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Sell with us- 17th Sep 2025
With a beautiful Auckland home, grown children and flourishing career, Wendy Petrie is in her prime.
Wendy Petrie has been a familiar face in the living rooms of New Zealand houses for more than 20 years. Her dynamic on-screen presence, quick wit and authentic live interview style has delivered the daily news to the nation via 1News, Breakfast and Seven Sharp.
But behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of TV and media is an even faster pace of life for the mother of three. Two of her children have flown the nest, yet Wendy has swapped the school run for marathons – including the New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty Queenstown Marathon – and exchanged employment for business ownership.
When Property Style catches up with Wendy at her elegant Auckland home, she is relaxed and content. Having been made redundant from her role presenting 1News in 2020, Wendy was forced to abruptly pivot but now, with the benefit of hindsight and two successful businesses, she sees the redundancy as more of a gentle push to the perfect path.
“When I lost my job co-hosting the 6pm news at TVNZ, it was a total shock because we were so busy delivering Covid updates and daily breaking news to the millions of New Zealanders staying at home,” she recalls. “It was ironic that I had never felt so useful and useless at the same time. I kept working through my redundancy meetings whilst still on air, petrified about what I would do next.
"I’d been presenting the news for 14 years, and thinking about life outside the newsroom – especially during so much uncertainty – was surreal,” she adds. “With three children looking to us to forge a new path, you just keep going because what else can you do?”
She created The Workroom, honing her talents in MC work, radio news reading, keynote speaking, media training and print news writing, as well as filling in as a presenter for Breakfast and Seven Sharp. She also ramped up her charity work – namely for Find Your Field of Dreams and Breast Cancer Cure – and has more recently purchased a signwriting franchise, Speedy Signs Albany, with her husband Ross Peebles.
“Five years on and what do you know? I love my new life and the flexibility I have now,” she says. “It also forces me to try new things, being much bolder and braver than I ever was before.”
That attitude has had a ripple effect on Wendy’s life. She is contemplating entering her third marathon, having already completed the New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty Queenstown Marathon in 2019, and the Auckland Marathon in 2017.
“I love running,” she says. “It’s my mental chill out space where my brain and body find rhythm or a flow state. Everything in the world makes sense and I have my best ideas running. If I ever blow a knee, I’m in trouble!”
As well as running and swimming, rowing is a sport close to Wendy’s heart – but more as a spectator, rather than a participant. Her eldest daughter Addison is on a rowing scholarship in the US, and Wendy works with Rowing NZ to tell the stories of young rowers at a grassroots level.
“There is no sport quite like rowing. It is such a massive commitment, and it teaches kids so much about discipline, teamwork and resilience. NZ is good at rowing and we smash it on the world stage,” she says.
At Home With Wendy
Where do you live?
Westmere, Auckland.
How long have you lived in your current home and what initially attracted you to it
Straightaway my husband and I loved Westmere. It’s by the sea and close to the city, as well as the motorways. The Westmere shops are now thriving with great cafés and retailers so it’s fun to wander up there on the weekends or head down to Cox’s Bay for a stroll. As the kids went to school here, we’ve made many friends.
What is it about your home that makes you feel at ease?
We love our elevated view looking over a bush-lined gully and out onto Cox’s Bay and the sea. Our sunny and warm balcony is a great spot to relax, even through winter. We put a pool in a few years ago, which is great because the kids bring their friends over in summer.
Describe your perfect Sunday at home
My perfect Sunday would be when our daughters are home – which isn’t very often now that they both live in the US! We’d make waffles and there would be banter or fighting to make the house lively! We are all active relaxers so there is probably a run or a workout somewhere along the line followed by dinner with family or friends. It’s embarrassing to say but if I could do a bit of a garage clear out, that would make me feel like I’ve achieved true greatness!
Tell us about your interior design style – do you lean towards a particular aesthetic?
Honestly, I leave that to my husband, Ross. He is very good at it and I’m not. I might buy the odd cushion if I’m allowed. He’s right into plants so the house is full of them, which is lovely. Luckily, he knows how to keep them alive as I do not. We like modern, contemporary interiors.
When it comes to homewares and furniture, do you prefer luxury, new pieces or vintage finds?
A bit of everything. You can always find something fantastic on Trade Me.
Do you have any special items or artefacts from travelling the world?
We have a tram stop banner framed from when we lived in Toronto, which has all the stops we used to pass on the way to work.
Where is your favourite international travel destination and why?
With our daughters in San Diego, we’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time visiting them. It’s a fantastic Californian city. We always have a great time going to the beaches all year round. It’s got a relaxed, seaside vibe that we love.
Where is your next travel destination?
I’m super excited to be hosting a 12-day tour of Saudi Arabia. It’s a women’s-only tour of about 16 women by Viva Expeditions, which takes us from the glittering skyline of Riyadh to the ancient tombs of aI-UIa and the Red Sea. We will meet local women and hear their stories of a country that’s changing fast. It’s going to be such a great cultural experience. I can’t wait