Feeding her son Oscar his lunch is a task Nicky Sinden compares to trying to get a snapper to take her bait – one that’s not always easy and takes its fair share of skill.
“Who knew that the expertise I have with a rod and reel could be transferable to motherhood?!” laughs the bubbly former Addicted To Fishing host.
These days, the TV star may no longer be reeling in the big ones on our screens, but at home in Mangwhai, Northland, with her husband Matt Wilson, 30, and their 18-month-old son Oscar, Nicky feels like she’s got the catch of the day.
Nicky’s hooked on being mum to Oscar. “He’s such a happy wee soul.”
“I feel so blessed with where I’m at right now,” the 37-year-old tells Woman’s Day, adding that her life truly started when Oscar entered it. “He’s just such a cheerful and happy wee soul. He does these great big belly laughs as a way of communicating.”
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing to get to this joyous place. Before falling pregnant with Oscar, Nicky – who created her TV series nine years ago to encourage other women to get into fishing – suffered a miscarriage, which was a devastating blow.
“Around the time COVID was hitting our shores, we were discussing wrapping up filming for good after our seventh season, which is when I also found out I was pregnant,” reveals Nicky.
She’s still reeling in the big fish!
“It just felt like the show would come to a beautiful, natural ending and I’d start on a new chapter.”
The rolling ocean and demanding filming schedule didn’t mix well with the nausea and fatigue Nicky was feeling as she struggled through the final season of Addicted To Fishing, but the real knock came at her 12-week scan, when she got the devastating news she’d lost her baby.
“It was a traumatic time, but I had Matt right by my side, and we processed and worked through it together,” tells Nicky, who also sought the help of hormone and health specialists to counter her low thyroid and progesterone levels, as well as her dairy allergy, to help her conceive again.
She explains, “I gave my body a break and, three months later, I was pregnant again with Oscar. There was a fair bit of anxiety surrounding it, but we felt very blessed it happened so soon.”
Matt and Nicky wed in a romantic beach ceremony at Mangawhai in 2018.
Now that the fishing aficionado has made it through the first-year blur of motherhood, Nicky’s found time to turn her hand to cooking.
“I’ve loved spending more time in the kitchen,” she says. “I’ve been designing new recipes that push the boundaries, using beautiful seafood that Matt and I have gathered ourselves. It’s been my little labour of love alongside being Oscar’s mum.”
However, as much time as she spends in front of the stove, Nicky is quick to add that being out on the ocean or fishing on the beach will always be her happy place.
“I love the breeze on my skin and sand in between my toes,” she smiles. “I love the thrill and excitement fishing provides. You could almost describe it as a religion to me – and now Oscar is a little older, I’m able to get back out there and do what I love with my family.
“It’s not the filming I miss – I haven’t filmed since becoming a mum and have no plans to do it again any time soon. I’ve hung up the cameras, but not the rod.”
Not being able to cast a line when Oscar was very young left Nicky feeling a little lost, she confesses. “Fishing is how I identified – it’s such a huge part of who I am and when I couldn’t do it any more, I didn’t feel like me. I lost part of myself in the process of motherhood, especially the first gruelling months with a newborn – which I’m sure many new mums can relate to.”
But with every milestone that Oscar hit, Nicky slowly started to feel like herself again. “I got a piece of myself back each week,” she smiles. “Now I’m just so content with where life is at. Each day, I get to scratch the itch with my boys – whether we go out on the boat, go for a dive or spend time at the beach.”
So is Oscar a little fisherman in the making? Laughing, Nicky replies, “Well, he adores the ocean adventures we all have together. And, of course, Matt and I would be over the moon if he fell in love with the ocean like us – it’s just such a wonderful way of life.
“But whatever he does, we’ll be supportive of him. All I know is that the tackle box is more therapeutic than an Xbox, so my hope is he reverts to this in his teenage years!”
Follow Nicky on Instagram at @nickysaddictedtofishing for her delicious seafood recipes.
