Shorty & Seven Sharp stars 'WE'VE FOUND TRUE AROHA!'

Multitalented TV personalities Mauri and Te Rauhirin ga share their romantic love story

- Florence Hartigan

There’s only one woman for former Shortland Street star Mauri Oho Stokes. Not only is the actor head over heels in love with his partner Te Rauhiringa Krystal-Lee Brown, but the Seven Sharp reporter and producer is also his first-ever girlfriend!

“I hadn’t really been interested in having a girlfriend,” shares Mauri, 30, who’s now playing villain Thomas in bilingual Ma-ori Television drama Ahika-roa. “But since I was brought up in kura kaupapa [Ma-ori immersion school], and my parents would always take my sister and I to our marae, eventually I realised I was looking for a partner I’d be able to take back with me – who’d be able to handle all my aunties and uncles!”

The couple initially met in 2012, but Te Rauhiringa, 29 – who is of Nga-ti Raukawa, Nga-ti Maniapoto and Nga-ti Apakura descent – was already in a relationship. “I was presenting a show called Pu-kana,” she remembers. “We met when Mauri came on as a guest, but I didn’t think anything of it.”

Mauri, however, couldn’t forget his effervescent interviewer and, several years later, when they were both single, he reached out on social media. “I guess the stars and the moon aligned,” smiles the star, who is of Nga-ti te Rangi, Te Arawa, Nga-ti Porou and Te Wha-nau-a--Apanui heritage.

Though Te Rauhiringa was commitment-shy, Mauri’s unique approach won her over. “I was definitely stand-offish,” confesses the journalist, who has two children from a previous relationship. “As a single mum with two boys, I wouldn’t date just anybody. But when Mauri started messaging me, he’d only speak to me in Ma-ori. That beautiful gesture stole my heart. No guy had ever done that.”