Woman’s Weekly New Zealand – August 05, 2019

PHOTOS:

HAGEN

HOPKINS

• HAIR

&MAKE-UP:

MIRANDA

MILLEN

• STYLING:

AMANDA

HARWOOD

• KEVIN

WEARS

COUNTRY

ROAD.

LINDA

WEARS

MAX,

TRENERY.

TOMMIE

WEARS

MAX,

SEED

HERITAGE

Kevin,a stay-at-homedadfor

muchofTommie’slife,turned

70 in April,justmonthsafter

thecouple’s40thwedding

anniversary,andin sixmonths’

timeTommie,likeherthree

brothersbeforeher,willhead

offintotheworld,orin hercase

OtagoUniversitytostudy

humannutrition.

Thecouple,whohavehad

healthscaresin thepast– Kevin

hashadopenheartsurgeryand

treatmentfora pituitarygland

tumour,whileLindahada

terrifyingbrainbleedin 2013–

metin London.

“Itwasmyfirstdayata

temporaryjobI hadwiththe

IranianOilCompany.Linda

camewanderingin – she’dbeen

atthedentistsowasa bitlate.

I waspretendingtowork,butI

lookedatherandthought,

‘Gosh,isn’tshejusttheabsolute

archetypalEnglishgirl.’”

Kevinwasin a relationshipat

thetime,butwhenhewasa

singleman,a yearanda half

later,heaskedherona date.

Theymarriedbackin New

Zealand,afterimmigration

suggestedtheydoso,orrisk

Linda’svisabeingrevoked.

“Itwasa bitlikea shotgun

wedding,”Kevinlaughs.“There

wasnodown-on-the-knee

proposal.Neitherofuscan

rememberanyoneproposing.

Theremusthavebeensome

pointwhereI embarrassingly

saidtoher,‘I supposewebetter

getmarried!’”

Heis fullofpraiseforhiswife

of 40 years: “I look at her when

I wakeupandthink,‘You’re

bloodybrilliant.’She’sfunto

bewithandthere’ssomething

aboutherthatwhenshe’snot

there,it neverfeelsasgood.

She’simmensely,unbelievably

patient,notonlywithmebut

thekids,whichis fantastic

becauseI’manythingbut!”

Linda,possiblythemore

practicalofthepair,describes

herhusbandas“softand

affectionate,warm-heartedand

veryunselfish”.“Healways

backsme,alwaysratesme.”

Shedoesn’tbelievethere

areanysecretstoa long

marriage,asidefromloveand

compatibility.“It’saboutbeing

kindtoeachother,supporting

eachotherandlettingeach

othergrowindividually.”

Thecouplearenotsurehow

they will cope as empty nesters.

Thereis talkofextendingthe

loungeandthekitchen,and

Lindais stillworkingatOtaki

Kindergartentwodaysa week,

sofillingtheirtimeis unlikely

tobeanissue.

Rather,it willbetheabsence

offamily,whentheiryoungest

leaves,theywillfinddifficult.

TellsLinda,“We’rereally

goingtomissher.We’vebeen

blessedin asmuchasshelikes

tospendtimewithusandhang

outwithus.Whereaslotsof

teenagersditchtheirparents,

wegoforwalks;sheandI go

tothegymtogether.It’sbeen

veryspecial.”

Kevinpointstoa largeframed

coveroftheWeeklyfrom2001,

whenhe– a newdadagainat

52 – andLindafirstintroduced

theirweedaughtertotheworld.

He got some flak for being

anolderdadatthetime,but

hereckonshisextendedperiod

asa dadhasenrichedhislife.

“I knowtherearecouples

whosaywhenso-and-sowalks

outthedoorwe’regoingtodo

thisorthat.Whenourfirstkid

Alexwent– andhewasonly

goingintoVictoriaUniversity,

forGod’ssake– andwegot

backandhisroomwasempty,

honestly,it wasabsolutely

depressing.It waslikea funeral

withnobody.

“Asfaraswhatwewilldo

withourtime,wewon’thaveany

trouble,butwewillmissTommie

enormously.Withallourkids,

whentheygo,it’sa terribletime

forus,andwhenTommiegoes

sherepresentsnotonlyher

goingbuttheendofourfamily

being with usathome.” #

Julie Jacobson

Kevinhasrelishedtheyears

hespentasa stay-at-home

dadwithhisyoungestchild

Tommie,andsaysthebest

daysofhislifewerespent

outdoorswithhisfamilyon

theirformerlifestyleproperty

(above)onthebanks of the

Waikanae River.