--- description: Ardern got engaged to her longtime partner television host Clarke Gayford, with whom she has a daughter, over Easter weekend title: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Is Engaged image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd27ef978d9b0f9e/698949678fd2ee857535e3a1/jacinda-ardern-engaged.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [New Zealand](/tag/new-zealand/) ## New Zealand Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Is Engaged to Longtime Partner Clarke Gayford by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 3, 2019 7:00 AM CUT  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, and her partner Clarke Gayford arrive in Sydney on March 1, 2018. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, and her partner Clarke Gayford arrive in Sydney on March 1, 2018.Rick Rycroft—AP by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 3, 2019 7:00 AM CUT New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern [got engaged](https://apnews.com/a2abd45d67574a1d826a4c044b24e68d "undefined") to her longtime partner Clarke Gayford over Easter weekend, reports the Associated Press. A spokesman said the pair got engaged in the beach town of Mahia on the country’s North Island but declined to give further comments, after reporters noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger on Friday, according to the AP. Gayford is a host on a television fishing show called _Fish of the Day_ and is their daughter’s main caregiver. Ardern, 38, met Gayford, 41, at a [restaurant awards event](https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/112442442/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-and-clarke-gayford-engaged "undefined") in 2012, according to the New Zealand news website Stuff. The pair have a child, [Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford](http://time.com/5109167/new-zealand-jacinda-arden-pregnant/ "undefined"), who was born in June 2018\. Ardern is the second elected head of state ever to give birth while in office (after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto) and [the first world leader to bring a baby](http://time.com/5405405/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-baby-u-n/ "undefined") to the U.N. General Assembly. **Read More:** [_Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s 37-Year-Old Leader, Rolls Up Her Sleeves_](http://time.com/5028891/jacinda-ardern-worlds-youngest-female-leader-new-zealand/ "undefined") Other government officials congratulated the couple. Simon Bridges, leader of the country’s National Party sent her well-wishes on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1124164068640559104) The Prime Minister has received praise for the leadership she has shown since a gunman opened fire on two mosques and [left 51 people dead](http://time.com/5552219/new-zealand-shooting-what-to-know/ "undefined") in the city of Christchurch on March 15\. In the wake of the attack, she quickly pushed through regulations [banning assault weapons](http://time.com/5556964/assault-weapons-ban-us-new-zealand/ "undefined"), and she has spearheaded efforts to [end online extremism.](http://time.com/5576992/new-zealand-france-online-terror/ "undefined") Ardern was named as one of TIME’s [100 Most Influential People of 2019](http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567767/jacinda-ardern/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/"},"headline":"New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Is Engaged to Longtime Partner Clarke Gayford","datePublished":"2019-05-03T07:00:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:26:48.352Z","description":"Ardern is engaged to her partner Clarke Gayford, with whom she has a daughter","url":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/","keywords":["New Zealand","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd27ef978d9b0f9e/698949678fd2ee857535e3a1/jacinda-ardern-engaged.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd27ef978d9b0f9e/698949678fd2ee857535e3a1/jacinda-ardern-engaged.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"jacinda-ardern-engaged","caption":"Jacinda Ardern Engaged","creditText":"Rick Rycroft—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-zealand/","name":"New Zealand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/","name":"New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Is Engaged to Longtime Partner Clarke Gayford"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"New Zealand Bans Military-Style Weapons Following the Christchurch Mosque Shootings","description":"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an immediate ban Thursday on semi-automatic and automatic weapons like the ones used in the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 worshippers.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GYBnTZfK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-03-21T03:11:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GYBnTZfK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5582633/jacinda-ardern-engaged/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```