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As Seen in The Press, 31 August 2024
Aroha: ‘I said, we’ll get married if New Zealand wins the 1987 Rugby World Cup - and we did’
Leiza Ahern, 56, is the planning & contracts lead at Norsewear NZ Ltd, a winter clothing supplier in Hawke’s Bay. She is married to Terence Ahern, 61, who’s worked as a knitting technician at Norsewear for 46 years. The couple have three children, Rick, 40, Nadine, 37, and Matt, 35, and five grandchildren and live in Norsewood.
Leiza: I was born in Wellington but moved to Norsewood at 13 when my parents split up. My mother started working at Norsewear with Terence which is how I met him. I thought Terence was a really nice guy but also cute. He had a job and a car, which was exciting for a teenage girl.
I got pregnant and left school at 16 to have Rick. People were shocked but Mum said she’d stand by me if I lived with her until the baby was a few months old so I did that and then moved in with Terence. Those early years were hard because we were both so young and didn’t have any money. We really had to grow up together. Terence is a good saver and we both worked hard to buy a house and set ourselves up. Now we’re out the other side, able to enjoy our lives. Which doesn’t mean it was always easy. Like any couple we’ve had our issues but after 43 years we know each other so well and are comfortable with each other. Terence is a really kind man and he’s good to me which is just as well because I don’t think I could train another one!
Terence and Leiza Ahern have been together for more than 40 years. (Source: The Press)
He’s also calm and collected, whereas I’m a bit of a hot-head. My biggest bugbear with Terence, though, is that he sets his alarm for 4.30am every weekday. He doesn’t start work until 8am but he’s a morning person and likes to get to work early. Getting up that early doesn’t make sense to me but that’s just Terence.
I drove the school bus for 10 years but in 2002 a six-month temp job at Norsewear came up; I’ve been here ever since. Terence is on the factory floor and I’m in the office but we see each other a lot throughout the day. I think that would be hard for some couples but we both like it. We do talk about work things at home but it’s good to bounce stuff off each other and we know exactly who or what the other person is talking about, which helps.
Over the years I put on a lot of weight but Terence never commented on it or made me feel bad. Two years ago I had gastric bypass surgery and since then I’ve lost 60kg. Terence was fully supportive of me. He said, you’ve worked really hard and if it’s something you really want to do, then go for it.
Life hasn’t always been easy, especially in the beginning, but I’m so glad it worked out.
“Those early years were hard because we were both so young and didn’t have any money. We really had to grow up together.” (Source: The Press)
Terence: I’m from Ormondville, about 6km from the Norsewear factory. I always wanted to be a traffic cop but was too young to apply so I got a job at Norsewear when I was 17. They sent me to Auckland for training for two years and when I came back I met Leiza through her mother who I worked with.
I thought Leiza was pretty but she was also outgoing and had a bubbly personality. We got pregnant early which obviously wasn’t the plan. Both our families are very Catholic so they were pretty shocked. Leiza also took a lot of flak at school but she kept her chin up and got on with it.
To be honest, getting pregnant so young actually turned out for the best because it settled me down a lot. We moved in together when Rick was three months old. We didn’t actually know each other that well and there’s all those things you find out about a person when you live with them. It was especially hard for Leiza being at home with a baby when she was so young.
We got married when Rick was about to go to school. I said to Leiza, we’ll get married if New Zealand wins the 1987 Rugby World Cup and we did. We got married at the Dannevirke Court House with our two best friends as witnesses. Then our parents paid for a reception at the local hall.
Leiza is an amazing mother and she has a real passion for her grandchildren. We play good cop, bad cop when it comes to our grandkids. I’m clearly the good cop! Because Leiza is an incredible cook I’m a bit slack in that department.
But Leiza can be very blunt and calls a spade a spade. And if you’ve done something wrong, she’ll let you know about it. We had some fiery moments early in our relationship but over the years, we’ve both mellowed out a lot.
Like every couple, we’ve had our ups and downs during the past 43 years. The key to making it work is compromise.
Sometimes you just have to say, it’s not worth getting into an argument over this, even if you think you’re right. I’m a bit of a softie when it comes to confrontation so I find it easier to give in than argue.
Leiza decided to have surgery after she tried various diets and couldn’t lose the weight. I said to her, you’ve worked your guts out for the last 30 years so if you want to put that towards your operation do it. She’s 100% a different person now, so much happier and comfortable in her day-to-day life.
Story by The Press. As told to Sharon Stephenson.