Robert Trathen
Long before actress Tia Reweti arrived as clumsy nurse Cindy Te Toka on Shortland Street back in February, she’d already started a journey towards getting her pu¯horo, a tattoo she refers to as “a traditional Māori bodysuit”.
But realising her Shorty contract prohibited major changes to appearance, Tia, 29, had the idea for Cindy’s storyline to mirror her own life and brought in her hubby, tā moko artist Hirini “Heeds” Katene, to tattoo her for real on screen.
“It felt like everything aligned in the most perfect way in every aspect of my life,” Tia tells Woman’s Day. “This has never been done before – no one has received their pūhoro live on camera and had that translated into a dramatic story like this.”
A television first
Tia – who is of Ngāti Raukawa Ki Te Tonga, Ngāti Tu¯wharetoa, Ngāti Toa and Te Arawa descent – wanted as many Māori crew members on set to see the power and beauty of telling indigenous stories on this scale.
A proud Heeds, 36 – who also performed a karakia before the on-screen tattooing – says, “It was a bonus to do it on my beautiful darling wife and bring forth these taonga tuku iho [inherited cultural treasures].”
The scenes were filmed at his Ngā Manu a Toi tattoo studio in Auckland’s New Lynn, where Tia broke every rule by having her friends by her side, laughing away. Among them were her co-stars Alex King, Ngahuia Piripi, Bella Kalolo-Suraj and Fleur Saville.
Tia smiles, “It was such a meaningful surprise that cemented the wha¯nau vibe at Shorty. It means a lot to me to weave these elements into my character because tā moko is the storytelling of our whakapapa through our skin and acting is the use of that body to portray these stories.”
Their love story
Tia and Heeds – who has Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Te Rangiunuora and Te Paatu heritage – married in May 2025 on a perfect sunny day at Te Punawhakareia a Rākeiao marae, where the groom’s nan and koro are buried, in the Bay of Plenty.
“Everything I thought I knew about love and marriage went out the window, and I’ve been happily proven wrong ever since,” confesses Tia. “The most cheesy things about love become so true when you find that person you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with.
“It’s a marriage of our lives and people coming together. Our loved ones still say that our wedding meant so much more than just being there for us as a couple – it made them believe in love.”
For all the romantic sentiment, Tia and Heeds are a pair of jokers, always chasing the next laugh together. During a Matariki celebration earlier this year, a picture shared on Christopher Luxon’s social media caught the couple photobombing the PM. When it was noticed Tia was pulling the middle finger, the photo was deleted and reposted with the gesture edited out, but she laughs about it now.
“We’re very cheeky people. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are or what time of year it is, anyone can be a victim of classic photobombing – even the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Just watch your backs! Would I do it again? Absolutely.”
Settling into married life
Married life has seen Tia become a stepmother to Heeds’ two kids. It means the world to him that she’s embraced his tamariki as her own and even more so that they call her Mum of their own accord.
Heeds says he takes on a lot of spiritual weight in his work and Tia is always there for him at his lowest.
He smiles, “She’s so passionate – sometimes even more than me!”
Meanwhile, Tia says her hubby can clock how she’s feeling before she’s even found the words to articulate it herself.
“There’s a lot that he sees in me that I don’t always see, which makes me feel deeply loved and appreciated.”
Where it all started
The couple first met while reclaiming their language at te reo Māori immersion school Te Wānanga Takiura in Auckland, where they became fast friends. But the stars took a while to align as Tia didn’t want to ruin their special bond.
However, once they finally “broke the friendship”, Tia recalls thinking, “That hit my heart. I really like him more than I care to admit.”
Tia texted Heeds to tell him, but he didn’t reply. Six months later, with the actress feeling rejected and stewing on Heeds “ghosting” her, they found each other again at a gig, where it all played out like a movie.
“Our atua, our gods, were with us, telling the crowd to split,” Heeds smiles, recalling how the concert’s audience separated when he entered the club, revealing Tia standing there. They smiled and ran into each other’s arms – and they’ve been together ever since.
Shortland Street screens 7pm Monday to Wednesday on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.
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