A tearful Chris Hipkins has again flatly denied having an affair, and other claims made by his ex-wife, in an emotional press conference at Parliament.
Speaking this afternoon, the Labour leader's voice broke at points as he responded to the Facebook post by his former partner Jade Paul on Sunday evening.
But Hipkins said he would not be drawn into a public back-and-forth.
"I reject the allegations that she’s made and the characterisation of those events, and I don’t intend to get into a backwards and forwards on those. I don’t think that would be the best thing for anybody involved, but particularly not for my children."
He said he would not "litigate" personal matters publicly and was putting his children first.
"Marriage breakups are very difficult. Everybody who's been through that understands that. There are always going to be disagreements."
Hipkins said he had made a "very conscious effort" throughout his political career to keep his private life and family out of the spotlight.
"I don't think that it's in anyone's interests to litigate those through the media," he said.
The Labour leader had been vacationing in Australia but returned to Wellington earlier on Tuesday. He told awaiting media at the airport that he was expecting to stay leader of the Opposition and that he had the confidence of his MPs.
Hipkins also said he had not sought legal advice about Paul or her post directly, but had sought advice about the possible publication of "allegations against me that are untrue".
Asked whether the situation could damage Labour, he said he hoped not, saying that he had received "a lot of lovely messages" of support from the party's MPs.
Yesterday, Hipkins rejected the accusations in a terse statement to media after screenshots of Paul's private post began circulating publicly on social media.
The social media post
His office's statement on Monday regarding Paul's claims said: "I reject the allegations entirely and don't intend to make any further comment."
It is understood he has been seeking legal advice over the accusations.
The couple separated in 2022 and have two children together.
Hipkins went public with his new relationship with ex-staffer Toni Grace during his election night concession speech in October 2023, and the pair announced their engagement in November last year.
He addressed the timeline of his relationship with Grace this afternoon, saying she had interned in his office around 2010 and that he met Paul in 2013.
He said his relationship with Grace began in 2023 – more than a year after he and Paul had separated. "During the time that I was with Jade, absolutely not," he said when asked whether the relationship had overlapped.
Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, speaking to reporters at a media conference on spiking oil prices on Monday, said she had not spoken to Hipkins about the matter but acknowledged it was a "difficult" situation.
She added she hadn't seen the post's accusations but had read media coverage of it.
"Marriage breakups are hard, especially when you have children involved in it," she said.
"This is a very difficult situation. It involves a marriage breakup. It involves very personal information between a politician and an ex-partner. I'm not going to wade into that."
When he became prime minister in January 2023, Hipkins acknowledged the separation, saying he was "aware of the Wellington rumour mill" and asked for privacy.
"Families come under an enormous amount of pressure," he said at the time.
"A year ago, my wife and I made the decision that we would live separately, that we would do everything we can to raise our children together. We remain incredibly close. She's still my best friend."
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