Jacinda Ardern has finally married her longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony after a five year engagement.
New Zealand's former prime minister tied the knot with the father of her child in the scenic Hawke's Bay region of Aotearoa.
The pair wed on Saturday - almost exactly one year after Ms Ardern stood down as prime minister on January 19, 2023.
She said at the time: “This summer, I had hoped to find a way to prepare for not just another year, but another term - because that is what this year requires. I have not been able to do that.”
After her resignation, centre-right candidate Christopher Luxon won the vote in last October’s election ahead of Ms Ardern’s Labour Party replacement Chris Hipkins.
Ms Ardern and Mr Gayford had put their wedding on hold due to Covid-19 and the birth of their daughter in 2018.
Details of the event were closely held by the pair, but the ceremony is reported to have been staged at a luxury vineyard in the Kiwi food and wine region, 200 miles from New Zealand's capital, Wellington.
It is believed only family, close friends and a few of Ms Ardern's former colleagues were invited, including Mr Hipkins.
Earlier, police met with a small group of protesters who had plastered a wall with dozens of anti-vaccination posters outside the venue. One protester was also seen holding a sign that read "Lest we forget jab mandates" on the outskirts of the property.
Ms Ardern, 43, and Mr Gayford, 47, reportedly began dating in 2014 and were engaged five years later.
They had planned to wed in 2020 but the event was cancelled due to restrictions her own government had brought in.
"Such is life," Ms Ardern said at the time of their decision to call off the wedding. "I am no different to, dare I say, thousands of other New Zealanders."
