Jacinda Ardern’s fiance pens tribute to his ‘favourite achiever’ as NZ PM turns 40

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern celebrated a milestone birthday on Sunday as she turned 40. And to mark the special occasion, Jacinda’s fiance Clarke Gayford penned a sweet public tribute to his wife-to-be on social media.

The New Zealand television presenter, best-known for hosting Fish of the Day, shared an unseen photograph of himself and Jacinda on Instagram, alongside a glowing tribute to his “favourite achiever”. Despite acknowledging that he rarely shares public tributes of this nature, he said that turning 40 warranted such a display.

“I don’t really do these posts, but I think a bit of symmetry like the number 40 is worth positing on,” the 43-year-old wrote. “Happy Birthday today to my favourite achiever in the whole wide world, someone, who despite everything on her plate, still finds time to squeeze lots of fun, love and happiness into our wee family unit. The. Best. xx”

Jacinda later replied to the post, simply posting a love heart emoji.

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Many people commented on Clarke’s post and wished the prime minister a happy birthday. One user wrote: “Absolutely the best. Happy birthday Jacinda.” Another said: “Happy 4-0. To the BEST. Leader. PM. @jacindaardern. I hope @clarkegayford baked a lovely cake.”

While another wrote: “I often think how challenging it must be to be in a rlship [sic] with someone with such a challenging schedule. Enjoy yourselves tonight.”

Jacinda and Clarke celebrated another milestone recently as their daughter Neve turned two last month – and, despite running a country, Jacinda still managed to find the time to bake a homemade cake for her daughter.

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Like many mothers before her, Jacinda turned to the Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book for inspiration and selected the piano design, which uses blocks of white chocolate and licorice straps to make the keys.

“Cake making lesson number two- don’t focus on making the cake look in proportion with little to no attention on structural integrity….there is a jar of lentils propping this thing up,” the prime minister wrote on Instagram.

“Happy Birthday Neve! Thanks for ignoring all of the imperfections in life and just being a joy.”