Photography: Matt Klitscher.
She’s about to face a whole bunch of punishing challenges on Celebrity Treasure Island, but former Black Ferns winger Portia Woodman-Wickliffe is confident she has already overcome the biggest hurdle she’ll ever come up against – coming out to her mum Kathryn.
Reflecting on when she began dating her team- mate and now-wife Renee Woodman-Wickliffe in 2013, the rugby legend, 34, tells Woman’s Day, “Mum was very staunch in her views. I’m her only daughter – her princess – so she had an idea of what she wanted and this path was not it. She worried about the endorsements I might miss out on, the judgement I’d get and not having mokos [grandchildren].”
But as Portia fell more in love with Renee, 38, and took on a stepmum role to her daughter Kaia, she became increasingly torn between Kathryn and the new family she was building – until she felt she had no choice but to give her mother an ultimatum.
“I was like, ‘Mum, I’m going to choose her. If you want me around, you’re going to have to try.’ It was hard for her and for me because I was like, ‘Am I really going to sacrifice my relationship with my mum?’ “I’m so glad I had the conversation because from that point, she really tried, and now their relationship is close and amazing. They’re both Geminis, so they have the same personalities and arguments with me. I’m like, ‘Oh, no, I married my mother!’”
Navigating a new kind of family
Building her dream life with Renee presented other challenges too. Portia was just 22 when Renee gave birth to Kaia. Conscious that her daughter was Renee’s top priority, she often wondered, “How do I fit into this?” It wasn’t until Kaia, now 13, was around three that the rugby star became a more consistent presence in her life.
As Kaia got older, Portia and Renee – who tied the knot in December 2022 – worried she might face backlash about her family background, but the tough teen has stood strong.
Fears for the future
“Our biggest concern was that she’d get bullied for having two mums. People have said, ‘Where’s your dad?’ but she brushes it off. With our profile, she’s probably also going to have the other side of that – people flocking to her because she’s our daughter. Hopefully, that doesn’t bring its own difficulties.”
Following in their footsteps
Portia shares that Kaia is already “completely” into rugby. She enjoys tagging along to watch Renee, who retired in 2022, coach emerging talent, including her idol Braxton Sorensen-McGee.
Portia laughs, “I’m like, ‘Honey, that could be you in five years’ time!’ She loves rugby, and watches the Black Ferns, the men’s game and even rugby league.”
Portia – whose father Kawhena Woodman played for the All Blacks in the ’80s – is delighted that Kaia has the confidence that she and Renee never had growing up. But these days, she insists she knows what her strengths are and is backing herself to win Celebrity Treasure Island.
A home-ground advantage
Coincidentally, this season was filmed in Northland, which is the stomping ground of her iwi, Nga–puhi. Her hometown of Kaikohe is “just down the road”.
Sure this will give her an advantage, Portia says, “This land is very spiritual. I’m grateful for being back here. I know that my nannies and my grandparents are looking over me.”
But even if she doesn’t scoop the prize for her chosen charity, the Māori Women’s Welfare League, there’s a bigger reward she hopes will come along sooner rather than later. Portia reveals she and Renee have started the process of having a child via a sperm donor. They anticipate the little one arriving sometime this year.
Ready for motherhood
Portia grins, “I told my wife, ‘We could have had three babies by now if you’d popped some out all this time that I was playing rugby!’ She said, ‘No, it’s your turn – you’re going to do it!’ I can’t wait.”
Portia famously retired from rugby after the Black Ferns won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, but she returned for the 2025 World Cup – and she won’t rule out getting back on the field after giving birth.
“It’s definitely possible,” she giggles.
“We’ll have the baby, then see what comes after that. I don’t want to say I’ll retire again. I’m not doing that twice!”
