Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern married her longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony on Saturday, finally tying the marriage after canceling nuptials amid the country’s rigorous COVID-19 controls, which she enacted.
Ardern, 43, and Gayford, 47, were engaged in May 2019 and were set to marry in early 2022, but the ceremony was canceled due to Ardern’s “go hard, go early” attitude to the pandemic, which allowed New Zealand to limit viral deaths to a minimum.
As prime minister from 2017 to January of this year, she became a global hero for left-wing politics and women in leadership. Ardern, one of only two female country leaders with children, brought her daughter to a United Nations conference.
According to an Ardern spokesman, the wedding took place in Hawke’s Bay at Craggy Range Winery on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, roughly 310 kilometers (190 miles) north of the capital Wellington.
Arden’s intimate wedding in Hawke’s Bay amid notable attendees
Ardern was wearing a white halter neck dress in official images, while Gayford was dressed in a black suit. According to the news site Stuff, they married in front of 50 to 75 people.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Ardern’s replacement as prime minister, Chris Hipkins, was among the visitors.
Hawke’s Bay is home to several internationally renowned wineries as well as a significant horticulture region.
Ardern has spent the last six months at Harvard University on three scholarships.
She serves as a trustee for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize and as a special envoy for the Christchurch Call, a network aimed at “eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online.” It was established in the aftermath of a massacre targeting Muslims, to which Ardern’s empathetic response drew applause.
Ardern said to Gayford, a New Zealand television presenter, in her final statement in parliament, “Let’s finally get married.” Neve, the couple’s daughter, is five years old.
