Foreman tells of a new love and old friends

Diane Foreman and Paul Henry. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Diane Foreman is in love. With whom, she won't say, other than he's new in her life.

After several years of ducking paparazzi when she was linked first with former National leader Don Brash and later with TV broadcaster Paul Henry, Foreman has come out - first being photographed wearing lavish frocks in her newly restored Auckland home by Simply You Living magazine, and now talking candidly with the Herald on Sunday.

She wants, Foreman says, to put the record straight after years of "hurtful", "untrue" and "embarrassing" stories.

She and former husband and business partner Bill Foreman have been separated for three years. But they remain good friends, she says. Foreman, 82, has a new partner and the two couples see each other at school events involving the children.

The new man in her life spoils her, she says, and is "a fantastic cook".

"He's making me very happy ... he's not in the media, he's not in politics, and he's a very private person, as I am. I've moved on to a new phase in my life."

Foreman is not quite so forthcoming about her alleged affair with Don Brash in 2006, saying only: "I never comment. It's alleged, I've read that in the papers."

She does admit to her relationship with Paul Henry, a friendship which made headlines last year when the pair were photographed at Auckland International Airport bound for Europe. Henry had just announced he was taking a break from his Breakfast show to spend time with his teenage daughters.

"Paul Henry and I did have a relationship but we remain very good friends," Foreman says. "His children babysit for me still. I have a really good relationship with Paul's mum, his kids, and we remain good friends. Our children are the same ages, they go to all the same parties."

Her relationship with former husband Bill has never been acrimonious, Foreman says, and puts their ongoing friendship down to 22 years of marriage, having two children together, Charlotte, 12, and son Joshua, 18, and running a plastics empire, The Emerald Group.

"We watch Josh play rugby together. We do family birthdays and Mother's Day we're all together. ..."

"We brought up six kids between us because we had two from his marriage, where his wife died, and we had my two from my former marriage, and we have two together and built a business. You don't have to hate each other.

"It was just one of those situations where lots happened, Bill's a lot older than I am, and a house which is full of teenagers coming and going - is it really conducive to an 82-year-old?"

Foreman met her former husband when she was an ear, nose and throat specialist practice manager in Auckland. Five years after the couple married in December 1987, Bill had a stroke and asked her to take a seat on the board to learn how to run the multimillion-dollar plastics company and their private investment company Emerald Group.

Now the former vice-chair of the New Zealand Business Roundtable is focused on the expansion of the New Zealand Natural icecream empire, opening a new store somewhere in the world every nine days to add to the 650 existing outlets in 21 countries. "It's a good story for New Zealand in the dim, dark times that we're doing really well and we're taking our product offshore ..."

Discipline helps her juggle children, grandchildren, big business and a new love life, Foreman says.

"I've got a really good PA who manages my diary like you wouldn't believe. I've got a very supportive partner now, which really helps."