Antonia's wedding plans:'THEY'LL BE THE CUTEST PAGE BOYS!'

The beloved actress is juggling two little ones while planning a ceremony, a play and her Shortland Street debut!

- Nicky Pellegrino. Pictures: Michael Rooke, Camila Araos Elevancini.

The push and pull of work and domestic life are familiar to many women, but Antonia Prebble says that, for her at least, 2022 has seemed particularly intense.

"I don't know if it's been the same for other people, but it's felt like an immense bullet train going really fast with a lot of luggage onboard," she laughs.

"Life does seem very full at the moment and I don't get much time to myself, but I'm OK with that because the life I have is full of things I love."

While her career is still important, the star of iconic shows like Outrageous Fortune and Westside is at a different life stage now, and it's one where family comes first. She's focused on spending as much time as possible with sons Freddie, three, and Gus, 13 months, while they are small, even if that means saying no to amazing opportunities she once might have jumped at.

"Before I had kids, I was very firmly focused on career ambition - it was the main driver of my life," explains Antonia, 38.

"Now, I still want to grow and develop in my career, but it has to fit into my more important goal, which is to have a secure, happy domestic life within which to raise the boys. So actually, it's made life quite simple in lots of ways."

It has been a joy to watch Freddie growing into a friendly, sweet little boy who loves animals. "He won't leave the house unless he has at least six tiny toy animals in his hands," tells Antonia.