JEANETTE THOMAS & MIA
Jeanette Thomas’ motherhood motto is you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child and that is why she always encourages her teens to follow their passions. Whether it’s the environment or potentially following in her footsteps into the media world, the 48-year-old is always a cheerleader for her kids Charlie and Mia.
Youngest of the family Mia, 17, joins Jeanette for the Weekly’s Mother’s Day photoshoot and chat, before going shopping for a dress for her upcoming Year 13 ball.
Looking almost like sisters, Jeanette admits that apart from desperately trying to get her children to clean their rooms, she has never told Mia off.
“It’s so odd, but it’s wonderful. It’s probably not quite normal,” she laughs. “And it’s not like we’re best friends and not a mother, it’s not that at all. But both my kids are very calm and easy-going.”
Jeanette, who hosts The Breeze’s breakfast show with Robert Rakete, says the hardest part of being a mum is the worry that she has felt since both her children were born. And those fears haven’t gone away, even though they’re now independent young adults.
Charlie, 19, spent nine months of last year working in one of the most remote locations in the world, Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with only three others, as an environmentalist. During that time, Covid-19 swept the planet and they were only able to communicate via a weekly email.
This story is from the May 3, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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This story is from the May 3, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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