Samantha Hayes (born 25 April 1984) is a South African-born New Zealand journalist and newsreader.

Early life and personal life

Hayes was born in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa to a New Zealand father and a South African mother. The family relocated to

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand when she was six months old. She has a sister and a brother. She received her education at Tokomairiro High School. She studied at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

and finished her degree, a Bachelor of Arts, Media & International Relations, at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 2007. Hayes has been a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

since she was 11 years old for ethical reasons. She said: "I remember looking at new lambs on the farm and thinking I didn’t want to be responsible for them being killed". In December 2020, Hayes became engaged to Jay Blaauw, with whom she had her first child, Marlow. He was delivered by

caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...

in late 2019 after Hayes suffered

pre-eclampsia Pre-eclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy characterized by the onset of high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine. When it arises, the condition begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In severe cases of the disease ...

. In March 2021, she announced she was pregnant with her second child.

Career

Hayes first began work at TV3 aged 17, gaining work experience. She was initially a journalist and later became a newsreader. She has worked on the programmes ''Newshub Late'', ''3rd Degree'', ''3D'' which became ''3D Investigates'', ''

Newsworthy News values are "criteria that influence the selection and presentation of events as published news." These values help explain what makes something "newsworthy." News values are not universal and can vary between different cultures. Among the m ...

'', ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'' and ''

Firstline ''Firstline'' was a New Zealand morning news programme produced by ''3 News ''Newshub'' (stylised as ''Newshub.'') is a New Zealand news service that airs on the television channels Three and Eden, as well as on digital platforms. It for ...

''. She is currently the news anchor, alongside

Mike McRoberts Mike McRoberts (born 1966) is a New Zealand television journalist and news anchor. Early life McRoberts was born in 1966 to a Ngāti Kahungunu father and pākehā mother. He attended Manning Intermediate and Hillmorton High School in Christch ...

, at ''Newshub Live at 6pm''. She commenced this role on 30 May 2016 after

Hilary Barry Hilary Ann Barry (née Pankhurst, born 4 December 1969) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality who co-hosts '' Seven Sharp'' with Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1. She was a newsreader on TV3 for many years and until 2016, presented the 6 ...

's resignation. In July 2018, Hayes won

series 7 Series 7 may refer to: *The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and *Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA *'' Series 7: The Conte ...

of the New Zealand version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' with her professional partner Aaron Gilmore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Sam 1984 births Living people People from Milton, New Zealand People educated at Tokomairiro High School New Zealand television newsreaders and news presenters Victoria University of Wellington alumni Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand TV series) winners