CNBC TV18
By Priyanka Deshpande
Published Jan 15, 2024
Nearly five years post engagement and postponement due to COVID-19, ex-New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern wedded her longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony on January 13, 2024.
Image: Reuters
The ceremony reportedly took place at a luxurious vineyard in the picturesque Hawke's Bay region, 325 kilometers (200 miles) from New Zealand's capital, Wellington.
Image: Reuters
Ardern donned an ivory dress by Juliette Hogan, a veil atop a chignon, Chaos and Harmony shoes from Mount Maunganui, and carried a cascading white bouquet, the BBC reported.
Image: AP
Only family, close friends, and a select few, including Ardern's former lawmaker colleagues, were invited. This list included Ardern’s successor and former prime minister, Chris Hipkins, the Associated Press reported.
Image: AP
Ardern and Gayford started dating in 2014, got engaged five years later, but due to COVID-19 restrictions limiting gatherings to 100 people, their planned 2022 summer wedding was postponed.
Image: AP
At 37, Ardern became a global left-wing icon in 2017, showcasing a new leadership style. She gained international praise for her handling of the nation’s worst mass shooting & the early stages of the pandemic.
Image: Reuters
In 2018, Ardern became the second elected world leader to give birth while in office. Later that year, she brought her infant daughter to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Image: Reuters
In January 2023, Ardern surprised New Zealanders by announcing her resignation after five-and-a-half years as prime minister, citing she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice during an election year.
Image: Reuters
Since then, Ardern announced she would temporarily join Harvard University after being appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She also took an unpaid role combating online extremism.
Image: Reuters
In June, Ardern was honored for leading New Zealand through a mass shooting and pandemic, receiving the title Dame Grand Companion, making her now known as Dame Jacinda Ardern.
Image: Reuters