Pictures: Alex King Photography.
An intimate ceremony on a sun-kissed Rarotongan beach with only their children present was the perfect way for Claire Robbie and Richie Hardcore to cement their love, starting a new chapter together as husband and wife.
Claire, 43 – a former TV3 and TVNZ reporter, and founder and director of a meditation centre – reveals the Auckland-based couple only made the decision to tie the knot two weeks before they left on a family getaway to the island paradise.
“We were both burnt out at the end of last year and talked about how much we needed a holiday,” recalls Claire. “I surprised Richie at Christmas with tickets to Rarotonga. A couple of weeks before we left, I said, ‘Shall we get married over there?’”
The couple – who have been together for seven years and engaged for four – always wanted a simple wedding, but various factors, including COVID lockdowns, their busy careers and having their son Rafael Robbie, now 20 months old, delayed their plans.
Richie, 44, who is an educator, public speaker and social change activist, was totally on board with Claire’s idea. “We’re casual, low-key people, so I loved the idea of a little ceremony with just the four of us.”
They decided to keep their plans secret, only telling their eldest son Jack Sniewski, nine, who did a great job of keeping it all under wraps.
Claire reveals, “We told our parents just before we left and I’d asked a friend for some advice about finding a celebrant in Rarotonga, but otherwise, we were the only ones who knew.”
As the sun was setting on the second evening of their holiday, the family stopped for a twilight swim at a stunning beach. “It was one of the best swims of my life and we decided it was the perfect place to get married,” says Claire.
After snorkelling in the turquoise ocean with Jack on the morning of the wedding, it was back to the whānau’s accommodation, where a hair and makeup artist arrived to create Claire’s natural bridal look and style her hair into beachy waves, completed by a simple but gorgeous red slip dress bought specially for the occasion.
While she was getting ready and helping the boys into their cute matching khaki shorts and white polo shirts, Richie decided he needed a last-minute haircut. This proved to be a bigger mission than he expected and made the couple a little late for their own wedding.
“Richie had to circumnavigate the island and go to about five different places before he finally found someone who could do it,” tells Claire. “When he got back, there was just enough time for him to quickly get changed before we all jumped in the car, put a great playlist on and headed for the beach!”
Just before their heartfelt service began, the couple realised they hadn’t organised a legal witness. Their celebrant rushed to a nearby petrol station, where she found a local man named Junior who agreed to stand in, adding a dash of island charm to the proceedings.
Little Rafael had a brief nap in the car on the way to the beach but wasn’t a happy boy once they arrived.
“We forgot to bring snacks for him and he cried right through the ceremony, but as soon as it finished, he was great,” Richie laughs.
Richie’s been a stepfather to Jack since he and Claire got together, and was proud of how seriously he took his role as ring bearer. “He was a legend all day. A special part of the ceremony for me was knowing that Jack saw me committing to his mum.”
Jack also had a key role in Richie’s proposal to Claire four years ago.
“I wanted to make sure Jack was cool with me asking his mum to marry me and that he understood I’d be sticking around,” he explains. “So he and I made a little video with me asking his permission.”
After the ceremony, the family enjoyed dinner at the Nautilus Resort, which was the perfect end to both the wedding and their holiday.
The newlyweds kept their nuptials a secret until they returned to New Zealand and received some of the beautiful photos taken by their wedding photographer.
“We decided to put some photos and a post on Instagram,” reveals Richie. “It was the easiest way to let our family and friends know, and the feedback from everyone was amazing.”
Both Claire and Richie have been married before, and they agree that the second time around feels different.
“I think a lot of us go into marriage in our twenties without the self-awareness or relationship skills we need to create a successful marriage,” says Richie. “Claire and I have both been on self-discovery journeys since our divorces, and are better equipped and more mature than we were the first time around.”
The couple are now back in their busy routine of parenting, running their businesses and doing charity work.
Claire has gained a large following as a yoga and meditation teacher since she returned from Los Angeles eight years ago. In 2020, she opened The School of Modern Meditation.
“We opened three days before the last long lockdown in Auckland, then three months later, I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant.
“We had a really good beginning when everyone was at home and wanted to learn how to meditate. But after I had Rafael, it got really tricky running a new business and having a new baby. That first year was one of the hardest of my life, and reminded me how important practices like yoga and meditation are to help us get through intense times, challenges and uncomfortable emotions.”
Sobriety is important to Claire and Richie. They both gave up drinking several years ago and help others follow a similar path through events run by No Beers? Who Cares, an organisation Claire founded in 2017. The three-month programme The Alcohol Reset and the year-long initiative My Sober Year are two ways Claire supports people wanting to make a change with their drinking habits.
As well as being a former Muay Thai kickboxing champion and a current gym coach, Richie uses his voice to advocate for social change. He founded a charitable trust called Rise Above, working with people outside the mainstream system, providing peer support and education on topics such as mental health, masculinity, domestic and sexual violence, and drug and alcohol issues.
“I did my first charity run for Rise Above during our holiday, running the 32km loop around Rarotonga and raising nearly $2000 to help struggling youth.”
After a “couple of intense years”, both individually and as a couple, Claire says their marriage has cemented their commitment to each other.
“We experienced some really difficult times, but the beautiful thing is that we popped out the other side more committed and with a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other. I feel excited and fortunate to have found an exceptional person to evolve with. Someone who challenges me, but most of all, someone who makes me laugh quite literally every single day.”
