Woman’s Day New Zealand – September 02, 2019

island,andhe’sa niceguy,

soI’dliketobelievethebest

inhim.”

Andwhilesayinggoodbye

soearlyonintheshowwas

tough,Zac’sgladhehad

theopportunitytobring

awarenesstothecharityhe

wassupportingontheshow,

UpsideDownsEducationTrust.

It’sa causeclosetohisheart

ashis19-year-oldcousin

NestahasDownsyndrome.

“Itwasa greatcausetoget

behind– it gavemesomething

biggerthanmyselftoplayfor,”

hesmiles.“MycousinandI

grewuptogetherfromday

dot– ourfamiliesarepretty

close.Wefacetimedafterthe

secondepisodeandI asked

himwhathethought,and

hewasreallyembarrassed

becauseI saidhisname,

butI said,‘Mate,youdon’t

needtobeembarrassed–

you’refamousnow!’

“Buthewasjustsaying

howthankfulhewasand

howI’ma greatcousinfor

sheddinglightonhimself

andmoreimportantlypeople

withDownsyndrome,sothat

wascool.”

Butthehighlightofthe

entireshowforZacwasthe

friendshipsheformedwith

manyofhisfellowcelebrity

castaways,includingformer

ShortlandStreetstarKarl

BurnettandrealityTVveteran

LilyMcManus.

“OnandofftheislandI’ve

stayedreallyclosewithKarl

andLily,”enthusesZac.

“I gottoknowthemreally

well.LilyandI havesimilar

personalitiesintermsofbeing

themiddlepeopleinteam

yellow,andweweren’ttrying

toformalliances.She’sa

genuinepersonandI get

alongwithherreallywell.”

Havinggrownupwatching

KarlonShorty, Zacsayshe

wasa little“starstruck”when

theyfirstmet,buttheyquickly

formeda closebond.Seeing

Karlleavetheshowearly

becauseofhisstruggles

withhismentalhealth

wasespeciallyhardforZac.

Heexplains,“I knew

whathewasgoingthrough

becauseI’vebeenthrough

similarcircumstances,like

whenI wasinFranceplaying

rugby.BothtimesI’veleft

earlybecauseI’vemissed

family,andit’sbeenway

outofmycomfortzone.

“I couldrelatetohim

T

hroughouthisyears

playingbrilliant

rugbyforthe

AllBlacks,Zac

Guildford’sname

oftendominatedheadlines

offthefield.Froma naked

incidentinRarotongato

hisstruggleswithalcohol

andmentalhealth,it’sno

wonderthesportsstarfelt

a littlenervousstepping

backintothespotlighton

CelebrityTreasureIsland.

Butdespitebeingthe

unluckyfirstcastawaytobe

eliminatedfromtheTVNZ 2

serieslastweek,Zacsayshe

hasnoregrets.

“I’vehada fewupsand

downsonandoffthefield,so

I guessputtingmyselfbackin

thepubliceyewassomething

I wasn’tveryconfidentabout,”

headmits.“ButI wantedto

doit ina goodlightandshow

whoI amawayfromrugby

andtheotherstuff.”

Whilehe’sstillplaying

footyforhisNgatiPorouEast

Coastteam,the30-year-old

alsoworksasa teacheraide

helpingstudentswithspecial

needs.

Easy-goingZacquickly

becamea fanfavouriteon

Celebrity Treasure Island,

while his Kahu teammates

Sam Wallace and Eric Murray

were branded the competitive

bad boys of the series.

“I’ve had some really

positive feedback since

leaving the show and I guess

that’s because I’m used to

being a team player,” explains

Zac. “I wasn’t out to win – I

was just there to have a good

time and be a good person.

“If I got far in the show

that was a bonus, but others

were really out there to win.

They’re stabbing people in

the back to win, but I thought

you could have done it in a

more genuine, team way. I

was just trying to be myself

and it would have been nice

to have a longer time.”

While he says he forged

a friendship with radio star

and former weatherman

Sam, it was his new buddy

and captain who put him into

the elimination challenge,

which he ultimately lost

to Matty McLean. But the

sportsman isn’t holding

any grudges.

“I don’t know if Sam did it

on purpose, but I got to know

him a lot both on and off the

The booted-off athlete holds no grudges

Good spo

“He’s a nice guy,” says Zac of

Sam, who as captain chose

him to face sudden death.

Zac’s Kahu teammates

comfort him before his

unpopular elimination.

I DON’T ST

IN THE BA

Reality bites

26 Woman’s Day