photography: Kennedy Anderson
Life is about to come full circle for The Block NZ faves Stacy and Adam Middleton as they savour their last few weeks as a twosome. Counting down the moments until they welcome their first child in July, the couple is in the middle of preparing a nursery in the dream Auckland home they lovingly renovated during their second stint on the hit reality show.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine we’d go from contestants, to living in the home we built on The Block, to now expecting our first baby here,” enthuses a glowing Stacy.
“Having kids has been top of mind since we got married in 2022, but we didn’t start talking about it seriously until last year.”
After packing a lot into their 11 years together, including two seasons of the reality show, overseas travel and some big reno projects, she says “the time felt right to start trying”. Super-organised Stacy
was so looking forward to becoming a mum that even before she found out she was pregnant, she’d already started buying the baby things – which she used to create a surprise reveal for Adam on the day she discovered she was expecting.
A surprise pregnancy reveal
“I wanted to do the test alone and surprise him with the news,” shares Stacy.
“I set up a teddy, some baby books, clothes and booties on our bed with some big balloons that I had to sneak past Adam’s office in a grocery bag. When the test was positive, I asked him to come into the bedroom.”
The moment landed just how she hoped.
“It was a cool and really sweet way to tell me!” says Adam.
“And Stacy’s due date is on her birthday, which is extra-special.”
She laughs, “I’m hoping the baby might come a couple of days early, so I can have a wine to celebrate!”
Life at home with their “fur babies”
The longtime pair is already parents to fur babies Boki, eight, and Toddy, five, the latter a blind rescue pup.
“Samoyeds are bred to be good with kids, so they’re going to be excited about the baby,” Stacy tells.
“We’ve been playing sounds of crying babies to Toddy to desensitise him and his ears perk up every time.”
A second honeymoon at home
The lovebirds, both 32, had their dream Queenstown wedding the same year they starred in The Block NZ: Redemption, which Adam jokes was their “second honeymoon”. Both love that they now get to live and work in the modern home they renovated together on TV and later purchased.
“This house is a big step-up from our previous home, which was pretty awful,” admits Stacy.
“Now we have all the mod cons, including our lovely Samsung induction cooktop and appliances, which will make life so much easier with a baby!”
We did 18-hour days on The Block for practice
While the duo is expecting sleepless nights once their baby arrives, both say the long 18-hour days on The Block, sometimes with just three hours of sleep, were good training. During her pregnancy, Stacy’s interior design skills have shifted into creating content from her own home, which she shares with her audience across Instagram and TikTok via @stacymiddleton_.
“I’m excited about bringing our nursery to life and sharing it across social media,” she says.
“I’ve loved going to Dimples and choosing all the gorgeous baby furniture – it’s the only things we’ve chosen so far!”
Asked who will be the strictest parent, Stacy insists it’ll be Adam, although he’ll also be the messiest.
She tells, “I’ve seen photos of Adam as a young kid wearing an apron and playing with paints, so I’m hoping there’ll be lots of colourful, creative moments in our home.”
A creative career alongside family life
Talented illustrator/designer Adam has been busy working on a long-term project with an LA video-game studio, and has been doing “a bunch of freelance work” creating characters and costumes for films shooting in New Zealand, such as A Minecraft Sequel and the Evil Dead franchise.
For more than a decade, Adam says he and Stacy have grown together as a couple, with parenthood set to be the “ultimate example” of this.
Stacy gushes, “We can’t wait for all the new experiences and firsts we’re going to have with the baby. Seeing life lived through our child’s eyes is going to be so exciting.”
