Spy: Rose Matafeo leaving NZ to join British boyfriend

Comedian Rose Matafeo will join her boyfriend James Acaster in the UK. Photo / NZ Herald

Comedian Rose Matafeo is leaving New Zealand for the bright lights of the UK - and to join her boyfriend, James Acaster.

The 23-year-old met the star English comic on the comedy circuit in New Zealand last year. The pair have managed a long-distance relationship since and 30-year-old Acaster was back in Auckland to perform in March this year.

Matafeo confirmed she was leaving our shores in August to move to London. She will then tour and perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with fellow comedian, Guy Montgomery.

James Acaster. Photo /Supplied

Matafeo says she prefers not to think of it as a permanent move but rather a bid to take her comedy on a revolving tour of the world.

"I am leaving my home and becoming a permanent international couch surfer," she says. "While Guy's in the UK he can find his own couch."

Acaster is a big deal in the UK. Since launching himself on the comedy scene in 2009 he has won numerous awards and become a regular on TV and radio.

Matafeo, a former Billy T James comedy award winner, doesn't let a serious question about her life go by without tripping Spy.

When asked for a photo with Acaster, she moaned: "Can't you do this story about just me? It's all about me, we seriously are not in the same town enough to have posed for any photos I like."

Spy thinks London will become a permanent base if Acaster has anything to do with it. Matafeo is definitely ready for the slog of working her way up in the UK comedy scene.