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ニューアルバム「PARADISO」のプロモーションを兼ねた、Hayleyの彼氏紹介記事です。 幸せそうで、何よりです。

Ooh lala! HAYLEY & ARNAUD'S LOVE SONG

THE KIWI SINGER AND HER HUNKY FRENCHMAN ARE MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER - AND SHARING LAUGHS ALONG THE WAY She admits it from the get-go. Hayley Westenra has been deliberately letting her love life fly "under the radar" for the past two-and-a-half years. And speaking for the first time about the amazing man she has fallen head over heels for, she's nervous. "Talking about our relationship is a very new thing for us," she says. "Today was Arnaud's first-ever photo shoot. He doesn't really like being in the spotlight, so he did really well. In fact," she giggles mischievously and turns to her man, "I think you secretly loved it!" On many levels, Hayley and French sound engineer Arnaud Sabard are chalk and cheese. She's petite and porcelain - a classic beauty. He's rugged and brooding, or as she puts it shyly, "pretty handsome". She's a stage luminary - an icon in this country and others - while he spends his days "making me sound good!" EIGHT-YEAR GAP Then there's the age difference. He's 32 this week, she has just turned 24. But their cheeky humour and capacity to love and embrace life is shared. As Arnaud (pronounced "Ah-no" - who endearingly pronounces Hayley "Ay-leigh") puts it, "We laugh all the time - it's a really important part of our relationship. We take our careers seriously, but we also enjoy our life and that's why we get on so well." "We don't really notice the age gap," chimes in Hayley, as the pair tuck into pizza and red wine. "Arnaud's really just a big kid. And in some respects my life has been quite different to others my age. So we find ourselves somewhere in the middle." To say her life's "a bit different" is a vast understatement. She ascended to the world stage at just 16. By 20, she'd recorded three albums and had a flat in London. Touring was a necessary part of life - and, often, it was lonely. "Back then, I was leading quite a solitary existence. I might be touring with a band, but generally they'd be a lot older than me and I'd feel like I was part of a different generation. Also, I was so focused on my work I'd choose to spend a lot of time hanging out by myself in a hotel room. I'd stay in touch with friends by email, but I certainly wasn't a big part of the dating scene growing up. I missed out on that." Hayley spotted a kindred spirit in Arnaud when they first toured together in 2008. But to win her heart "took two tours", Arnaud laughs. "At first, I was intimidated by you," he confesses, and Hayley is surprised. 'Were you?" "Yes," continues Arnaud, thoughtfully. "I was working with a new band, a new performer, and in some ways this was a new adventure for me. It took time to think outside of the box." Hayley, too, wasn't quite in the right space to begin a relationship. She was ill with bronchitis - so sick, in fact, that she remembers "coming off stage in tears. Obviously, meeting someone just wasn't a priority for me!" But by their second tour together, says Arnaud, "Suddenly, we were both distracted! We would go for a walk before the show each night - we'd talk about anything and everything. We enjoyed each other's company each day more than the previous one." Was there a language barrier in the beginning? "He has improved a lot - he only knew five words of English when we first met," Hayley deadpans as Arnaud bursts into laughter. In fact, Arnaud has been a Londoner for eight years -longer than Hayley and Hayley knows enough French to get by. "She has a great ear." On their return to London, Arnaud invited Hayley on another walk - this time through London's beautiful Hampstead Heath - and took her for a crepe at his favourite stand. "So," recalls Hayley, "with our crepes in hand we took this terribly cliche romantic stroll!" Cliche or not, it was the beginning of something special and it grew serious straight away. "What first drew me towards Arnaud was his amazing energy. He is someone you just want to spend time with. He's very positive and kind-hearted - and I'm never afraid to be myself around him. That's important. If I'm ever a bit down, he always knows exactly what to say to get me back on my feet And he makes me laugh, a lot!" For his part, Arnaud was attracted firstly to Hayley's voice. "It has a quality that somehow takes you somewhere - it's peculiar." "Peculiar?" snorts Hayley in mock indignation. Arnaud explains. "I mean, it's a special voice. And Hayley has this amazing personality too, and is so funny and very nice and is all the time trying to help others. "There are a million things I love about her - I could go on forever. For example, I love that the way she is with me is the way she is with everyone. No, wait," he corrects himself, "she's a bit more personal with me, I guess!" Well, the French do have a reputation for romance to uphold. "He does look after me very well- I'm very spoiled," confirms Hayley. "And I become all sort of girlie around him! He cooks for me - he likes using spices and experimenting with off-the-cuff recipes. You're one of a kind, really," she says turning to Arnaud. "I'm just a gentleman," offers Arnaud, as Hayley laughs again. MEETING THE FOLKS Although life sounds perfectly rosy, Hayley says there have been two major tests in their relationship. Firstly, there was Arnaud's introduction to New Zealand in 2009, and to Hayley's tight-knit family. "Before then, somehow, even when I was on Skype to the family, he'd managed to avoid Mum and Dad,"laughs Hayley. "Once or twice he'd pop up behind me, wave and run off. "Then, when we were on the plane flying over, he was very nervous. He was like, 'You know, we could still turn around now'." "But," chips in Arnaud, "I had nothing to be nervous for. They were absolutely lovely and awesome. And we had a barbecue at Christmas. I want to do that I every year!" The trip - during which the pair explored the Abel Tasman Park - was a huge success. "I'm a really adaptable person, you know," says poker-facedAmaud'i "He is!" agrees Hayley. "He even likes Marmite! There was only really one funny moment, when I had to ask Dad to find us some wine. He looked worried and went, 'Umm ... I don't think we have any,' and I was like, 'Dad, come on! Arnaud's French! We drink wine with our meals!" Then came the devastation of the Christchurch earthquake in February, in which Hayley's dad Gerald lost his business. Hayley and Arnaud were together when the terrible news began to filter through that NZ was in crisis. "Obviously," says Hayley, "as soon as I heard I said, 'I want to go back home.' I was very emotional- totally in shock. And Arnaud was able to calm me and say, 'There's nothing you can do right now, so let's think about the ways that you can help.' He helped me redirect my sadness and gain perspective." Arnaud wasn't with Hayley when she flew to NZ to sing at the Hagley Park memorial service on March 18, but he supported her all the way. "I'd never had to live through such an extreme event," he says, "so it was easier for me to stay calm. It wasn't easy on Hayley, though." Now, Hayley's back in her west London flat ready for the release of her fifth album Paradiso this week, recorded in Rome with 82-year-old musical legend Ennio Morricone (best known for his spaghetti western film scores). "It was a dream album to make," beams Hayley. "I still find it incredible and hard to believe that I had the chance to collaborate with Maestro Morricone." There'll be more touring, but this time Arnaud won't be with Hayley for all of it. "It's a bit sad really. We're not going to have that luxury of being able to hang out," she says. "People say you shouldn't mix your professional and personal lives, but it works for us!" Arnaud looks on the bright side. "It will allow us to do our own thing for a while. And it will give us more stories to tell and more laugh." "Um, you mean laughter?" asks Hayley, raising one eyebrow. "Yes, that's right," says Arnaud, nodding - and as if on cue, the happy couple burst into peals of laughter again.

　

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