New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern marries long-term partner after years of delay

The country’s strict Covid restrictions – imposed by the former PM’s own government – pushed back her wedding date

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has finally tied the knot with her long-time partner, Clarke Gayford, in a private ceremony in the scenic Hawke’s Bay region of Aotearoa.

The former Kiwi prime minister’s engagement was extended after Ms Ardern’s government placed strict Covid restrictions on the country, forcing the couple to postpone their 2022 wedding date.

The ceremony is reported to have been staged at a luxury vineyard in the Kiwi food and wine region, 200 miles from New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has tied the knot with her longtime partner, Clarke Gayford (EPA)

Ms Ardern wore a fitted ivory dress and a long veil by the designer Juliette Hogan, who is reportedly a close friend of the former prime minister.

It is believed only family, close friends and a few of Ms Ardern‘s former colleagues were invited, including her successor and former prime minister Chris Hipkins.

Earlier, police met with a small group of protesters who had plastered a wall with dozens of anti-vaccination posters outside the venue. One protester was also seen holding a sign that read “Lest we forget jab mandates” on the outskirts of the property.

Ms Ardern, 43, and Mr Gayford, 47, reportedly began dating in 2014 and were engaged five years later, but due to Ms Ardern‘s government’s Covid-19 restrictions that reduced gatherings to 100 people, the wedding planned for the southern hemisphere summer of 2022 was postponed.

“Such is life,” Ms Ardern said at the time of their decision to call off the wedding. “I am no different to, dare I say, thousands of other New Zealanders.”

The ceremony is reported to have been staged at a luxury vineyard in the scenic Hawke’s Bay region of Aotearoa (EPA)

It is believed only family, close friends and a few of Ms Ardern‘s former colleagues were invited to the wedding (AP)

Just 37 when she became leader in 2017, Ms Ardern quickly became a global icon of the left. She exemplified a new style of leadership and was praised around the world for her handling of the nation’s worst-ever mass shooting and the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2018, Ms Ardern became just the second elected world leader to give birth while holding office. Later that year, she brought her infant daughter to the floor of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

New Zealand, under Ms Ardern‘s government, had some of the strictest coronavirus mandates in the world, which prompted several rallies during her final year as prime minister. It also led to a level of vitriol from some that previous New Zealand leaders had not experienced.

Ms Ardern wore a fitted ivory dress and a long veil by designer Juliette Hogan (EPA)

Ms Ardern shocked New Zealanders in January 2023 when she said she was stepping down after five-and-a-half years as prime minister because she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice in an election year.

Since then, Ms Ardern announced she would temporarily join Harvard University after being appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She has also took an unpaid role combating online extremism.

In June, Ms Ardern received one of New Zealand’s highest honours for her service leading the country through a mass shooting and pandemic. She was made a Dame Grand Companion, meaning people will now call her Dame Jacinda Ardern.

Additional reporting by Associated Press