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Before he won the phone call from home in his final days on Celebrity Treasure Island, Jesse Tuke admits he was struggling.
“I was definitely having a tough time at that point,” the sports commentator confesses to Woman’s Day. “I’d just lost my good mate Ron [Cribb] and I got thrown out of my alliances. I was on my own. I’d made my bed and I had to sleep in it. I felt very vulnerable.”
Digging in for the final CTI challenge.
However, the opportunity to speak to his partner of 11 years, Julia Campbell, gave him the motivation he needed to continue in the competition – and ultimately come out on top!
“Jules is pretty straight-up,” says Jesse, 30. “She told me to go win this thing. She said, ‘You’ve got everything you need to do it. You’re so close. Just have fun and do it for your charity.’ It was a hard conversation and I got a little emotional, but it gave me some drive.”
And Julia was the first person Jesse spoke to on the phone after digging up the buried treasure and winning $100,000 for Live Ocean. He recalls, “I told her I’d won and she said, ‘Of course you did!’ That’s probably when the reality dawned on me. Before then, it was just relief that it was over, but sharing the news was one of the most special things. That’s when all those not-so-secret tears came flooding out.”
When he finally got home to Tauranga after a month on the remote beaches of the Far North, Julia picked him up from the airport for a romantic dinner.
Jesse laughs, “We almost got Mexican food, but then I realised the rice and beans might be a little too much like what we ate back at camp, so we got Italian instead – pizza, pasta and red wine.”
As much as he struggled on Treasure Island, he insists it was more difficult for Julia, 30, who was home on her own, not knowing how Jesse was going. “Sure, it’s hard for us, but at the end of the day, we were in an amazing location, doing puzzles and just mucking around – it’s way harder for family outside the game.”
Jesse’s had Julia by his side for 11 years.
The loved-up pair met while studying at Victoria University in Wellington. Jesse remembers, “I was being wingman for a friend and she was a wing-woman. It was a classic night at Hotel Bristol on Cuba Street. I thought, ‘She seems nice,’ and the rest is history.”
Although he insists there’s no talk of getting engaged, Jesse adds, “We’re in a good place. We’re happy. We get on. There’s nothing complicated about it. The question is more about how she’s lasted this long! She supports me in everything I do and I support her.
“I’m lucky that when I’m not doing sports commentating or presenting, I can be down here to help her and her brother with their building business. During COVID, when it was hard for a lot of people in the industry, I had full-time employment.
“On the personal side, we don’t take things too seriously. We have fun, we joke, we laugh and we look out for each other when it comes to the little things. It’s the little things that are important after 11 years!”
Dame Susan’s offered to be his celebrant!
While being separated during Treasure Island was tough, Jesse and Julia’s relationship has survived more trying circumstances, with the couple dating long-distance for more than two years after she moved from Wellington to the Bay of Plenty to run her family business First Homes.
“That was tricky,” he recalls. “For any relationship, it’s a big barrier. That was definitely the toughest time and it got to the point where we had to make a call on it, but finally she lassoed me and dragged me to Tauranga.
“That was four years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. I love it down here. We’ve got a good group of friends, it’s a beautiful city, we’re still super-close to the family in Auckland… and Dame Susan Devoy lives here! We caught up for coffee last week, and spent the whole time talking about sport and local politics, which are both gifts that keep on giving!”
Apart from the money for charity, Jesse says he also won a tribe of life-long friends on Treasure Island – and fellow finalists Courtenay Louise and Elvis Lopeti are among his favourite people.
There were no hard feelings when Jesse found the cash.
“Court and I had such a topsy-turvy relationship throughout the show, but she’s an amazing person and Elvis is one of the funniest, kindest guys I know. We still keep in touch and catch up.”
Asked if they’ll be on the invite list if he and Julia ever decide to tie the knot, Jesse replies, “Definitely.” Laughing, he adds, “And Dame Susan will probably insist on being celebrant!”
