Rachel smalley biography
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Rachel Smalley: ‘Why I’ll never be a supermum’
It’s the eternal working mother’s juggling act. As front woman of TV3’s breakfast show Firstline and co-anchor of the political and current affairs show The Nation, Rachel Smalley is at a high point in her career. She regularly interviews some of the nation’s most influential politicians and activists, and has no bekymmer giving John Key or Winston Peters a run for their money live on air. But managing a high-profile job and a family isn’t easy for anyone – and Rachel’s no exception.
“Sometimes inom do feel compromised, and sometimes the reality fryst vatten that inom feel like I’m a bad mother, and a bad wife, and I’m doing a bad job,” says Rachel (40), who is mum to three-year-old Finn. “Supermum I am not! Being a working parent fryst vatten exhausting. As women we think we have to work full time to make ends meet, then come home and be full-time mothers. And it’s impossible.&rd
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Rachel Smalley: ‘Why I had to disappear’
When Rachel Smalley returns to radio next week, it will be with a happy heart and new energy, thanks to two things: a four-year break from broadcasting and the support of a close group of women friends.
Her show First Light on the new radio station Today FM means an early start at 5am every day, but she has done this before when she hosted Early Edition for four years at Newstalk ZB. She left in 2017 because she needed a life change and, she realised afterwards, she was exhausted.
“I had a few coffees with really smart women in the corporate world at the time and I told them I didn’t know what to do,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what my transferable skills were. To be honest, I didn’t even know what transferable skills were back then!
“I was so fortunate because a lot of them said to me: You’re exhausted. You’ve been living in a crazy world for so long that you can&rsqu
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Rachel Smalley: My friend Niva's inspiring story
It was a late night last night and I'm feeling a little dusty this morning.
I went to a book launch. Not just any book launch - it was the book launch for my colleague and very good friend Niva Retimanu, a newsreader here at Newstalk ZB.
You may have heard a little of her personality coming through on-air from time to time. To be fair, we normally keep her in check.
But Niva has a personality that's larger than life. She's very funny, not particularly PC, she's quite loud, she's got the most raucous laugh, and she is always at the centre of the party.
And she's just written a book. It details Niva’s pretty remarkable life. She’s Samoan and was born, of all places, in Invercargill. She’s been through quite a lot in her life, depression, obesity, a bunch of health issues, she's faced a lot of challenges.
She details it all, with a good chunk of humour, in this book.
She once topped the scales at over 100kgs, but this is not