Our New Life With Neve

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This time last year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was one of only a handful of people who knew just how historic 2018 was going to be for her. Her prime ministership was already a big deal – she was the second youngest world leader and one of only 10 female heads of government.

So the eyes of the world were already on her. But she knew the glare of that spotlight was only going to get bigger. Because last Christmas, Jacinda was pregnant with her first child – and was going to be one of only two female political leaders, ever, to give birth while in office.

“At that point, no one else knew,” Jacinda says of her pregnancy last Christmas. Keeping the secret at such a family time of year wasn’t easy, but the good news was her morning sickness had finally started to pass. “I’d felt sick for a long time, so it was great to have a little bit of time out and also feel good again. But this year is going to be a little different. We’ve got an extra member of our family, and I’m not holding any secrets!”

Every time I have interviewed Jacinda over the past four years, she has been a bigger and bigger deal – and the interview logistics have followed suit. A quiet cul-de-sac in Auckland’s Mt Eden is lined with security cars and men with earpieces – as if something very formal and serious is taking place in the middle of suburbia. In reality, the Prime Minister is sitting down, drinking a cup of tea and chatting up a storm – her photoshoot for The