Photography: Alex MaGuire.
As a former Shortland Street star, Kieren Hutchison has been part of plenty of storylines over the years – but none quite as personal as this one. He and his wife Nicole Tubiola are flipping the script on empty nesting in favour of an adventure of a lifetime.
The couple, who have been married for 23 years and are parents to 18-year-old Quinn, have farewelled their life in Los Angeles for a midlife gap year in Europe – and they’ve taken their beloved pooch Leia along for the ride. Four months in, they say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made.
“We’re viewing it as a midlife reset,” says Kieren, who found fame as Jonathon McKenna on Shorty and as Talus on Xena: Warrior Princess, before moving to LA in the early 2000s. There, he built a successful TV and film career, and met and married actress Nicole.
“It almost feels like a return to how we were when we first met,” reflects Kieren, 51.
“It feels new and exciting. We’re trying to chase some bliss.”
When everything shifted at once
Speaking to the Weekly over a video call from an Airbnb in Brighton, England, the couple say a series of “signs from the universe” made it clear it was time for change. The home they’d lived in for 12 years was sold and demolished, and Kieren’s workplace – where he was working in video production – was destroyed in the Altadena wildfires. Life at home was shifting too. Quinn headed to university in New York, while Nicole’s beloved father passed away.
“It was a lot,” shares Arizona-born Nicole, 46.
“And some of it was really bad and challenging, but a lot of good has come from it too. It made us realise it was time to rethink how we want to be and who we want to be in this next part of our life.”
A period of challenge and change
The couple, who spent a year living in New Zealand when Quinn was four, have always loved travelling, but work and parenting meant they never had the chance to explore as widely as they’d hoped. This time, they’re doing things differently.
It was Nicole who suggested an open-ended move to Europe, embracing a slower pace of travel – staying several weeks, sometimes a month, in each place before moving on. So far, they’ve visited Italy, arriving in Rome on New Year’s Eve, followed by France and now the UK.
Where to next on their European journey
“Next we’re thinking maybe Wales,” says Kieren.
“Or maybe Paris again,” adds Nicole.
“It was just so beautiful – I know I need to go back.”
The freedom to pack up and leave might be easier now that Quinn is settled in New York, but there was still one big consideration: Leia, their 14-year-old rescue dog. In the end, leaving her behind was
never really an option.
How Leia adapted to life on the road
“We weren’t sure how she would cope because she really is an old lady now,” says Nicole.
“But she’s loving it and it helps that she’s small. She’s very portable.”
Instead, they’ve shaped their travels around dog-friendly accommodation and experiences. Leia travels on flights in a special carrier at their feet and rides public transport in a backpack. In the UK, the couple has been pleasantly surprised by just how welcoming cafés, shops and pubs are to dogs.
Alongside the travel, Kieren continues writing remotely, while the pair document their journey on their Instagram account Hutch and Tubs – even inviting followers to help choose their next destinations.
It’s not the couple’s first foray into content creation. Quinn launched his own YouTube channel, A Kid Explains History, at just eight years old, growing it to more than 30,000 followers with the help of his parents.
A creative journey that grew with him
“It was a very fun project that went right through Quinn’s teens,” says Kieren.
Now, Quinn joins them wherever they are in the world during university breaks. And while many of his friends’ parents remain firmly rooted at home, he’s fully behind his parents’ decision to do things differently.
“He’s happy for us that we’re not just sitting at home,” says Kieren.
“I think he’s proud of us. We’re starting a new chapter at the same time he is.”
For Kieren and Nicole, there are still moments when the reality of what they’re doing catches up with them. It might not be the conventional path for this stage of life, but it feels like the right one. Living simply, with just a few outfits packed into suitcases, has been unexpectedly freeing.And doing it side by side has made it all the more meaningful.
Kieren enthuses, “There’s something pretty special about doing this with my best friend.”
