Joe Cotton reveals hidden heartbreak: ‘I lost a part of myself’

MoreFM presenter Joe Cotton is back on Treasure Island. Photo / Matt Klitscher

Back in early 2020, music-mad Joe Cotton was living the dream, having recently reunited with her girl group TrueBliss, as well as performing with a new band.

“It was so cool, and I was really enjoying seeing the girls and singing with them again,” the Invercargill-based radio and TV star, 44, tells Woman’s Day. “I felt the happiest I’d ever felt in my entire life. I was having the best time and everything was great, then suddenly there were no gigs whatsoever.”

The pandemic had plunged the world into chaos and it had a disastrous effect on Joe’s mental health. “Covid has been hard on everyone, but to have that handbrake pulled on me, it was like I lost a part of myself,” she says. “It went away for two and a half years, and I don’t think I’m back to the old me yet. I felt lost and it’s been a rough time of eating my feelings.

“I know I’ve done radio for 17 years, but I still feel like a singer. I don’t know who I am without singing. The girls and I have got gigs coming up and we feel a little rusty, but we’ll find our way back. I hope this could be a part of getting my life back.”

The “this” Joe is talking about is the upcoming series of Treasure Island: Fans V Faves, on which she’s competing alongside Josh Kronfeld, 51. The pair were co-stars on the 2004 season of Celebrity Treasure Island and the More FM Southland host has fond memories of filming in Fiji that first time.

She remembers, “I was terrified of absolutely everything – from swinging through the treetops on wires, to diving deep under the ocean – and my hair went feral in the humidity, but it was a season of silliness and it was so much fun. Well, apart from Lana Coc-Kroft almost dying … ”

Cotton hopes Treasure Island will be a part of "getting her life back". Photo / Matt Klitscher

The former Wheel Of Fortune and SportsCafe host, now 55, spent nine days in a coma after stepping on coral and contracting the potentially fatal, flesh-eating bacteria necrotising fasciitis. Joe recalls, “That was a huge story. The boys and girls’ teams were separated, and Josh thought she was just putting it on for the game, but we knew something was up. Lana was such a strong person, but she was getting weaker and weaker. We thought it was a flu or a virus. We had no clue how serious it was. It was f***ing scary.”

Still, Joe had no qualms about signing up for a second series. She explains, “My experience was so positive last time and I remember thinking, ‘Man, I hope I get to do this again.’ I just didn’t expect the call to come 18 years later – or that I’d be as unfit and elderly as I am – but you take the opportunities when they come.”

Asked how she prepared for this season of Treasure Island, Joe laughs, “Look, I wanted to do prep. I wanted to eat salad and start taking the stairs at work. Truthfully, I did. But it was the same as last series – that good old imposter syndrome crept in.

“I was convinced they’d find someone more famous and I wouldn’t end up coming. It wasn’t until the week before that I thought, ‘Oh, it’s happening. I guess I should do something about it.’ But still I didn’t do it. Then I thought, ‘Well, I’ll be really good when I get there.’ But as soon as I arrived in Fiji, I ordered a Mai Tai!”

Joe Cotton reunited with her former girl group TrueBliss in 2020. Photo / Woman's Day

Fortunately, Joe doesn’t feel insecure about battling it out on the beach next to the “insane” bodies of Art Green and Alex King. She explains, “Not everyone goes to McDonald’s to order a Big Mac – some people want a Filet-O-Fish, which is a perfectly good burger … What I’m saying is that, sure, Alex and Art might be great to look at, but somebody might be looking at me thinking, ‘Yeah, you rock all that.’ Let’s hope my husband is one of them!”

Joe and her hubby Dan Shields, 45, have been together 18 years and shared their wedding with Woman’s Day in 2009. How have they stuck it out this long?

“The secret is not to fall out of love with each other at the same time,” grins Joe. “We just take turns and avoid the urge to smother each other with pillows. But honestly, we all evolve through our lives and you have to do it as a team. Sometimes your team member may be going through a rough spot, and you just have to support them and hope you can stay on the team together.”

Sounds like good advice for Treasure Island too!

• Treasure Island: Fans V Faves premieres at 7.30pm on Monday January 30 on TVNZ 2