Target. For the past decade, the mum-of-two has been a fixture in the morning on The Breeze radio station.
Away from the airwaves, she lives in North Auckland with her husband, Dave, 57 and two “weather anxious” pups, Benny and Sam. But she tells the Weekly why it’s You’re the Voice singer John Farnham’s face who peers out from her phone lock screen.
What were you like as a teenager, Jeanette?
My late mum Carrol would tell you I was a very good teenager, but there was a lot she didn’t know. I had a naughty side back then – I can’t share things that my friends saw – but because butter didn’t melt in my mouth, Mum never suspected. I’m the youngest of three and I like to keep the peace and make sure everyone is happy, so that’s predominantly how I remember myself. I was quite sporty and played basketball for my school team and we went to a couple of NZ champs in the ’80s.
Did your love for Aussie singer John Farnham start back then too?
When I first discovered him as a 13-year-old in 1986,I became absolutely obsessed with him. I’d watch his concerts on VHS back-to-back and knew every single spoken word. I had hundreds of pictures of him on my walls. There was no wall space! A friend brought back a life-size cut-out of him for me on a bus froma record shop in Tauranga. I had one on my ceiling and one beside my bed. I went to Melbourne once for his concert and went to the police station to ask what his address was. Strangely, she wouldn’t tell me! When my son Charlie was three, he used to tell people that John Farnham was his dad.
Tell us about meeting him in person?
I met him for the first time in the ’90s when I was working as a traffic reporter in radio. He had been warned about me by radio host Robert Scott, who was my boyfriend at the time. When John came into the studio, I was beyond myself. I had never loved someone who is not related to me in that way. Then I was lucky enough to meet him again in 2019. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. I adore him. I remember Mum was happy about my crush because John was very wholesome and never swore. But then his book came out last year and he actually liberally uses the F word. It was refreshingly wonderful!
You’ve worked with Breeze co-host Robert Rakete for almost 20 years – how have you supported each other through life’s highs and lows?
Rob and I are incredibly close – we literally finish each other’s sentences. We both lost our mums to cancer in 2017, so we were there for each other and if one of us walked in with the world on our shoulders, it was only moments before we were laughing. We used humour a lot to get through that hellish year. My mum’s melanoma diagnosis was four months from go to whoa. I’m terrified of the sun now. She tried Keytruda, a type of immunotherapy, but stopped after a couple of rounds.
It works beautifully for some, but didn’t work for her. Rob’s mum Diane passed even quicker at six weeks from diagnosis. We go through the anniversaries together each year. And when Rob sees a butterfly, he’ll send me a picture of it and when I see a feather, I’ll send him a photo of it.
What have you learned about grief?
That it’s very much in control. I don’t control it. In those first years, I didn’t think I was going to see the other side of it. But eventually after five years, the grief slowly started to get a little easier. Those big important dates are much happier now and I find myself remembering Mum with a smile instead of tears. I don’t think it’s that the grief has gone away, it’s just become part of me.
You’ve also become a caregiver of sorts for your Dad?
Yes, he used to live up North, but now lives in Auckland in full-time hospital care because he’s basically lost almost all mobility. He’s got the same neurological condition as singer Billy Joel – normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a neurological condition characterised by an abnormal build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Hopefully Billy will have better outcomes though, because you can actually reverse it if you detect it early.
Unfortunately, Dad wasn’t a candidate for that. My sister Jo and I are always there. I’m sitting with him every other day.
Is there one new habit you’ve instilled in your life this year?
There are two actually. One in a bid to stop doomscrolling on my phone and the other because of a desire to spend a year, potentially more, not buying any new clothes. To stop scrolling, I’ve started to listen to books. I’d found that I wasn’t reading actual books like I used to, so I decided to see how I went listening to them. And suffice to say, it’s going well! I’ve listened to around 60 books since the beginning of the year. I listen when I drive, when I walk the dogs, when I cook (if no one’s home) and find that I do that instead of scrolling. I’m mad keen on psychological thrillers, but have read all sorts. I do it through the Libby app, which is attached to Auckland Libraries.
And you haven’t bought any new clothes this year?
Yes except from knickers, bras, socks and shoes! Everything I wore in this photo shoot was either bought at an op- shop or second-hand online. It’s been a fun process and I’m selling lots of my clothes on second-hand websites.
Now that your kids Charlie, 23, and Mia, 21, are young adults, what’s been a lesson from parenting at this new stage?
You have to let go because if you don’t, they’ll break away anyway. Charlie’s been out of home for five years, but boomeranged back in March for a few months. That was lovely to have a full house again. I just had to keep his bedroom door shut! He’s incredibly wholesome, hunts for mushrooms and looks for birds when he’s not working.
He’s on a really good path and super happy. I don’t feel worried about them. Mia’s still at home while studying for a Bachelor of Communications and we’re really close so she knows she’s not allowed to leave!
Last time we spoke in 2022, you were getting to grips with a frozen shoulder, hot flushes and other perimenopause symptoms. Do you feel you’re out the other side of that?
I don’t think I’m through it. I pretty much know that because I forgot to change a HRT patch one time and I was having hot flushes by the end of the week. HRT has been the life-saving miracle for me. Menopause has robbed me of my confidence and memory, but I don’t know that HRT gives you that back. Although, I do say ‘no’ more confidently than I ever have. I’m trying to do all the things they tell us to do at this age: eat protein, lift heavy, drink water. I have some dumbbells at home, yet every time I look at them, I’m too tired. I was pescatarian for years, but I’m slowly starting to have the odd bit of chicken just for the protein – as long as it’s covered in something.
Share your most awkward moment interviewing a celebrity?
That would be interviewing Dolores O’Riordan, from Irish band The Cranberries. I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but like her hit song, she was a zombie! It was the last interview of the day on Good Morning which started at 11.51am and you had to go live right up to the news.
I had nine minutes and she wouldn’t say anything other than one-word answers. Thank God her bandmate stepped in and answered for her.
Share your funniest on-air memory from hosting Good Morning?
Getting hypnotised for three hours, where every time orchestral music played, I believed I was the conductor of an orchestra. The clip is still on YouTube, it’s horrific. When it came time for the cooking segment and the music came on, I picked up a whole raw chicken to conduct with.
What would radio listeners be surprised to know about you?
Probably I’m an extroverted introvert of the highest order. To be home alone is a beautiful thing. I love it. I do struggle sometimes in social situations, but I also know to turn on a switch and do what I have to do if required. You generally don’t equate that with people in this industry.
Drink of choice?
If I was out on a girls’ night, it’d be a gin and tonic. There’s this wonderful place called the Puhoi Organic Distillery and they do a Blueblood gin. And when you pour your tonic in, it goes a beautiful pinky-purple colour. During the day, I only drink water, because mid-life!
