Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - BONUS: Hayley Holt On Addiction, Richie McCaw and Life As A Mum!

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

We chat to Kiwi Hayley Holt On Addiction, Richie McCaw and Life As A Mum!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. Now Hayley Holt, broadcaster, she's got a new book, it's called Second Chances Out at the moment. A really, really fascinating book. She's dealing with everything from her issues with alcohol, around losing a baby, and also her relationship with Richie McCaw and she joins us in the studio right now. Hayley Holt, good morning, great to have you here. It's so good to be here. And we've got your little son, Raven, as well,

who is just bloody gorgeous, isn't he? He might not say hello, but he touched the mic. Oh, get him out of the studio then, mate. No good for radio. No content. Super cute. Yeah, he's pretty cute. He melts hearts.

Are you enjoying this period in your life? It's the best. I mean, you guys are both fathers yourself. So, I mean, you know, it's hard's hard but it's just you can't describe it it's like it's the most the biggest love you can ever feel although last night for the first night in months and months and months he only woke up once oh wow so that's huge usually it's about four times and when they don't wake up once you wake up what's happened you You know, like. Oh my God, when he was a newborn,

he did, he slept through the night once and I woke up with my, excuse me, but my boobs were engorged and I was just like, panicking and I looked over at him and he's just.

Well, mine's still engorged actually, to be honest. Your boobs. Yeah. Hey, now Hayley, your book out at the moment,

Second Chances. What's it like? It must be, you know, such a personal book you deal with so much in Now, Hayley, your book out at the moment, Second Chances, what's it like? It must be such a personal book you deal with so much in there. What's it like to have your story out there in the world? It was terrifying. Yeah. I was so nervous. I guess I was a little bit anxious about how it would be received.

The reason that people would warm to it so much is because you're being so vulnerable. Like a lot of people wouldn't have the guts to put all of what you've put in that book and write that in paper and release it to the public. Dear God, the stuff I've done, I'm never putting it in a book. I would read your book. Obviously, you know, you talk about your demons with alcohol and your loss as well, and I don't want to, you know, bring it all up for you again because it's all in the book.

But yeah, as John has said, it must be be for people even people that were knowing you for a while but to not to know the extent of what you were dealing with yeah I mean because you hide it all don't you and a lot of it is you don't really realize what's going on until you look back on it and process it I mean when I was drinking I thought it was a great laugh my my family didn't and some of my friends didn't. And, you know, I think a lot of people in circles were a little bit afraid when I turned up to a party. They were like, oh my God, how is he? Hurricane hot. And so what was the, because they do say before you do stop drinking, there's a moment where you're like, I need to really sort

it out. What was it for you? I had many of those moments with myself but um it was when I was at a party with my cousin who was quite sick herself and I sort of was encouraging her to have a beer come on and we don't get together much you know this would be great laugh and then the next morning I saw just how sick and how much it had affected her because she was physically sick with it too. And I just hated myself. I was like, I'm not just hurting myself or annoying my mom or getting kicked out of bars. Now I'm actually making my family sick. And so did you go to AA or anything like that? I did.

I took two months off because that's what I said. And then at the end of that, I had another really good friend who had gone into AA and I just decided to follow her. And it was the best thing I've ever done. What about people in your life? Were they rushing to see a cop and go, what's Hayley got? What stories?

You know what things? Because I would imagine that. Like if Jono's bringing out a book, I'm like, what's she saying about me? What's going to? Geez, I imagine Richie was sweating bullets was he

yeah I mean obviously Richie McCaw is mentioned in there and what is your partner your current partner right now did you have to run all that past him

I mean he didn't really want to have anything to do with it but yeah I and then I passed you know I

gave Richie his his signed copy I mentioned gave Richie his... Signed copy. Dear Richie, all the best. Reach for the stars, buddy. I gave him his pages just to make sure he was going to be okay. Oh, that's good, yeah.

And he basically came back and just said, yeah, yeah, your recollection seems to be right and you're damn brave. And I was like, oh, God, is it that bad? And I mean, because... You are brave. You're brave for what you're doing,, oh, God, is it that bad? And I mean, because I'm... Yeah, brave. What you're doing, putting yourself out there, because it's never easy.

And you know this job, you do put yourself out there, but you kind of hold back from a lot of things. You do. And you've kind of, as John has said before, you put it all out there, which is awesome. But I think you've got to do that in life, because people don't, as you say. And the greatest help I've ever had was when i've

been in aa and people share you know their deepest darkest and that really helps you to feel less alone so i guess if people are out there and they're going through similar things and they can sort of feel like we're all in it together and you know addiction like that or you know leniency on alcohol it doesn't discriminate any section of society any job high paid low paid whatever

the spectrum is broad so I think you're going to help a lot of people by doing what you're doing yeah absolutely and while it is you know like I've read as much as I can

over the last couple of days how much did you read? quite a lot did you get to your bit? yeah I did see my bit there I didn't I scanned through that's coming up

I was jumping around all over the place as well. I definitely go into the Richard McCourt chapter. Boys, boys, boys, boys. Always nice to see you. Congratulations on the book. It's awesome. As Johnno said, I think you're going to help a lot of people. So you're well done.

Thank you very much.