Amanda Luxon's arms were a big talking point the day after the election. Photo / NZ Herald
Amanda Luxon's arms were a big talking point the day after the election. Photo / NZ Herald
On election night last year, while politicians up and down the country were waiting for the results to come in so they could learn their fate, a surprising supporting character emerged during the night’s proceedings: Amanda Luxon’s biceps.
Christopher Luxon’s wife had not featured much on the election campaign trail, but when she appeared in a sleeveless top with pies for the media early on election night - and then bared them again the following morning - they quickly became a talking point.
Not that Amanda herself noticed the hype - or particularly understood the interest.
“I’ve done a few articles previously and nobody noticed the biceps before that, so I was laughing. I didn’t even realise until several days later because I don’t read social media and someone sent me a photograph and I’m going, ‘what, where is this?’” she told Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything.
Amanda says that she’s always had good biceps and was taken aback by the sudden interest, but the intrigue about her personal life is something she is having to reckon with now she is in the public spotlight.
While her husband has been a public figure for years, both as a CEO and then MP, in the two months since Christopher was sworn in as Prime Minister, Amanda has seen a few changes in her life that she is slowly getting used to.
Those are largely related to the family’s reduced freedom to come and go as they please compared to what they once did (also now with a security detail in tow) as well as being recognised in public.
Amanda says she managed to avoid being recognised much before the election but now notices people clocking her on the street. As for her husband, being recognised is harder to avoid - particularly when he wants to engage with them as well.
“Because he is a really big people person, he does want to stop and talk with people and find out what’s going on for them. So if we’re out walking, for example, people want to stop and chat, but I’ve just told him just keep your eyes down.”
Amanda Luxon with husband Christopher and children Olivia and William on election night.
Amanda says that while this job does not change either of them as people, she has had to find the differences between her home self and public self.
“They are the same person, but I think you guard yourself by surrounding yourself with people who you really trust, and they’re the people you listen to.
“I think the biggest thing for me is so much is out of my control. What is in my control is how I respond to what happens. And so I get to choose how I respond to what’s set out there, and that’s a really important way to be very disciplined about what I think and what I see and who I talk to.”
She has also chosen not to use social media at all. “Many people have the inability to separate an issue from an individual,” she says, describing that as the most frustrating thing to deal with in the public eye. “Everybody’s entitled to an opinion, but you’re not entitled to actually attack people personally about them - attack the issue.”
This month though marks 30 years of marriage for the Luxons, who met as teenagers at a progressive car rally and subsequent house party in Christchurch. They have two children - Olivia and William - and together have been a strong unit as they moved around the world for Christopher’s work in the corporate sector.
Amanda had a policy where she would bring the children back to New Zealand first whenever they would move to a new country, and leave Christopher to set up in his new job for a few months on his own.
“Ninety days is what we said. ‘You’ve got three months, go do the new job for three months, and then when we turn up, you are on and you’re on for us.’”
Ultimately, Amanda plans to approach her husband’s time as Prime Minister as just another job or “season”. “We’ve had other seasons where I’ve been the priority or the children have been the priority. At the moment, this is what we want to do, and this is what we want to achieve. And at some stage that will end and then there’ll be a different season.
“It’s about using what you have and what skills you have to really work out how you can give back and improve the lives of others. Because all of that means nothing if you can’t do something with it, you know, to help others. And that’s what we’ve built our entire culture and our family on.
“And so the kids understand that. They understand this is a really important role and that he’s doing something really important and respect him for it and respect the goal and the vision.”
Listen to the full episode for more from Amanda and Paula, including why Amanda doesn’t want to be known as ‘First Lady’ and what her charitable priorities are.
Ask Me Anything is a Herald podcast, hosted by Paula Bennett. New episodes return in March.
