Clarke Gayford Biography
Clarke Gayford is a radio and television broadcaster from New Zealand who hosts the fishing documentary show Fish of the Day. He is the fiancé of Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister from October 2017 to January 2023.
How old is Clarke Gayford? – Age
He is 46 years old as of 2023. He was born in 1977 in Gisborne, New Zealand. His real name is Clarke Timothy Gayford.
Clarke Gayford Family – Education
Gayford is the eldest of three brothers and sisters. He boarded at Palmerston North Boys’ High School from the age of 11. He enrolled at Otago University in Dunedin in 1995 to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree before transferring to the New Zealand Broadcasting School in Christchurch.
Clarke Gayford’s past Girlfriends? – Wife
He previously dated musician Hollie Smith and Shortland Street actress Shavaughn Ruakere. Gayford and Jacinda Ardern first met in 2013. Ardern was elected Labour Party leader in August 2017, and after a general election, she became Prime Minister on October 26, 2017. Gayford has been referred to as the prime minister’s spouse, despite the fact that the couple is not married. He has joined Ardern on overseas trips, including to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, UK, in 2018.
Ardern and Gayford revealed on January 19, 2018, that they were expecting their first child in June. Their daughter was born at 4:45 p.m. on June 21 at Auckland City Hospital. It was announced in May 2019 that he and Ardern were engaged to be married. The wedding, which was supposed to take place in early 2022, was canceled owing to COVID lockdowns implemented in New Zealand.
Clarke Gayford Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $2 million.
Clarke Gayford Fishing – Fish of the Day
Gayford co-created the fishing show Fish of the Day for Choice TV in 2015 with producer Mike Bhana. The documentary series has aired on National Geographic Channel and in over 35 countries. Gayford hosted the television show Moving Houses in 2021. He appeared as himself on the opening episode of Season 2 of Wellington Paranormal.
Clarke Gayford Cat
Gayford said he met a beach-loving black cat named Charcoal who “loves being buried in the sand” while working in Tonga. Gayford originally tweeted a photo of Charcoal buried beneath gorgeous golden sand, only its head and tail protruding.
Clarke Gayford Career
In mid-April 2020, Gayford showed up on a short Wellington Paranormal video empowering individuals who were taking care of small kids during the Coronavirus pandemic. In response, National Party Member of Parliament Brett Hudson expressed concern that the video might politicize the New Zealand Police at an Epidemic Response Committee meeting at the beginning of May 2020. Gayford’s presence was defended by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster because he was a well-known television personality who had participated in the television series.
When Gayford tweeted on March 12, 2021, he said that the New Zealand Cabinet had made an “in principle decision” regarding the lifting of an Auckland COVID-19 Alert Level 2 lockdown pending final test results. Accordingly, his accomplice Top state leader Ardern expressed that Gayford had not been informed on Bureau’s “primer choice” to move Auckland to Alarm Level 1 that day.
In a “scathing review” of a September 2021 article written by former Prime Minister Sir John Key, Gayford stated: It was truly regrettable that his contribution was divided into partisan politics by his use of disinformation and name-calling.
After discussing obtaining rapid antigen testing for several musician friends with a pharmacist in December 2021, Gayford sparked controversy in the middle of January 2022. Gayford had asserted that the Health Ministry’s testing guidelines had been updated to allow for faster antigen testing rather than the more invasive polymerase chain reaction. Chris Bishop, the COVID-19 Response spokesperson for the National Party, criticized Gayford for allegedly using his position as the Prime Minister’s partner to obtain special favors for his friends. Gayford therefore apologized for “any issues or disarray” this made for drug store staff.
Since turning into the accomplice of the Top state leader, Gayford has been the objective of misleading reports that he was under police examination or due to show up in court. New Zealand Police stated in 2018 that Gayford “is not and has not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor has he been charged in relation to any matter” in response to some of these rumors. Following remarks that were described as “damaging and untrue” on the NZME podcast and digital radio channel KICK, Gayford and NZME reached a confidential settlement in July 2022. The repayment incorporated a classified financial aggregate paid to Gayford.